Language policy in tanzania volume 39 issue 3 lyndon harries. Data collected in zanzibar through a questionnaire survey shows that both the ministry of education and the majority of the people support english to be used as. Curriculum is standardized by level, and it is the basis for the. Perhaps because the concept of a national language has never been clearly defined within the tanzanian context, there is some misunderstanding in the minds of many tanzanian citizens as to the factual linguistic situation in their country. Language policy in most cases is guided by political expediency rather than the interest of the learners. In this project the language policies of tanzania and south africa, as well as the. There are many players, or stakeholders, in this game who have a strong or weak desire for a certain outcome. Pdf language policies and practices in tanzania and south. The implementation plan outlines the strategies that will be used in implementing the language policy, proposing structures that will be key to.
In this project the language policies of tanzania and south africa, as well as the practices of these policies in the classroom are analyzed. Promoting dialogue, debate and change policy briefing realising the potential of icts in. Education in tanzaniais provided by both the public and private sectors, starting with preprimary education, followed by primary, secondary ordinary, secondary advanced, and ideally, university level education. How is the quality of the education offered at the university in tanzania affected by the english language of instruction. Typically, language policy involves decisions about language use in social contexts, usually concerned with. He is currently a final year doctorate student in the institute of linguistics, university of vienna. Aug 16, 2017 tanzania is an ethnically diverse region with more than 100 ethnic communities.
The similarities with other african countries in this struggle are. Tanzania has the largest population in east africa and the lowest population density. Languageineducation policy development in tanzania. The legal basis of the national land use framework plan is the national land policy 1995, national human settlement policy 2000, national environmental policy 1997, national forest policy 1998, national wildlife policy 1998, national population policy 2002, national livestock policy 2006 and national land use planning act 2007.
From access to quality secondary education in tanzania. I begin with an overview of language policy from colonization to the present, mapping out the relative positions of english and swahili in education over the years. Policies in united republic of tanzania global database on. It is generally understood that swahili is the official national language of the republic of tanzania.
Jun 27, 2018 3 sep 2015 the reasons indias law commission says the death penalty should be scrapped. Mar 05, 2015 in tanzania, foreign investors have complained about the lack of capacity in the labor force, with english language skills being a major area of concern. The current sociolinguistic situation in tanzania necessitates the continued use of kiswahili as a unifying language. Language policy for education and development in tanzania pdf. Eric ej731443 language policies and practices in tanzania. Teachers and teacher support over infrastructure curiously, recent developments notwithstanding, policy attention and implementation in tanzania and many other countries continue to equate education progress with the erection of school buildings. The arguments of those who favour the use of english as the medium of instruction are analysed within the framework of the prevailing sociolinguistic environment, and counter. The study also involved document analysis of government policy documents. Pdf language policy, language choice and language use in. The failure of language policy in tanzanian schools.
The challenges of language planning and language policy in. In the united republic of tanzania, primary school is instructed in. The official language in education policy that is currently being followed in tanzania is the one laid down in the education and training policy which, inter alia, states. A case of uganda mwenda mukuthuria egerton university, kenya abstract kiswahili is an indigenous african language whose origin is the coast of kenya. Pdf the authors of the present article are engaged in a research project funded by the. Classical arabic 2 foreign african language only 3 one local language experimentation.
In the constitution of tanzania from 1962 it was said that kiswahili3 and english should be the official. This paper examines language policy in tanzanian schools and its effect on education, equality and economic development. My conclusions are based on my examination of policy decisions and implementation as reported in documents of the ruling party, the ministry of education, and. Over the last decade, there has been a change in the focus of development policy away from mere quantitative changes in the rate of output. Tanzania history, language and culture history of tanzania. Kenya, tanzania, and uganda in the context of globalization. Policy dilemma, language of education model, tanzania, globalization 1. As a result, even national policy that supports local language use as a medium of instruction. Language policy in tanzania language policy had been thoroughly justified, and no one with any intimate knowledge of the tanzanian scene will have any doubt at all about this.
