What Does It Mean to Learn Oral and Written English Language: a Case Study of a Rural Kenyan Classroom by Esther Mukewa Lisanza
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WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO LEARN ORAL AND WRITTEN ENGLISH LANGUAGE: A CASE STUDY OF A RURAL KENYAN CLASSROOM BY ESTHER MUKEWA LISANZA DISSERTATION Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Elementary Education in the Graduate College of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2011 Urbana, Illinois Doctoral Committee: Professor Anne Haas Dyson, Chair Professor Violet Harris Assistant Professor Christina DeNicolo Assistant Professor Adrienne Lo Abstract This study was an ethnographic case study that investigated oral and written language learning in a first grade classroom in Kenya. The languages used in this classroom were Swahili and English only. Kamba the mother tongue of the majority of the children, was banned in the entire school. In this classroom there were 89 children with two teachers, one a teacher of English, the other a teacher of Swahili. The children’s ages ranged from five to eight years. The main participants were six focal children with their parents, the two teachers, and the school administrator. Data collection took place over a two and half month period and employed classroom participant observations, audio recording, interviewing, and collection of official documents and children’s writings. The study was guided by a sociocultural and dialogic framework which maintains that social interactions and cultural institutions (e.g. societies, schools, and classrooms) have important roles to play in a child’s literacy and language development. Thus, the social life of this classroom was central to the children’s literacy and language learning. The physical, institutional, and policy contexts of this school influenced the nature of social interaction and, thereby, of the language teaching and learning that occurred. To begin, in this classroom, there was a great shortage of literacy and educational materials and space. Moreover, the school’s language policy—that is, English as the language of instruction, Swahili as language of communication, and the banning of Kamba-combined with the physical context shaped the classroom’s practices to a great extent. As the teacher and the students or students interacted with each other in the classroom, they were involved in different practices or genres and this is what marked the culture of this ii classroom. There were both official (i.e. teacher controlled) and unofficial practices (i.e. children controlled). On one hand, during the daily English official writing, the teacher followed the mandated curriculum, making adjustments for the lack of the textbooks (i.e., having children copy excerpts on the board). The interaction structure was traditional recitation involving much repetition of the teacher’s words. On the other hand, during the Swahili official writing, reading, and speaking practices, the teacher taught with the same space and text limitations but involved the children in dialogues with her and other students through storytelling, peer guided reading, classroom talk, and drawing. In the Swahili classroom through the teacher’s dialogic instruction and mediation, the children’s voices were recognized and acknowledged. During writing practices the children went beyond copying off the board and drew and colored. Moreover, during unofficial curriculum, the children drew and played together. They drew, wrote, played, or sang songs which focused on their community practices or experiences, identities, and imaginations. Thus, the English conventional practices did not provide insights into the children’s experiences and imaginations as the drawing, storytelling, singing, recitation of poems, and play did during Swahili lessons and during unofficial times. Therefore, drawing, storytelling, singing, recitation of poems, and play should be included in the official English curriculum. In conclusion, this study manifested that language learning cannot be separated from its ideological, social, and physical contexts. These contexts shape language learning. Also, meaningful dialogues are important for meaningful language learning to occur. And, oral and written language develops simultaneously in a classroom setting. Lastly, written language development is supported by other media such as drawing, play, singing, etc. iii In memory of Tata (my father), John Mukewa Masaku who went to be with the Lord just a few days before this work came to a conclusion. Also, in memory of Mama (my mother), Leah Muthoni Mukewa who went a little earlier. I miss you -Tata and Mama; you will forever be in my heart. I cherish the moments we shared iv Acknowledgement This work would not have been completed without the support of many people. Many