Empirical foundations for medium of instruction policies: Approximate replications of Afolayan (1976) and Siegel (1997b)

2015 ◽  
Vol 49 (4) ◽  
pp. 549-563 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fiona Willans ◽  
Constant Leung
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Evidence ◽  
Primary Education ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Mother Tongue ◽  
Critical Time ◽  
Original Study ◽  
Education For All ◽  
Medium Of Instruction ◽  
Negative Attitudes ◽  
The Impact

With global attention currently focused on the challenge of providing Education for All (UNESCO 2000), we must ensure that the language of teaching and learning remains a topic on the agenda towards making sure that the education being provided is effective. This is therefore a critical time to review medium of instruction debates, and to reassess what empirical evidence exists to guide policymaking that is both appropriate and achievable. Contributing to this endeavour, this paper argues for the approximate replication of two key studies. The first is Afolayan (1976), a widely-cited study conducted in Ife, Nigeria to test the effectiveness of teaching children in the mother tongue for six years of primary education. We argue that the frequency with which the success of this study is cited, without due attention paid to the details of its methodological procedure, may actually be detrimental to the success of other experiments, thus necessitating the careful replication of the original study. The second study is Siegel (1997b), one of the few studies that have been conducted to evaluate the impact of initial education in an English-based pidgin on the subsequent learning of English. We argue that there is an urgent need for replication of one of the few available studies of pidgins and creoles in education, given the prevalence of negative attitudes towards this category of languages.

scholarly journals Intervening Strategies to Cope with the Challenges of the Medium of Instruction of Instruction

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. p312
Author(s):  
Eustard Rutalemwa Tibategeza
Keyword(s):  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
Professional Communication ◽  
Medium Of Instruction ◽  
Large Classes ◽  
Course Content ◽  
Lecture Method ◽  
Basic Course ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Basic English

English is a medium of instruction in higher learning institutions in Tanzania. Some institutions put in place some strategies to help students improve their English. This paper is a result of the study conducted at Archbishop Mihayo University College of Tabora. The objectives of the study were to assess the impact of the Basic English course on the students’ English, to scrutinise the course contents and to analyse the teaching methods and techniques to see if they help students to outshine in the English language. The study employed questionnaire, interview, focus group discussions and documentary review as instruments of data collection. The findings indicate that Basic English course has not helped students to improve their English for academic and professional communication and the course content is beyond what ought to be included in a basic course. It was further established that due to large classes, Basic English course is taught through lecture method, which does not give the students an opportunity to interact. The paper recommends that a serious review for Basic English course be done and be taught by qualified staff with appropriate teaching and learning materials in manageable groups to allow meaningful interaction and language usage.

scholarly journals Teachers’ Attitudes Towards English as Medium of Instruction

2019 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
pp. 43-54
Author(s):  
Krishna Kumar Khatri
Keyword(s):  
Public Schools ◽  
Mixed Method ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Linguistic Diversity ◽  
Mother Tongue ◽  
Secondary Level ◽  
Medium Of Instruction ◽  
The Public ◽  
Teachers Attitudes ◽  
Modern Technologies

 English as medium of Instruction (EMI) has been a genuine issue of discussion in today’s pedagogical field among the concerned stakeholders including teachers. In this concern, a mixed method study entitled ‘Attitudes of teachers towards using English as Medium of Instruction (EMI) in Public Secondary Schools of Ilam was attempted to explore the teachers’ attitude towards using EMI in the public schools and challenges faced by them in course of adopting EMI. For this, twenty secondary level English teachers were accessed purposively and data were collected using questionnaire consisting of both close ended and open-ended questions. The results of the study revealed that teachers of public schools were found aware of the basic concept of the notion of English as a medium of instruction. They were found positive in implementing EMI in conducting their daily teaching and learning activities. The study also showed that teachers of secondary level have been facing different challenges in adopting EMI in the classroom like students’ weak exposure to English, mother tongue interference, unresourceful schools and linguistic diversity in the class. The study recommended that there should be conducive and encouraging environment in the public schools for the teachers for adopting EMI in the class. The schools should be made resourceful and well equipped with modern technologies. Moreover, the teachers should be made sound with pedagogically and professionally.