A sociolinguistic analysis by eustard rutalemwa tibategeza a thesis submitted to the department of afroasiatic studies, sign language and language practice, faculty of humanities of the university of the free state in fulfilment of the requirements for the award of the degree of doctor of. The linguistic situation in tanzania is arguably claimed to comprise kiswahili as the main national language used as a lingua franca and official language across the country batibo 2000. But in spite of the obvious advantages gained, and bearing in mind that tanzania is an independent. Culture in tanzania issued another policy document also dealing with the language of instruction. These factors call for a comprehensive policy, which will not only solve the immediate problems of ngos, but assist in the promotion and development of the ngos in tanzania. The new policy has not yet been put into implementation, hence the old one still holds. View tanzanian foreign policy research papers on academia.
Tanzania foreign policy the case of economic diplomacy given the economic and sociopolitical shift that has occurred in the domestic and international scene, the united republic of tanzania adopted a foreign policy focusing on economic diplomacy to secure the core national interest as a sovereign state. The majority of urban children now actually acquire it as their first language. Policy processes in relation to language in tanzania. Let us accept for the moment a preliminary definition of lp see section 4 below for further discussion as the planning of deliberate changes in the form or use of a language or a variety, or languages or varieties. There are many languages spoken in the country, but no one language is spoken natively by a majority or a large plurality of the population. Language policy in education in kenya and tanzania, a comparative study. Tanzanias youthful population about twothirds of the population is under 25 is growing rapidly because of the high total fertility rate of 4. Kiswahili and its expanding roles of development in east african cooperation. Given this premise, this study examines language policy and the important role it plays within the classroom, as well as across the educational system. An essential guide to writing policy briefs 3 this guide is dedicated to the memory of icpas training associate and renowned liberian civil society activist, g. Promoting dialogue, debate and change policy briefing realising the potential of icts in tanzania.
The impact of language policy and practice on childrens learning. Tanzania dumps english as its official language in schools. The purpose of this research is to identify the relationship between tanzanias language policy and the effects on students in secondary school. Tanzania has developed a national disaster management policy 2004, which describes.
National language policy framework 2003 diversity and to the challenges of constitutional multilingualism, hence the introduction of this national language policy framework. Classroom practices, text books, assessments, as well as the school environment make learning english in africa an uphill task. Roycampbell 2001 argues that germans promoted kiswahili as the language of administration and education in order to maintain the established colonial power dynamics. Language policy in education in kenya and tanzania. Document resume ed 233 562 fl 0 652 title note 22p. The achievements were a result of various adjustments since the early nineties in policy, regulatory and commercial facets, both. Tanzania food, drugs and cosmetics control promotion regulations 2010, guidelines for use of nutrition and health claims cacgl 231997 2010 the tanzanian food, drugs and cosmetics iodated salt regulations, 2010. Tanzania differs from some of its neighbors in that a lingua franca, swahili, is spoken as a second language by a vast majority of the population and is a straightforward choice for a national language. Tanzania is an ethnically diverse region with more than 100 ethnic communities. Language is not any longer mentioned in the constitution of tanzania. Tanzania history, language and culture world travel guide. Introduction purpose of the guide this guide is intended to support first nations communities, governments, schools and language authorities across british columbia in the implementation of language policies and programs that lead to.
Pdf the paper examines the pros and cons of the checkered nature of language use in the tanzanian parliament. How does the current policy on language of instruction in tanzania relate to the. Problems and challenges article pdf available in international journal of educational development 241. Language policy for education and development in tanzania. There are 127 languages listed for tanzania of which two are considered extinct lewis, et al, 20. These countries have a similar history given that they are neighbors and were colonized by the same colonial powerthe british, although the germans colonized tanzania for a short time. Tanzanias language policy according to grimes, there are about 112 native languages in tanzania, and the number of speakers for each ranges from a few thousand to millions. These communities fall into two broad classifications of either bantu or nilotes. In tanzania, foreign investors have complained about the lack of capacity in the labor force, with english language skills being a major area of concern. In case of any short comings in the implementation of the policy statements, the ministry will be ready to accommodate new ideas for its rectification. Show full item record items in dataspace are protected by, with all rights. The national language policy is the result of extensive consultations that began way back in 1995, with the appointment of the language task group langtag. In africa, tanzania is the second country after mauritius to have a policy on ageing. Language planning in the tanzanian educational system.
