Perceptions and Perspectives of Stakeholders on Mother Tongue Education in Tanzania

Ritha Raphael; Eustard Rutalemwa Tibategeza

doi:doi:10.11648/j.ijll.20221004.11

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Perceptions and Perspectives of Stakeholders on Mother Tongue Education in Tanzania

Ritha Raphael, Eustard Rutalemwa Tibategeza

Published in International Journal of Language and Linguistics (Volume 10, Issue 4)

Received: 19 June 2022 Accepted: 20 July 2022 Published: 4 August 2022

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Abstract

This article focuses on the perceptions and perspectives of stakeholders on the challenges facing pupils especially in rural areas in learning a second language in pre-primary and primary schools and the challenges that might hinder implementation of mother tongue education at lower levels in education. Views and ideas contribute much to the changes in issues that concern development, like the use of the language that the pupils are familiar with as the medium of instruction at early stages of learning since it is the most viable in the acquisition of basic concepts at that stage. The pupils will maintain their first language when they begin schooling because it leads to improved comprehension of the curriculum as well as creating positive attitude towards schooling. The skills which pupils get from the mother tongue at home are transferred to the formal education at school and are re-taught when they are translated into a second language. Pupils with a strong mother tongue background find it easy to pick up a second language and develop their literacy skills. It has been found that a strong mother language foundation arms pupils with the skills they require to learn other languages and allows them to transmit their knowledge of the structure of language to numerous new languages. Data were collected from Magu district in Mwanza region, Tanzania by involving two wards, namely Nkungulu and Sukuma through interviews and focus group discussions. The findings reveal that mother tongue education at lower levels of education has been neglected since home languages do not have official status in Tanzania. The study indicates that pupils face challenges in the learning process because the language used in school is not the same as that used at home. This leads to lack of participation among parents in assisting their children when doing their academic assignments at home. The paper recommends that serious measures need to be taken by language planners and policy makers to include home languages at lower levels of education in the learning process especially in typical rural areas where pupils are competent in their mother tongues.

Published in	International Journal of Language and Linguistics (Volume 10, Issue 4)
DOI	10.11648/j.ijll.20221004.11
Page(s)	220-227
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Mother Tongue Education, Stakeholders’ Perceptions and Perspectives, Language Planning, Second Language

References

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APA Style

Ritha Raphael, Eustard Rutalemwa Tibategeza. (2022). Perceptions and Perspectives of Stakeholders on Mother Tongue Education in Tanzania. International Journal of Language and Linguistics, 10(4), 220-227. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20221004.11

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ACS Style

Ritha Raphael; Eustard Rutalemwa Tibategeza. Perceptions and Perspectives of Stakeholders on Mother Tongue Education in Tanzania. Int. J. Lang. Linguist. 2022, 10(4), 220-227. doi: 10.11648/j.ijll.20221004.11

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AMA Style

Ritha Raphael, Eustard Rutalemwa Tibategeza. Perceptions and Perspectives of Stakeholders on Mother Tongue Education in Tanzania. Int J Lang Linguist. 2022;10(4):220-227. doi: 10.11648/j.ijll.20221004.11