Progress of IBSA Countries Towards Universal Primary Education: A Comparative Analysis

2021 ◽  
pp. 206-219
Author(s):  
Sarabjit Kaur
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Primary Education ◽  
Emerging Economies ◽  
National Policy ◽  
Education For All ◽  
Universal Primary Education ◽  
International Policy ◽  
Global Trends ◽  
Development Goals ◽  
The Impact

Free and compulsory primary education remains a priority area in the international policy perspective, starting from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948 to the formulation of Sustainable Development Goals in 2015. Under the impact of globalization, an impressive expansion in the access to primary education has been observed in recent decades and the global trends in enrolment rates across the developing world have attested this fact. However, many developing countries, such as India, Brazil and South Africa (IBSA), are still struggling with the goal of quality primary education for all. The IBSA countries are emerging economies and very proactive in addressing past inequalities prevalent in their countries. With the cooperation of international organizations, national policy planning and other initiatives, these countries have performed quite well in the educational attainment. But even today, these countries have not achieved the goal of quality primary education for all. This paper reviews the attainment of free and compulsory primary education in these countries, along with the challenges faced in the achievement of universal primary education. These challenges may hinder the progress of these countries towards the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal.

Medium of Instruction Policy

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
James W. Tollefson ◽  
Amy B.M. Tsui
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Hong Kong ◽  
Mother Tongue ◽  
Education For All ◽  
Medium Of Instruction ◽  
Language Rights ◽  
Fourth Section ◽  
The Third ◽  
Postcolonial Education ◽  
European Higher Education

This chapter traces the main pedagogical and political agendas that are implicit in medium of instruction (MOI) policies. It begins with an important worldwide effort to promote mother-tongue MOI: the Education for All initiative. Although this initiative has gained wide support among education scholars, MOI policies that privilege former colonial languages remain dominant in many contexts. The second section focuses on colonial and postcolonial contexts. In recent years debates about MOI in postcolonial education have focused on the spread of English MOI under globalization. The third section examines globalization, specifically with the examples of Malaysia, Hong Kong, China, and European higher education. The fourth section examines a major counterforce to English MOI: the language rights movement. Finally, the chapter ends with a discussion of explicit efforts to use MOI to reduce inequality.

scholarly journals The Impact of Using Code Alternation in Teaching Life Science to English First Additional Language learners in South African Schools

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 175
Author(s):  
Mzamani Johannes Maluleke ◽  
Ernest Kwesi Klu ◽  
Vincent N. Demana
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
Medium Of Instruction ◽  
The South ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
Code Mixing ◽  
Teaching Life ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Impact

The study aimed at investigating the extent to which English is used as a medium of teaching and learning Life Sciences in a South African rural high school. As the government has given recognition to the country’s multilingual, multi-ethnic and multicultural composition, School Governing Bodies are mandated to choose any of the eleven official languages as a medium of instruction (RSA, Act 108 of 1996), but the power of deciding which language to use as a medium of instruction has been taken by teachers to shield their own shortcomings. To be able to explore and understand the prevailing situation, the researchers employed a qualitative design which translated into researchers observing classes, evaluating learners’ written texts and interviewing the teachers as methods of collecting data. The findings are that: first, learners’ and teachers’ proficiency levels in English are very low, as such, the English language is not a pivot of learning and teaching in the South African education system. This emanates from the fact that although in theory the majority of the South African schools have adopted English as a medium of instruction, in practice, this is far from the truth as teachers employ code alternation in the form of code switching, code mixing and sentence translation as viable means of scaffolding the learning of content subjects.

scholarly journals الحاسوب الآلي في تعليم اللغة العربية

2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 77-102
Author(s):  
AY Linda Eka Santi
Keyword(s):  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Essential Element ◽  
Arabic Language ◽  
Educational Process ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Negative Attitudes ◽  
The Face ◽  
Effective Role ◽  
Development And Management ◽  
The Impact