thanks to my advisor, Anne Haas Dyson who read many revisions and brought out the best in my work. Also, thanks to members of my committee, Violet Harris, Christina DeNicolo, and Adrienne Lo, who offered guidance and support. Special thanks to my dear husband, Leonard Muaka for his love and support in my academics, my children Sidney, Vivian, and Lilly for their love and patience in my books’ adventure, my siblings Teresia, Wilson, and Beth, their spouses, and children who never give up on me no matter what. Many thanks to my sister Teresa, her husband, Joseph, and children for their kindness as I lived in their house when I was doing my fieldwork. Thank you very much to my late mother-in-law, Sara Vugudza Muaka who travelled many miles from Kenya to come and take care of Sidney, Vivian, and Lilly when I began my graduate studies. Also, many thanks to the participants at Kalimani Primary School community. Thank you so much for inviting me in your homes, churches, market, school, and the classrooms. Finally, thank you to my friend, Catherine Hunter for being there for me during good and bad times. Much gratitude goes to her for reading this manuscript and editing it. To God be the glory! v Table of Contents Chapter 1 Introduction…..……………………………………………………………………1 Chapter 2 Literature Review………………………………………………………………….12 Chapter 3 Methodology………………………………………………………………………..28 Chapter 4 Educational Documents in Kenya………………………………………………..47 Chapter 5 Contexts in and Surrounding Kalimani Primary School………………………...79 Chapter 6 The Official English Language Curriculum…………………………………….102 Chapter 7 The Official Swahili Literacy Practices…………………………………………165 Chapter 8 The Unofficial Literacy Practices………………………………………………..187 Chapter 9 Summary, Discussions, and Implications………………………………………..235 References…………………………………………………………………………………….243 Appendix A English Teacher’s Interview Guide…………………………………………..259 Appendix B Swahili Teacher’s Interview Guide…………………………………………..261 Appendix C Student’s Interview Guide…………………………………………………….263 Appendix D School Principal’s Interview Guide…………………………………………..264 Appendix E Parent’s Interview Guide………………………………………………………266 Appendix F Consent Letter for the School Principal……………………………………….267 vi Appendix G Consent Letter for the Parent (in Swahili)…………………………………....269 Appendix H Consent Letter for the Classroom Teacher…………………………………...271 Appendix I Consent Letter for the Pupil……………………………………………………273 Appendix J Exam Sample_2007…………………………………………………………….274 Appendix K Exam Sample_2008 Page 1…………………………………………………….275 Appendix L Exam Sample_2008 Page 2…………………………………………………….276 Appendix M Classroom Arrangement………………………………………………………277 vii Chapter 1 Introduction The language of our evening teach-ins, and the language of our immediate and wider community, and the language of our work in the fields were one. And then I went to school, a colonial school, and this harmony was broken. The language of my education was no longer the language of my culture. English became the language of my formal education. In Kenya, English became more than a language: it was the language, and all the others had to bow before it in deference. Thus one of the most humiliating experiences was to be caught speaking Gikuyu in the vicinity of the school. The culprit was given corporal punishment or was made to carry a metal plate around the neck with inscriptions such as I AM STUPID or I AM A DONKEY (Thiong’o, 1986, p. 11). In the above excerpt, Thiong’o has given a vivid picture of Kenyan society during the 1940s when he was growing up. Before joining formal school, his home, immediate community, and work place’s language was one-Gikuyu (an indigenous language); but after joining formal school this changed abruptly. The school did not use his home language anymore; it used English only. If one spoke in the home language, he or she was severely punished. Kenya gained its political independence in 1963, but the picture which Thiong’o has painted in the 40s was the same picture I saw at Kalimani (pseudonym) Primary School (i.e. the site of the current study) after 47 years of independence. Schoolchildren in this rural primary school (grades 1-8) were punished for using their home language at school. It was an offence to speak Kamba, their indigenous language, in the school compound. However, the situation at Kalimani Primary School is one case of a phenomenon that is going on in many postcolonial countries globally (Kachru, 1986; Lin, 2001; Ndayipfukamiye, 2001; Pennycook, 1994, 1998; Rubdy, 2008; Sandel, 2000; Schneider, 2007; Vaish, 2008). In many of these postcolonial settings, a colonial language (e.g. English in Kenya) is used as the language of communication and instruction in the education system. 1 Indigenous languages, Swahili, and English in Kenyan Schools Kenya has over 40 indigenous languages (Abdulaziz, 1982). These