Effects of the language of instruction on Learning in Secondary Education and Its Implications in Workforce Preparation: A Case of Dodoma, Tanzania

Abstract

This paper intended to examine the effects of the language of instruction on Learning in secondary education in Dodoma region, and its implications in the preparation of the country's workforce. A total of 288 form one students at Ipala and Hombolo secondary schools were purposely and conveniently selected into the study. Standard seven past papers including geography, history, and civics were used as model papers to test the effects of the Language of instruction in students' learning. The same examination was conducted to the same group in each school administered in English and later in the Kiswahili language. A Paired sample t-test (dependent t-test) for paired samples was used to compare means of correlated samples and to test the null hypothesis that "there is no significant difference between the sample means". Each sample from the population was measured twice. It was revealed that the students' scores in the examination differed due to the difference in the language of instructions. The scores in grade-wise revealed the poor performance of the examination in English when compared with the same examination in the Kiswahili language. We found that the use of the English language inhibits the understanding of the subject and limits the rooms for active involvement in training and learning, which is a prerequisite for understanding. Thus, it affects the efforts to prepare the future workforce to propel the realization of education policy and its contribution to the Tanzania National Development Vision 2025. We recommend designing operational strategies for implementation of the National Education and Training Policy, 2014 that directs the use of Kiswahili as the instructional language in all levels of education in the country.