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@article{10.11648/j.ijll.20221004.11,
  author = {Ritha Raphael and Eustard Rutalemwa Tibategeza},
  title = {Perceptions and Perspectives of Stakeholders on Mother Tongue Education in Tanzania},
  journal = {International Journal of Language and Linguistics},
  volume = {10},
  number = {4},
  pages = {220-227},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijll.20221004.11},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20221004.11},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijll.20221004.11},
  abstract = {This article focuses on the perceptions and perspectives of stakeholders on the challenges facing pupils especially in rural areas in learning a second language in pre-primary and primary schools and the challenges that might hinder implementation of mother tongue education at lower levels in education. Views and ideas contribute much to the changes in issues that concern development, like the use of the language that the pupils are familiar with as the medium of instruction at early stages of learning since it is the most viable in the acquisition of basic concepts at that stage. The pupils will maintain their first language when they begin schooling because it leads to improved comprehension of the curriculum as well as creating positive attitude towards schooling. The skills which pupils get from the mother tongue at home are transferred to the formal education at school and are re-taught when they are translated into a second language. Pupils with a strong mother tongue background find it easy to pick up a second language and develop their literacy skills. It has been found that a strong mother language foundation arms pupils with the skills they require to learn other languages and allows them to transmit their knowledge of the structure of language to numerous new languages. Data were collected from Magu district in Mwanza region, Tanzania by involving two wards, namely Nkungulu and Sukuma through interviews and focus group discussions. The findings reveal that mother tongue education at lower levels of education has been neglected since home languages do not have official status in Tanzania. The study indicates that pupils face challenges in the learning process because the language used in school is not the same as that used at home. This leads to lack of participation among parents in assisting their children when doing their academic assignments at home. The paper recommends that serious measures need to be taken by language planners and policy makers to include home languages at lower levels of education in the learning process especially in typical rural areas where pupils are competent in their mother tongues.},
 year = {2022}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - Perceptions and Perspectives of Stakeholders on Mother Tongue Education in Tanzania
AU  - Ritha Raphael
AU  - Eustard Rutalemwa Tibategeza
Y1  - 2022/08/04
PY  - 2022
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20221004.11
DO  - 10.11648/j.ijll.20221004.11
T2  - International Journal of Language and Linguistics
JF  - International Journal of Language and Linguistics
JO  - International Journal of Language and Linguistics
SP  - 220
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PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2330-0221
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20221004.11
AB  - This article focuses on the perceptions and perspectives of stakeholders on the challenges facing pupils especially in rural areas in learning a second language in pre-primary and primary schools and the challenges that might hinder implementation of mother tongue education at lower levels in education. Views and ideas contribute much to the changes in issues that concern development, like the use of the language that the pupils are familiar with as the medium of instruction at early stages of learning since it is the most viable in the acquisition of basic concepts at that stage. The pupils will maintain their first language when they begin schooling because it leads to improved comprehension of the curriculum as well as creating positive attitude towards schooling. The skills which pupils get from the mother tongue at home are transferred to the formal education at school and are re-taught when they are translated into a second language. Pupils with a strong mother tongue background find it easy to pick up a second language and develop their literacy skills. It has been found that a strong mother language foundation arms pupils with the skills they require to learn other languages and allows them to transmit their knowledge of the structure of language to numerous new languages. Data were collected from Magu district in Mwanza region, Tanzania by involving two wards, namely Nkungulu and Sukuma through interviews and focus group discussions. The findings reveal that mother tongue education at lower levels of education has been neglected since home languages do not have official status in Tanzania. The study indicates that pupils face challenges in the learning process because the language used in school is not the same as that used at home. This leads to lack of participation among parents in assisting their children when doing their academic assignments at home. The paper recommends that serious measures need to be taken by language planners and policy makers to include home languages at lower levels of education in the learning process especially in typical rural areas where pupils are competent in their mother tongues.
VL  - 10
IS  - 4
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Author Information

Ritha Raphael

Department of Mass Education and Open Schooling, Institute of Adult Education, Mwanza, Tanzania
Eustard Rutalemwa Tibategeza

Department of Languages and Linguistics, St Augustine University of Tanzania, Mwanza, Tanzania

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Ritha Raphael, Eustard Rutalemwa Tibategeza. (2022). Perceptions and Perspectives of Stakeholders on Mother Tongue Education in Tanzania. International Journal of Language and Linguistics, 10(4), 220-227. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20221004.11

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ACS Style

Ritha Raphael; Eustard Rutalemwa Tibategeza. Perceptions and Perspectives of Stakeholders on Mother Tongue Education in Tanzania. Int. J. Lang. Linguist. 2022, 10(4), 220-227. doi: 10.11648/j.ijll.20221004.11

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AMA Style

Ritha Raphael, Eustard Rutalemwa Tibategeza. Perceptions and Perspectives of Stakeholders on Mother Tongue Education in Tanzania. Int J Lang Linguist. 2022;10(4):220-227. doi: 10.11648/j.ijll.20221004.11

