Classroom interaction and the language of instruction in teaching English, kiswahili and mathematics: a case study of selected private and public primary schools in Tanzania

The quest for improved classroom teaching of various subjects in Tanzania has prompted researchers to focus attention on what goes on in Tanzanian classroom, particularly interaction between the teacher and the students. This is so especially when the classroom language is non-native to both teachers and pupils. This study aimed at determining the nature of interaction in Tanzanian classroom and how it may hinder or contribute to improving classroom learning and teaching. The important aspects of classroom interaction are pupils’ involvement, patterns of language use, pedagogical approaches and to some extent home background. A direct observation and audio recording of classroom interaction between 18 teachers and about 1,000 class 6 pupils from six purposefully-selected private and public primary schools in Dar es Salaam and Morogoro regions was conducted. The main finding is that most classroom interactions are predominantly teacher fronted; the dominant pedagogical approach suggests the predominance of “method classrooms” rather than “discourse classrooms”. Specifically, in English medium schools, during English and Mathematics lessons, most pupils, hardly ever participate in classroom interaction except responding to teachers’ yes/no questions or by giving chorus answers. However, in Kiswahili medium schools, some “discourse classrooms” were observed. Pupils were more responsive to teachers’ questions and initiated moves in classroom interaction. Based on the findings, it was recommended among others that teachers in Tanzania should exploit more systematic code switching and exploit more “discourse classrooms” as a means of promoting classroom interaction and involvement of learners.