THE ROLE OF ENGLISH AS MEDIUM OF INSTRUCTION IN LOWER PRIMARY SCHOOLS

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LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

MOI………………………………………………………………… Medium of Instruction

NALAP……………………………………………………………. National Literacy Acceleration Programme

L1……………………………………………………………………. First Language

L2……………………………………………………………………. Second Language

M/A………………………………………………………………… Municipal Assembly

R/C…………………………………………………………………… Roman Catholic

NMAT……………………………………………………………… Nkurakan Municipal Assembly Teacher

NPT…………………………………………………………………. Nkurakan Presby Teacher

WRCT……………………………………………………………… Wawase Roman Catholic Teacher

NMAP………………………………………………………………. Nkurakan Municipal Assembly Pupil

NPP………………………………………………………………….. Nkurakan Presby Pupil

WRCP………………………………………………………………. Wawase Roman Catholic Pupil

EFL………………………………………………………………….. English as a Foreign Language

ESL………………………………………………………………….. English as a Second Language

EAL………………………………………………………………….. English as an Additional Language

ICT………………………………………………………………….. Information Communication Technology

R………………………………………………………………………. Researcher

TR……………………………………………………………………. Teacher

P……………………………………………………………………….. Pupil

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1.1: Haugen‟s revised language planning model……………………………………………………… 6

Table 2.1: A tabular summary of Ghana‟s Language in Education policy, 1529 – date…………… 19

Table 4.1: General Demographic information on teachers used in the study……………………….. 49

Table 4.2: General Demographic information on pupils used in the study………………………….. 50

Table 4.3: Information on pupils of Nkurakan M/A Basic School used in the study……………. 53

Table 4.4: Information on teachers of Nkurakan M/A Basic School used in the study………… 55

Table 4.5: Analysis of teachers of Nkurakan M/A Primary School and the languages they speak……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 61

Table 4.6: Demographic information on teachers of Nkurakan Presby Basic School…………… 62

Table 4.7: Demographic information on pupils of Nkurakan Presby Basic School……………….. 63

Table 4.8: Analysis of teachers of Nkurakan Presby Primary School and the languages they speak…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 68

Table 4.9: Information on pupils of Wawase R/C Basic School………………………………………. 69

Table 4.10: Information on teachers of Wawase R/C Basic School………………………………….. 70

Table 4.11: Analysis of teachers of Wawase R/C Primary School and the languages they   speak…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 75

Table 4.12: Analysis of teachers of the three Schools and the languages they speak…………… 77

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1.1: The Yilo Krobo Municipality of Ghana Showing the Schools…………………………… 11

Figure 2.1: The Language Map of Ghana (SIL International, 2016)……………………………………. 16

Figure 4.1: Minority language speakers of Nkurakan M/A Basic School……………………………… 60

Figure 4.2: Minority language speakers of Nkurakan Presby Basic School…………………………… 67

Figure 4.3: Minority language speakers of Wawase R/C Basic School…………………………………. 74

Figure 4.4: Minority language speakers of the three schools involved in the study……………….. 76

Figure 4.5 Pupils‟ indication of languages/dialects that their teachers use to teach them…………. 80

Figure 4.6 Teachers‟ indication of languages/dialects that they use to teach their pupils………… 106

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Content                                                                                                       Page

DECLARATION……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. i

CERTIFICATION……………………………………………………………………………………………………………. ii

DEDICATION…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. iii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT…………………………………………………………………………………………………. iv

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS……………………………………………………………………………………………… v

LIST OF TABLES……………………………………………………………………………………………………………. vi

LIST OF FIGURES…………………………………………………………………………………………………………. vii

TABLE OF CONTENTS…………………………………………………………………………………………………. viii

CHAPTER ONE………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 1

GENERAL INTRODUCTION…………………………………………………………………………………………… 1

CHAPTER TWO……………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 13

LITERATURE REVIEW AND CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK………………………………………… 13

  1. Introduction………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 13
    1. Literature Review…………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 13
      1. Ghana’s Language-in-Education Policy in Perspective……………………………………………… 13
      1. Mother tongue as medium of instruction…………………………………………………………………. 19
      1. English language as medium of instruction in multilingual classrooms……………………….. 30
    1. Conceptual Framework…………………………………………………………………………………………………. 38
      1. Bilingual Education………………………………………………………………………………………………. 38
    1. Summary of the chapter…………………………………………………………………………………………………. 43

