The role of foreign and indigenous languages in primary schools: The case of Kenya

Nathan Oyori Ogechi

doi:10.5842/38-0-63

Abstract

This article investigates the use of English and other African languages in Kenyan primary schools. English is a foreign language to the majority of Kenyans, although there are some who claim that it is a Kenyan language. English is however the official language of Kenya and, in terms of policy, the medium of instruction from Grade 4 onwards. Kiswahili, an indigenous language, is the national language in Kenya which is taught and examined as a compulsory subject from Grade 1 up to Grade 12. Kiswahili is also a subject at Kenyan universities. The other indigenous languages are only taught up to Grade 3 and only in rural schools. While the situation described above is the language policy in schools, the practice differs from the policy. Based on a comprehensive study conducted in 2006, this paper shows how English and the indigenous languages complement each other to facilitate teaching and learning in primary schools. It is shown that Mathematics and Science lessons in Grade 4 (when English becomes the medium of instruction) are conducted in bilingual English-Kiswahili code switching and in trilingual English-Kiswahili-native language code switching in urban schools and peri-urban and rural schools, respectively.

Highlights

It is clear that Kenya needs to be pragmatic about the medium of instruction and the role that foreign and indigenous languages play in the country's primary schools
It was found that by introducing education through code switching, the learners had a smooth transition into the English only medium of instruction later. For this informal education centre, code switching was the practical "medium of instruction" in the early stages of children's educational careers. Might this "medium of instruction" be the practical one for formal primary school? If so, how can it be first taught as a language and later used as a medium of instruction? That is, given that language teaching at elementary levels is prescriptive, is it possible to teach the grammar of code switching – or should schools opt for an African language only?
Based on the discussion above of three typical schools – one urban, one peri-urban and one rural – it has emerged that the official medium of instruction (English only) for Kenyan Grade 4s is problematic: Learners are not ready to use English at the beginning of Grade 4. (It could be that they are ready to do so later in the year, but this seems unlikely.) It appears that learners in the urban primary schools are ahead of their peri-urban and rural school peers in the mastery of English

Summary

Introduction

It is clear that Kenya needs to be pragmatic about the medium of instruction and the role that foreign and indigenous languages play in the country's primary schools. In Grade 4, Kiswahili continues as a subject whereas English becomes the medium of instruction as well as the language in which national examinations are written except (obviously) for examinations on Kiswahili. What this means is that the process of preparing the learners to sit for a uniform national examination As the newsletters of the Kenya National Examinations Council, especially the 2003 letter, show that learners fare better in the Kiswahili examination (both composition and objective) than in the English one, should Kiswahili not be used as the medium of instruction in primary schools? I argue that these strategies point to a practical solution for the problem of the medium of instruction in Kenyan primary schools.

Views from the literature on languages used as media of instruction

Conceptual framework

Methodology

Data analysis

Findings

Discussion and conclusion