This document was entitled sera ya utamaduni cultural policy. This policy brief summarises a report of the achievements and weaknesses of this approach in tanzania, and considers the next steps that are needed to meet the information and communication needs of the coming generation. Since 2002, tanzania has seen an ambitious set of policy reforms in primary and more recently in secondary education. It gives me great pleasure to present the implementation plan for the national language policy that was recently launched by the minister. In tanzania, kiswahili is seen as the national language. This paper is a policy analysis courselinked capstone focused on controversial language policies in tanzania. Policies in united republic of tanzania global database. This paper addresses the language policy and language development in its relation to education in tanzanian 1980s. This paper explores the evolution of tanzanias language of instruction model and outlines problems it creates from the learners and society perspectives. Macroeconomic policy division, the regional integration and trade division and the social development and policy division. Language policies and practices in tanzania and south africa. Acknowledgements this guide is a culmination of more than a decade providing training and mentoring support and discussing policy briefs.
The numerical assignments describe the following situations. Language policies in tanzania and south africa the current language policy in tanzania can best be described by words like confusing, contradictory and ambiguous. The existence of a national policy on ageing is a new phenomenon to many countries tanzania being one of them. How the language of instruction affects the quality of education. The tanzanian government began to emphasize the importance of education shortly after its independence in 1961.
The article gives some preliminary results from the project. The scope or provisions of the policy are as follows. Indias law commission released a report this week recommending that the country move toward abolishing the death penalty, except in terrorism cases to safeguard national security. Kiswahili and its expanding roles of development in east. Pdf language policy and planning the tanzania experience. Policy makers hardly think of learners when formulating neither language policies nor do curriculum developers. This chapter examines education language policy debates in three east african countries.
While the language policies of tanzania are described as confusing, contradictory. Perhaps because the concept of a national language has never been clearly defined within the tanzanian context, there is some misunderstanding i. Negotiation with hegemony by wendo nabea department of linguistics, university of vienna, vienna, austria the author teaches linguistics at egerton university, kenya. The medium of instruction in preprimary schools shall be kiswahili, and english shall be a compulsory subject p.
I go on to explore the failings of educational language policy as it now stands, focusing on the jarring transition from swahilimedium primary school to englishmedium secondary school. Tanzania foreign policy the case of economic diplomacy. Developing language supportive textbooks to enhance teaching and learning prosper gabrieli1, eliakimu. Language policies and practices in tanzania and south. Tanzania achieved notable progress in deploying ict notwithstanding the 1974 prohibition order on electronic computers and television sets. Also, it identifies potential policy constraints and proposes a feasible policy compromise. The aim of this policy is to clarify the position of the tanzanian government when it comes to the place of the different languages of tanzania in the formal education system. Pdf language policies and practices in tanzania and. Implementation of bilingual education in tanzania nordic journal. The current release of the tanzania human development report thdr 2014 is the. However, this policy reiterates and retains all the fundamental principals of ngos, that, is they are form, run developed or. The tanzanian experience is a typical case that illustrates how language policy and planning is a site of struggle for cultural influence, economic dominance, and political control.
The country was initially colonized by germany before the british took over after world war i. The fact that there is a policy on feefree education education and training policy of 2014 for 11 years, national inclusive strategy and gender policy etc. Since language is a major component of such access, fluency in the colonial language is highly valued trudell, 2007. Some of the nilotic languages spoken in tanzania include maasai, which is shared among the maasai group found in both kenya and tanzania. Most documents are in english and the people handling them struggle to understand them or to create. Tanzania is a multilingual country with 150 ethnic languages spoken within its borders. Official language of instructions differs at different levels with kiswahili language being used as the language of instruction throughout all the public pre and primary education levels. Stakeholders in the national policy forum acknowledged existence of the preconditions for achievement of sdg 4 in tanzania. Unlock this profile with an essentials plan see the details on every language spoken in tanzania, plus. The authors of the present article are engaged in a research project funded by the norwegian research council. There are over 120 ethnic groups on the tanzanian mainland, most of whom migrated from other parts of africa over the millennia, whilst on the coast, the swahili people originated from an eclectic mix of traders arabic, persian and chinese among others who arrived from as early as the 8th century. After this background, language policy in the tanzanian educational system is looked at in some detail. The lead authors of the united republic of tanzania country profile were timothy wilson and farzana sharmin, both of the subregional office. However, the use of this language which is a foreign language in tanzania, at the.