CHAPTER THREE………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 44

METHODOLOGY…………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 44

  1. Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 44
    1. Research Design……………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 44
    1. Population, Sample size and Sampling technique………………………………………………………………. 45
    1. Instruments for Data collection………………………………………………………………………………………. 46
      1. Recording of classroom lesson delivery………………………………………………………………….. 46
      1. Interviews……………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 46
    1. Ethical consideration…………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 47

CHAPTER FOUR…………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 48

DATA PRESENTATION AND DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS……………………………………………. 48

  1. Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 48
    1. Demographic information on teachers and pupils in the study……………………………………………. 49
    1. Minority language speakers in the class and the challenge of medium of instruction…………….. 52
      1. Nkurakan M/A Basic Shool…………………………………………………………………………………… 53
      1. Nkurakan Presby Basic School………………………………………………………………………………. 61
      1. Wawase R/C Primary…………………………………………………………………………………………… 68
      1. General summary of minority language speakers……………………………………………………. 75
    1. Pupils’ indication of languages/dialects that their teachers use to teach them………………………. 77
    1. Language Choice during Classroom Lesson presentations………………………………………………… 81
    1. Teachers’ awareness of the instructional language policy…………………………………………………. 94
    1. Observations by the Researcher…………………………………………………………………………………….. 96
    1. Teachers’ indication of languages/dialects that they use to teach their pupils…………………….. 104
    1. Summary of the Chapter……………………………………………………………………………………………… 109

CHAPTER FIVE………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 110

SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS……………………………………………. 110

  1. Introduction……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 110
    1. Summary of the study………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 110
    1. Summary of the findings………………………………………………………………………………………………. 111
    1. Conclusion………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 112
    1. Recommendations for policy developers and the Ghana Education Service……………………….. 113
    1. Suggestions for Further Studies…………………………………………………………………………………….. 115

REFERENCES……………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 116

APPENDICES………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 126

ABSTRACT

In the lower primary classrooms in Ghana, most teachers are faced with the challenge of having to teach pupils from diverse ethnic and language groups. This qualitative study therefore investigates the practicalities of the instructional language policy and the role that English plays in multilingual classrooms at the lower primary schools. Accordingly, the research aims to find answers to the following questions. First, what medium of instruction does a teacher who does not understand the major L1 of that locality use during lesson delivery? Also, in a multilingual lower primary classroom where some pupils do not understand the dominant L1 spoken in the community, what becomes the medium of instruction? Finally, what role does English play as a medium of instruction at the lower primary level? In all, 53 participants were involved in the research. This number was made up of 14 teachers and 39 pupils sampled from three lower primary schools. Classroom lesson deliveries were observed, followed by semi-structured interview sessions with both teachers and pupils. The findings indicate that the classrooms are multilingual with the teachers employing the use of languages that they are comfortable with in teaching their pupils. It also comes to light that English is gradually taking over as the main language of instruction in the multilingual classrooms at the lower primary level, a practice that goes contrary to the language policy. The study recommends translanguaging pedagogical approach as a remedy to the challenge of medium of instruction in the lower primary multilingual classrooms.

CHAPTER ONE GENERAL INTRODUCTION

            Background to the study

Ghana is a multilingual country but none of its numerous indigenous languages plays the role of an official language for the country. The English language has taken up that role since the days of colonialism as it is used in governance, trade, law, education and as a lingual franca (Sey, 1973; Sackey, 1997; Adjaye, 2005). This role that English plays can be attributed to the influence it has as a neutral language in the midst of people who do not share the same mother tongue. The dominance of English is heavily felt today as a global language. According to Hasman (2004: 19),

“When Mexican pilots land their airplanes in France, they and the ground controllers use English. When German physicists want to alert the international scientific community to new discoveries, they first publish their findings in English. When Japanese executives conduct businesses with Scandinavian entrepreneurs, they negotiate in English. When pop singers write their songs, they often use lyrics or phrases in English. When demonstrators want to alert the world to their problems, they display signs in English”.

But the dominance of English does not come without a threat to other languages, specifically the indigenous languages (Dako & Quarcoo, 2017).

