Exploring teachers' and learners’ experiences in the use of chinyanja as medium of instruction in selected primary schools in Chipata district, Zambia.

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Date
2024
Authors
Tembo, Zebron
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The University of Zambia
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to explore the teachers’ and learners’ experiences in the use of Chinyanja as a medium of instruction in selected schools in Chipata district. Chinyanja is used as the primary language of teaching in pre-kindergarten through grades one to four in Zambia's Eastern Province. The study was guided by the following objectives; determine teachers' preparedness (readiness) to teach using Chinyanja as a medium of instruction in Grade four (4), describe teachers’ and learners’ experiences in the use of Chinyanja as a medium of instruction, and finally to establish the challenges that teachers’ and learners’ experience in the use of Chinyanja as a medium of instruction in selected primary schools in Chipata district. The study used a descriptive study design. Interview guides, Focus Group Discussions (FGDs), and lesson observations were used as data collection tools. The participants comprised 20 learners, 12 teachers, and 1 Senior Education Standard Officer (SESO) in charge of Languages giving a total sample size of n=33. Data was analyzed using Thematic Analysis in which themes were generated. The main findings of the study unveiled varying degrees of preparedness by primary teachers to teach using Chinyanja but agreed that using Chinyanja as a medium of instruction for learners was appropriate even though some of them felt it would be better for literacy and not other subjects. Due to their origins outside Eastern Province, some teachers who were not fluent in Chinynja stated that they were unwilling to use the language as a teaching tool. However, it was established that teachers had a high level of proficiency and competency in using Chinyanja as a medium of instruction. Finally, the study showed that a variety of factors, including inadequate teaching materials, inappropriate teaching and learning resources, lesson planning in English and teaching in Chinyanja, unfavorable attitudes on the part of some teachers, a lack of proficiency in Chinyanja on the part of some teachers, and a lack of teacher involvement in the development of the language in education policy, had an impact on the use of Chinyanja as a medium of instruction. Therefore, it was recommended that the Ministry of Education should thoroughly train all primary school teachers, University/Colleges of Education lecturers, and Education Standards Officers on the significance of using Chinyanja as the medium of instruction in Eastern Province as it enhances children's learning. Continuing Professional Development (CPDs) was also seen to be an effective method to train teachers on the new deployments in the teaching fraternity.
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Thesis of Master of Education in Literacy and Applied Linguistics.
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