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@article{10.11648/j.ijll.20221004.11,
  author = {Ritha Raphael and Eustard Rutalemwa Tibategeza},
  title = {Perceptions and Perspectives of Stakeholders on Mother Tongue Education in Tanzania},
  journal = {International Journal of Language and Linguistics},
  volume = {10},
  number = {4},
  pages = {220-227},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijll.20221004.11},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20221004.11},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijll.20221004.11},
  abstract = {This article focuses on the perceptions and perspectives of stakeholders on the challenges facing pupils especially in rural areas in learning a second language in pre-primary and primary schools and the challenges that might hinder implementation of mother tongue education at lower levels in education. Views and ideas contribute much to the changes in issues that concern development, like the use of the language that the pupils are familiar with as the medium of instruction at early stages of learning since it is the most viable in the acquisition of basic concepts at that stage. The pupils will maintain their first language when they begin schooling because it leads to improved comprehension of the curriculum as well as creating positive attitude towards schooling. The skills which pupils get from the mother tongue at home are transferred to the formal education at school and are re-taught when they are translated into a second language. Pupils with a strong mother tongue background find it easy to pick up a second language and develop their literacy skills. It has been found that a strong mother language foundation arms pupils with the skills they require to learn other languages and allows them to transmit their knowledge of the structure of language to numerous new languages. Data were collected from Magu district in Mwanza region, Tanzania by involving two wards, namely Nkungulu and Sukuma through interviews and focus group discussions. The findings reveal that mother tongue education at lower levels of education has been neglected since home languages do not have official status in Tanzania. The study indicates that pupils face challenges in the learning process because the language used in school is not the same as that used at home. This leads to lack of participation among parents in assisting their children when doing their academic assignments at home. The paper recommends that serious measures need to be taken by language planners and policy makers to include home languages at lower levels of education in the learning process especially in typical rural areas where pupils are competent in their mother tongues.},
 year = {2022}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - Perceptions and Perspectives of Stakeholders on Mother Tongue Education in Tanzania
AU  - Ritha Raphael
AU  - Eustard Rutalemwa Tibategeza
Y1  - 2022/08/04
PY  - 2022
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20221004.11
DO  - 10.11648/j.ijll.20221004.11
T2  - International Journal of Language and Linguistics
JF  - International Journal of Language and Linguistics
JO  - International Journal of Language and Linguistics
SP  - 220
EP  - 227
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2330-0221
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijll.20221004.11
AB  - This article focuses on the perceptions and perspectives of stakeholders on the challenges facing pupils especially in rural areas in learning a second language in pre-primary and primary schools and the challenges that might hinder implementation of mother tongue education at lower levels in education. Views and ideas contribute much to the changes in issues that concern development, like the use of the language that the pupils are familiar with as the medium of instruction at early stages of learning since it is the most viable in the acquisition of basic concepts at that stage. The pupils will maintain their first language when they begin schooling because it leads to improved comprehension of the curriculum as well as creating positive attitude towards schooling. The skills which pupils get from the mother tongue at home are transferred to the formal education at school and are re-taught when they are translated into a second language. Pupils with a strong mother tongue background find it easy to pick up a second language and develop their literacy skills. It has been found that a strong mother language foundation arms pupils with the skills they require to learn other languages and allows them to transmit their knowledge of the structure of language to numerous new languages. Data were collected from Magu district in Mwanza region, Tanzania by involving two wards, namely Nkungulu and Sukuma through interviews and focus group discussions. The findings reveal that mother tongue education at lower levels of education has been neglected since home languages do not have official status in Tanzania. The study indicates that pupils face challenges in the learning process because the language used in school is not the same as that used at home. This leads to lack of participation among parents in assisting their children when doing their academic assignments at home. The paper recommends that serious measures need to be taken by language planners and policy makers to include home languages at lower levels of education in the learning process especially in typical rural areas where pupils are competent in their mother tongues.
VL  - 10
IS  - 4
ER  -

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