Agbedor (1994) posits that the earliest form of formal (Western) education in Ghana is recorded as starting with the castle schools in the 15th Century. Most of these schools were established by the European settlers to provide education for their Mulatto children and the children of wealthy

Africans. The Castle Schools were not meant for the education of the indigenous people of Ghana. The medium of instruction in those schools was English. When the Missionaries arrived in the Gold Coast, they also established schools to help in the propagation of the gospel. In those schools, the medium of instruction varied between English and the indigenous language of the area in which they found themselves. The Wesleyan Mission followed the steps of the then government by using English as the medium of instruction at the lower primary level (Sackey, 1997). However, the use of the indigenous Ghanaian language in a particular community as medium of instruction in schools was encouraged by the Basel and the Bremen Missions.

In multilingual societies, the issue of language of education has always been very complex and a source of worry to educators and educational planners because of the multi-ethnic and multilingual situation (Ouedraogo, 2000). When the official language of the nation is different from the indigenous languages, the situation becomes worse. It is, however, believed that the use of the mother tongue in education cannot be downplayed because it serves as a medium through which conceptualization is built. The child, therefore, understands instruction better in the L1 as he/she prepares for progression to the second language. The mother tongue is the medium through which the culture of the people is better expressed for the child. To this end and as a way to showcase the importance of the mother tongue education in early childhood education, February 21-22 of every year is used to mark the International Mother Tongue Day across the world (Abidogun & Adebule, 2013).

According to Simpson (2017), the British Council believes in a mother-tongue based multilingual educational approach in low and middle-income countries. The Council posits that when students

of these countries are taught in their mother-tongue or a familiar language, their understanding is enhanced and they are academically more successful. The school curriculum should be accessible to students in their own language and English taught as a subject. To the British Council, the use of English at the primary schools in low or middle-income countries does not always produce good results.

Language planning and policy on instruction plays a crucial role in the education sector of Ghana given the multilingual environment that prevails in the country. Kaplan and Baldauf (1997) define language planning as a deliberate activity that is determined to influence the function, structure and language acquisition within a particular or a given speech community. The current language policy of education states that the medium of instruction for kindergarten and lower primary schools will be a Ghanaian language and English where necessary. English will, however, take over as medium of instruction from Primary Four (Ministry of Education Science and Sports, teaching syllabus for English Language, September, 2007).

The idea of using the dominant Ghanaian language in a particular community as the medium of instruction is not helpful to other Ghanaian languages that may be described as the relative minority languages. The non use of these minority languages may lead to their relegation to the background. Pupils of such languages who find themselves in the classroom are denied the opportunity to follow instruction in their own mother tongue which does not inure to their benefit. As a result, their linguistic rights are infringed upon as they will have to learn other languages in the classroom to take part in lessons effectively. This, among other factors, contributes to the low esteem that speakers of minority languages endure with regard to domain of language use. The

low status and restricted roles of minority languages can be attributed, among other things, to colonial legacy, negative perceptions of multilingualism and defective language planning (Bamgbose, 2011, cited in Ansah & Agyeman, 2015).

            Educational language policy and planning

Language policy and language planning are believed to be two different concepts. Whereas language policy deals with decision-making and goal-setting, language planning is all about how the policy is implemented to achieve the intended results (Schiffman, 1996; Kaplan & Baldauf, 2003). As language policy is for decision-making process which is stated explicitly or implicitly, it is used to determine which languages should be taught, learned and used for what purposes (Cooper 1989). Language planning involves the selection of the norm, codification and language cultivation which deals with implementation and elaboration.

However, Ruben (1996) cited in (Zaidi, 2013), argues that language planning encompasses language policy. She opines that language planning has four phases: fact-finding, policy determination, implementation, and evaluation. According to Wardhaugh (1986), language planning is “an attempt to interfere deliberately with a language or one of its varieties”. For  Wiley, “language planning entails the formation and implementation of a policy designed to prescribe, or influence the language(s) and varieties of language that will be used and the purposes for which they will be used” (Wiley, 1996: 107-108). Fishman (1974: 79) posits that language planning normally happens at the national level and defines it as “the organized pursuit of solutions to language problems”.

Two approaches to language planning in terms of theory can be identified. These models are the canonical model and the alternative model (Rubin, 1983). The proponents of the canonical model posit that decisions for the determination of a national or an official language is the sole responsibility of the government. The alternative model, on the other hand, argues that both the governmental and non-governmental bodies as well as other planning mechanisms should be involved in the language planning process (Antia, 2000).