Proceedings of the International Academic Conference on Social Sciences and Humanities
Year: 2024
DOI:
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Teacher-learners’ classroom interactions through English in lower levels of primary schools. The experience of an endoglossic country, Rwanda
Marie Yvonne Ingabire, Ass. Prof. Gabriel Nizeyimana, Dr. Delphin Mukingambeho, Dr. Michael Tusiime
ABSTRACT:
In many countries, learners are constrained to swim in the educational system relying on the utilization of non-native Medium of Instruction (MoI). In Rwanda, an endoglossic country, where Kinyarwanda is predominantly spoken, the use of English as the sole MoI may affect the teacher-learners’ interactions at lower levels of primary schools. This study investigated how English as MoI affects classroom interactions. It analyzed the pedagogical strategies employed and assessed their effects on learning performance, for farther proposition of practices to undertake for fostering improved teaching and learning through English. Using a phenomenological design for qualitative data and sequential exploratory design for mixed data, the study involved 335 participants randomly selected from a population of 56,691. Data were collected through classroom observations, focus group discussions, semi-structured interviews and questionnaires. The analysis was done thematically and numerically through inferential statistics. Results revealed that while English MoI improves communication skills and reduces stigma in English-speaking communities, it also hinders effective classroom interactions that lead to misconception and misunderstanding of intended meaning, particularly in public and government aided schools. It appeared that limitations in specific strategies employed by teachers and learners for classroom interactions and learners’ understanding of the lessons’ content exhibit wrong interpretations and misunderstanding of required tasks during examinations. Therefore, such limitations lead to low learning performance in both urban and rural public and government aided schools compared to those in private schools. Hence, the study concluded that interacting through English at the lower levels of primary schools is challenging. Consequently, it recommends a practical framework that would emphasize collaborative practices among educational stakeholders, to enhance improved teaching and learning through English. The proposed practices are expected to have a great impact on the undertaken journey of re-examining and re-contextualizing the educational landscape in Rwanda.
keywords: Classroom Interactions, Medium of Instructions, Endoglossic Country, Rwanda