Language of Instruction in Tanzania and South Africa (LOITASA)


Book Description

This book covers research findings on the language and education situations in Tanzania and South Africa. It outlines the policies governing language of instruction for education in the two countries, and assesses the extent to which existing policies are being implemented. It presents the history of the development of language policies in the two countries and considers how they are actually working in practice at classroom level. The contributors further consider the economic viabilities of language policies, and the necessity to rationalise languages and dialects for education purposes.




Language of Instruction in Tanzania and South Africa - Highlights from a Project


Book Description

This book is based on chapters in a series of four books from the first five years (2002-2006) of the Language of Instruction in Tanzania and South Africa (LOITASA) project. LOITASA is a NUFU-funded (Norwegian University Fund) project which began in January 2002 and will continue through to the end of 2011. The chapters reflect the state of the research at the end of the first five years of LOITASA in 2006 and were selected by reviewers independent of the project.




LOITASA


Book Description

The start and progress of a language of instruction research project in Africa : the spirit of Bagamoyo /Harold D. Herman --A review of the literature on the language of instruction research in Tanzania /Martha Qorro --Language in education policies and practices among two isiXhosa speaking schools in the Western Cape, South Africa /Zubeida Desai and Birgit Brock-Utne --IsiXhosa as a medium of instruction in science teaching in primary education in South Africa : challenges and prospects /Vuyokazi Nomlomo --Revisiting the language policy in Tanzania : a comparative study of geography classes taught in Kiswahili and English /Mwajuma Vuzo --Overcoming the language barrier : an in-depth study of the strategies used by Tanzania secondary science teachers and students in coping with the English-Kiswahili dilemma /Halima Mwinsheikhe --Going through the motions of learning : classroom interaction in Tanzania /Casmir M. Rubagumya --Why has the language of instruction policy in Tanzania been so ambivalent over the last forty years? /Moshi Mussa Kimizi --"English is not our mother land" : anecdotal discussions and views on the language question in Tanzania /F.E.M.K. Senkoro --Tanzanian cartoonists "among most free in Africa" : Monday, Jan. 1, 2001 /Henry Lyimo --Developing digital literacy in higher education in Tanzania -- in whose language? /Torill Aagot Halvorsen --Language implications of implementing information and communication technology in classrooms in the Western Cape, South Africa /Greta Bjork Gudmundsdottir --Translating mathematical text for mother tongue teaching and learning of mathematics /Monde Mbekwa.




Focus on Fresh Data on the Language of Instruction Debate in Tanzania and South Africa


Book Description

This is a series of books from the LOITASA (Language of Instruction in Tanzania and South Africa) project. LOITASA is a NUFU-funded (Norwegian University Fund) project which began in January 2002 and continued till the end of 2006. It is, what in donor circles is known as a 'South-South-North' cooperation project which, in this case, involves research cooperation between South Africa, Tanzania and Norway. The first book, entitled Language of instruction in Tanzania and South Africa (LOITASA), focused on the current language in education situation in the two countries by providing a description and analysis of existing language policies and practices.







International Handbook on Globalisation, Education and Policy Research


Book Description

The aim of this Handbook is to present a global overview of developments in education and policy change during the last decade. It has the objective of providing both a strategic education policy statement on recent shifts in education and policy research globally and offers new approaches to further exploration, development and improvement of education and policy making. The Handbook attempts to address some of the above issues and problems confronting educators and policy makers globally. Different articles seek to conceptualize the on-going problems of education policy formulation and implementation, and provide a useful synthesis of the education policy research conducted in different countries, and practical implications. The Handbook, by focusing on such issues as - the OECD (2001) model of the knowledge society, and associated strategic challenge and 'deliverable goals' (OECD 2001:139) - UNESCO-driven lifelong learning paradigm, and its relevance to education policy makers, globally - different models of policy planning, and equity questions that are raised by centralization/decentralization, diversity/uniformity and curriculum standardization issues - the 'crises' of educational quality, the debate of standards and excellence, and good and effective teaching. - will contribute to a better and more holistic understanding of the education policy and research nexus; offering possible strategies for the effective and pragmatic policy planning and implementation at the local, regional and national levels.




Languages and Education in Africa


Book Description

The theme of this book cuts across disciplines. Contributors to this volume are specialized in education and especially classroom research as well as in linguistics, most being transdisciplinary themselves. Around 65 sub-Saharan languages figure in this volume as research objects: as means of instruction, in connection with teacher training, language policy, lexical development, harmonization efforts, information technology, oral literature and deaf communities. The co-existence of these African languages with English, French and Arabic is examined as well. This wide range of languages and subjects builds on recent field work, giving new empirical evidence from 17 countries: Botswana, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe, as well as to transnational matters like the harmonization of African transborder languages. As the Editors – a Norwegian social scientist and a Norwegian linguist, both working in Africa – have wanted to give room for African voices, the majority of contributions to this volume come from Africa.




Whose Education For All?


Book Description

Since 1990, when the phrase "education for all" was first coined at the World Bank conference in Jomtien, Thailand, a battle has raged over its meaning and its impact on education in Africa. In this thought-provoking new volume, Dr. Brock-Utne argues that "education for all" really means "Western primary schooling for some, and none for others." Her incisive analysis demonstrates how this construct robs Africans of their indigenous knowledge and language, starves higher education in Africa, and thereby perpetuates Western dominion. In Dr. Brock-Utne's words, "A quadrangle building has been erected in a village of round huts."




English as a Language of Teaching and Learning for Community Secondary Schools in Tanzania


Book Description

This book examines the challenges posed by English, a foreign language, as a language of teaching and learning for community secondary schools in Tanzania in terms of academic performance. The book probes the necessity for having two languages of instruction in the Tanzanian educational system. While Kiswahili, the native language, is predominantly understood by the majority of people, the discussion in this book indicates that most students in community secondary schools in Tanzania are incompetent in understanding, writing, listening, reading, and speaking English, a language they use in learning and doing their examinations, especially in the early stages of their secondary studies. The incompetence in the above-mentioned skills is mostly caused by their inability to cope with the abrupt transition in the languages of instruction from their pre-primary and primary school study [Kiswahili] to secondary school study [English]. Moreover, most teachers are unable to use the English language as a means to impart knowledge or facilitate learning to their students, leading them to code-switching and code-mixing. This book poses a challenge to countries whose students pass through a transition from one language of instruction to another in their educational systems, helping them to make appropriate decisions in regard to the appropriate language of teaching and learning.




English as a Medium of Instruction in Postcolonial Contexts


Book Description

Almost all low- and middle-income postcolonial countries now use English or another dominant language as the medium of instruction for some, if not all, of the basic education cycle. Much of the literature about language-in-education in such countries has focused on the instrumentalist value of English, on one side, and the rights of learners to high quality mother tongue-based education, on the other. The polarised nature of the debate has tended to leave issues related to the processes of learning in English as a Medium Instruction (EMI) classrooms under-researched. This book aims to provide a greater understanding of the existing challenges for learners and educators and potential strategies that can support more effective teaching and learning in EMI classrooms. Contributions illustrate the impact that learning in English has on learners in a range of regional, national and local contexts and put forward theoretical and empirical analyses to support more relevant and inclusive educational policies. This volume was originally published as a special issue of Comparative Education.