[lg policy] Tanzania Drops English for Kiswahili

[Joyce Milambiling]

Pierre-Damien,

One of your guests that I met when I was at your house was from Tanzania, I
believe. I thought this might be interesting to him--he probably knows that
the policy changed, but it might be fun for him to read what Language
Magazine has to say about it.

Joyce

On Fri, Mar 6, 2015 at 10:52 AM, Harold Schiffman <hfsclpp at gmail.com> wrote:

> Tanzania Drops English for Kiswahili
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> [image: 497614547]
> <http://languagemagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/497614547.jpg>Since
> Tanzania’s independence from Britain in 1961, public education has been
> bilingual, beginning with Kiswahili – known as Swahili in the West – in
> elementary school, and switching to English from high school to university.
> President Jakaya Kikwete and his administration have launched new education
> guidelines that will make only Kiswahili the language of instruction from
> primary school to university level.
>
> English classes will still be available as foreign language credit, but
> the main language of instruction will be Kiswahili, making Tanzania the
> first sub-Saharan African country to conduct education on a national scale
> in an African language. Atetaulwa Ngatara, the assistant director for
> policy at the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training, commented, “To
> think that learning in English will lead to students communicating in
> English is wrong. Communicating in English is something else, which has to
> do with language studies.”
>
> Some regard this as a bold assertion of cultural self-affirmation.
> Although Tanzania is home to over 130 languages and cultures, Kiswahili
> emerged from various ethnic conflicts as a uniting force and a means by
> which the country has created a collective identity. However, in addition
> to cultural identity, the new guidelines hold practical implications for
> education reform. Kikwete hopes to bring some clarity to a bilingual system
> that has left students confused and not necessarily proficient in either
> language. The policy aims to provide consistency in text and reference
> books throughout both public and private schools. “It’s impossible that
> every school uses its own reference book when the final examinations are
> the same,” said President Kikwete, “How do we expect students to pass in
> these conditions?”
>
> http://languagemagazine.com/?page_id=123193
>
>
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