A study of early literacy classroom interaction through Kiswahili: cases of Ruvuma and Coast Regions

The study investigates the effectiveness of the use of Swahili in classroom interaction in rural Tanzania with specific reference to Ruvuma and Coast Regions in Tanzania, in the context of the medium of instruction (MoI) policy (URT 1995:39). Guiding the study is the sociocultural learning theory by Vigotsky. It holds that an ideal classroom situation is one in which learners and teachers are active participants in the classroom processes. The data collection methods were semi-structured interview, observation and pupil language assessment. The focus of the study is literacy acquisition, at the level of Standard One. The analysis was guided by classroom interaction analysis and adult-child proximation model. The general result is that in Songea Rural District where the language of the community is not the MoI classroom interaction is constrained whereas in Bagamoyo where the language of the community is also the MoI, it is dynamic; pupils interact well among themselves and with teachers, and there is competition for turns. As such the following were observed: in the schools in Songea pupils learn less, lesson foci are diverted to cope with communication difficulties, and there is less progress in literacy skills mastery and in curriculum coverage. Pupils in the School in Bagamoyo had a higher level of expressive ability, and did not therefore display many shortcomings. The findings suggest that there is something wrong with the MoI policy in relation to classroom interaction in remote rural areas. The following are thus recommended: classroom interaction in the initial years be in a familiar language or at least the policy should be lenient enough to provide for teachers to interchange the classroom language in times of difficulty, and teachers be specifically trained to teach in bilingual contexts where the MoI is not the first language of the pupils. Similarly, the language policy should allow teachers to interchange the classroom language in times of difficulty.