That educational aids help the teacher in the face of large numbers of students and the density of classrooms after the education became mandatory in some stages and increased awareness and education has a great place in the hearts of people. It also draws students to the lesson and draws attention to it and make the impact of what they learn to stay and continue and help them to quickly remember the information related to a tangible sensory basis. And educational technology methodology in thinking focuses on the theoretical and practical aspects of the teaching and learning procedures and resources design, implementation, development and management, to upgrade the educational process, and access to perfection. It is an integrated composite process that includes human resources, material resources, ideas and actions that lead to solutions to educational problems that hinder the progress and development of human learning. The computer may still dazzle us every moment with its multiple abilities to penetrate our lives, and in most countries of the world and through the educational institutions in which the reliance on the computer in education is an essential element of the educational process. The study reached several results, most notably that the field of teaching and learning the Arabic language benefited greatly from the potential of the computer. And that the creativity of the teacher has an effective role in the benefit of the use of the computer, as the use of education in several ways, it is several methods of teaching group in one, and the study resulted in several problems are human and financial resources, Between language teachers, programmers, the lack of technological awareness, the negative attitudes of some teachers, and the lack of widespread self-learning.

scholarly journals Students’ conceptual understanding of electricity and magnetism and its implications: A review

2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 55-67
Author(s):  
Agnes Mbonyiryivuze ◽  
Lakhan Lal Yadav ◽  
Maurice Musasia Amadalo
Keyword(s):  
Instructional Strategies ◽  
Conceptual Understanding ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Negative Attitudes ◽  
Learning Barriers ◽  
Electricity And Magnetism ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Effective Teaching And Learning ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Practical Recommendations

Physics subject continues to be considered as difficult and unattractive by students. This leads to the development of negative attitudes towards the subject. Electricity and magnetism as one of the most important areas in physics is particularly considered as difficult due to their abstract nature. Different studies on students’ conceptual understanding of electricity and magnetism have been conducted and several instructional strategies for a conceptual change in this subject matter have been provided. However, there are still some persisting misconceptions even after being treated by those suggested instructional strategies. By using diagnostic tests and remedial approaches to sort out learning barriers, there is a possibility that students’ performance might improve, which would likely lead to disappearing these learning barriers and retaining the appropriate concepts over time scales beyond the assessment schedule of individual classes. Therefore, after reporting on the impact of students’ preconceptions on learning, this review paper also highlights some existing studies on students’ misconceptions in electricity and magnetism. The paper also updates physics educators and researchers on some conceptual tests and assessments used to test students’ misconceptions in electricity and magnetism and some suggested strategies for remedying those misconceptions. Some educational implications and practical recommendations for effective teaching and learning in electricity and magnetism are also outlined.

scholarly journals Timor-Leste: Multilingual Education for All?

2012 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kerry Taylor-Leech
Keyword(s):  
Linguistic Diversity ◽  
Mother Tongue ◽  
Critical Examination ◽  
Education For All ◽  
Medium Of Instruction ◽  
Multilingual Education ◽  
Timor Leste ◽  
Development Goals ◽  
National Constitution ◽  
Development Discourses

 This article presents a review of medium-of-instruction policy in Timor-Leste a er ten years of independence. The review is set against the provisions for language in the country’s National Constitution and the human development discourses of the Education for All (EFA) and Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). It is informed by a range of literature dealing with language policy and the medium of instruction in linguistically diverse and developing contexts. The article provides an overview of the language situation and the development challenges facing education planners, followed by a critical examination of medium-of-instruction policy over the period 2000-2012. This critique is followed by an explanatory discussion of the mother tongue-based multilingual education (MTB-MLE) policy for Timor-Leste and a consideration of some concerns about MTB-MLE. The article closes with an assessment of the potential of this policy to promote linguistic diversity in Timor-Leste and help deliver on the EFA and MDGs for 2015. 

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