Exploring Possibilities of Using Indigenous African Languages As Languages of Instruction in Education – the Zimbabwean Experience
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PLANNING FOR THE FUTURE: EXPLORING POSSIBILITIES OF USING INDIGENOUS AFRICAN LANGUAGES AS LANGUAGES OF INSTRUCTION IN EDUCATION – THE ZIMBABWEAN EXPERIENCE By WISEMAN MAGWA UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH AFRICA DECEMBER 2008 PLANNING FOR THE FUTURE: EXPLORING POSSIBILITIES OF USING INDIGENOUS AFRICAN LANGUAGES AS LANGUAGES OF INSTRUCTION IN EDUCATION – THE ZIMBABWEAN EXPERIENCE By WISEMAN MAGWA Thesis submitted in accordance with the requirements for the Degree of DOCTOR OF LITERATURE AND PHILOSOPHY In the Department of African Languages At the UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH AFRICA Promoter: Professor D. E. Mutasa Joint-Promoter: Professor P. A. Mulaudzi December 2008 DECLARATION Student Number: 3590 680-4 I declare that Planning for the Future: Exploring Possibilities of Using Indigenous African Languages as Official Languages of Instruction in Education - The Zimbabwean Experience is my own work, that has not been submitted for any degree or examination in any other university and that all the sources I have used or quoted have been indicated and acknowledged by complete references. Signature …………………………………………………. Date: 27 December 2008 i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The writing of this thesis was a demanding task, which could not have been a success without the assistance of others. In this regard I wish to acknowledge the assistance I received from the following people who made it possible for me to put this document together. I would like to express my special gratitude to my two promoters; Professor D. E. Mutasa and Professor P. A. Mulaudzi for their patience and the scholarly advice/guidance they gave me during the research period. Without their professional advice and encouragement this work would not have been successful. Let me also thank the two Ministries of Education officials; the Permanent Secretaries, the Provincial Education Directors, Education Officers, Lecturers, and Heads of Schools without whose permission this study would not have seen the light of day. I wish to express my deepest appreciation to the Vice Chancellor of the Midlands State University, Professor N. M. Bhebe and the Director of the Centre for Advanced Studies of African Society, Professor K. K. Prah for affording me the needed financial and material resources to carry out fieldwork in all the country’s ten provinces. I also want to thank school children, college students, teachers and parents who participated as respondents. Special thanks go to Ms S. G. Napaai for UNISA library assistance, Mrs. M. Munondo for typing all the chapters, Mrs. Mavesera for giving constructive comments and Miss H. T. Ngoshi for proof reading the whole document. My sincere and profound gratitude goes to Mrs. S. Magwa and the children for their unwavering support, understanding and patience during the difficult times and long hours I spent on this study. Last but not least, I wish to thank all my friends for their unconditional support and encouragement from the beginning to the end. ii SUMMARY The study sought to explore possibilities of using indigenous African languages of Zimbabwe as official media of instruction in the education system. The aim was to find out the extent to which indigenous African languages could be used as languages of instruction in primary, secondary and tertiary levels of the education system. The other objective of the study was to examine the attitudes of Zimbabweans towards the use of the mother tongue as medium of instruction in schools. A total of 1000 participants took part in this study, which included 200 teachers, 300 parents/guardians and 500 learners. Questionnaires and interviews were the main techniques used to collect data and the processing of the collected data was both qualitative and quantitative. Information collected from the questionnaires was mainly presented in tables and information from interviews was presented qualitatively in words. The study revealed that Zimbabwe inherited from colonial Rhodesia a language policy that marginalizes the use of indigenous African languages in the education system. English continues to be the prestige-laden language enjoying high status while indigenous languages enjoy relatively low status. Study findings clearly show that the majority of the participants prefer English to be the medium of instruction in both secondary and tertiary education because it is a language that gives power and prestige. The study concludes that Zimbabwe can never regain its dignity and cultural identity unless the education system is African oriented. The continued use of English as medium of instruction means that no scientific ideas can be formulated using African languages in the present schooling system leading to perpetual scientific bankruptcy. The study finally recommends the need for a linguistic revolution and calls for a change in the country’s language policy so as to avoid the exclusion of the majority from public and national developmental discourse. iii Key terms Language Culture Language and development Indigenous language Mother tongue Language policy Official language National language Medium of instruction Language planning iv LIST OF TABLES Table 1.1: Distribution of informants by sex .......................................................... 22 Table 1.2: Level of education: learners ................................................................. 22 Table 1.3: Level of education: teachers/lecturers .................................................. 22 Table 1.4: Level of education: parents .................................................................. 23 Table 3.1: A percentage summary of language policies in Africa .......................... 76 Table 3.2: Informants’ home language .................................................................. 78 Table 3.3: Census information on indigenous language groups ........................... 79 Table 3.4: Languages spoken in Zimbabwe .......................................................... 80 Table 3.5: Zonal distribution of the Shona dialects ................................................ 89 Table 3.6: Tonga districts and traditional rulers in Zimbabwe ............................... 93 Table 3.7: Composition of the present ChiKunda language .................................. 94 Table 3.8: Location of mines with Chewa speakers according to towns ............... 96 Table 4.1: Learners’ preference for language of instruction ................................ 128 Table 4.2: Teachers and lecturers’ preference for language of instruction .......... 128 Table 4.3: Parents’ preference for language of instruction .................................. 129 Table 4.4: Language that gives power and prestige in Zimbabwe ...................... 130 Table 4.5: African languages can express educational and scientific concepts ............................................................................................. 132 Table 4.6: Attitudes towards the use of African languages in all levels of the education system ............................................................................... 132 Table 4.7: Learners encounter problems when studying in English .................... 134 Table 4.8: Level at which indigenous languages should be used as media of instruction ........................................................................................... 135 Table 4.9: There is willingness on the part of government to use indigenous languages as languages of instruction in education ........................... 138 Table 4.10: Language associations contribute positively towards the growth and use of indigenous African languages as media of instruction in Zimbabwe ....................................................................................... 138 v TABLE OF CONTENTS Contents Page Declaration ................................................................................................................... i Acknowledgements ..................................................................................................... ii Summary .................................................................................................................... iii Key terms ................................................................................................................... iv List of Tables ............................................................................................................... v CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................... 1 1.1 The Problem .................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Background ..................................................................................................... 5 1.3 Rationale ................................................................................................... 13 1.4 Study Objectives ............................................................................................. 18 1.5 Scope of the Study ......................................................................................... 18 1.6 Research Questions ....................................................................................... 18 1.6.1 Main Research Question .................................................................. 18 1.6.2 Sub-Research Questions ................................................................. 18 1.7 Research Design and Methodology ................................................................ 19 1.7.1 The Design ......................................................................................