The use of Citonga as medium of instruction in early grade teaching and learning in Chibombo district.
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Date
2024
Authors
Katatisha, Mercy
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
The University of Zambia.
Abstract
The purpose of the study was to analyse the use of Citonga as medium of instruction in early grade teaching and learning in Chibombo District in Central Province of Zambia. The study objectives were; to establish the effects of using Tonga as the medium of instruction in grades one to four in primary schools of Chibombo district, to analyze the stakeholders’ views on the use of Tonga as the medium of teaching in grades one to four in primary schools of Chibombo District and to determine challenges faced when learning Tonga in grades one to four in primary schools of Chibombo district. The study was guided by the qualitative approach and used a descriptive research design. Data was collected from 10 teachers and 5 parents through interviews and 50 pupils were observed through classroom lesson observations totalling to 65 participants. Data was collected using semi-structured interviews and classroom lesson observation and it was analysed thematically. The study found that that using Tonga as a medium of instruction disadvantaged the learners in the following ways: learners struggled to develop linguistic and cognitive skills due to not
understanding the language of instruction fully. The other findings were that parents preferred children to learn using the mother tongue (Lenje) alongside English as opposed to using Tonga because the native familiar language of play was Lenje. It was also found that it was challenging and problematic to implement the Primary Literacy Programme (PLP) because schools lacked adequate literacy materials written in the regional language (Tonga) for use when teaching literacy. The study concluded that the use of Tonga as a medium of instruction in lower classes in primary schools of Chibombo District was not as effective as perceived by lower primary teachers. It was recommended that the Ministry of Education (MoE) revise the language zoning policy to accommodate translanguaging familiar language of play (native local languages) to be used as a medium of instruction in lower grades.
Key words: familiar language; translanguaging, multilingual and instruction.
Description
Thesis of Master of Education in Literacy, Language and Applied Linguistics.