CLASSROOM LINGUISTIC PRACTICES AND THE LANGUAGE OF INSTRUCTION QUESTION IN KENYA

Autors/ores

  • Beatrice N. Manyasi School of Education, Maasai Mara University, Kenya orcid.org/0009-0000-9510-6083

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.46827/ejes.v13i7.6830

Paraules clau:

language of instruction, multilingual education, translanguaging and code-switching

Resum

This study explores the linguistic practices used in Comprehensive Schools in Kenya and examines the extent to which the official English-medium policy reflects the linguistic realities of teachers and learners. The study adopted a qualitative ethnographic design that involved classroom observations of 72 lessons from six subject areas, focus group discussions with teachers and students and document analysis in rural, peri-urban and urban public Comprehensive Schools. The results reveal a discrepancy between policy and practice: official policy requires that English be the sole language of instruction, but only 15% of observed lessons used English exclusively. Most (79%) involved deliberate switching between English and Kiswahili, with 6% using mother tongue languages. Code-switching had varied pedagogical roles: clarifying complex ideas, bridging vocabulary gaps, reducing language anxiety, emphasizing critical information, catering to different proficiency levels, and assisting in classroom management. Teachers employed three types of code-switching – inter-sentential, intra-sentential and tag switching – strategically in different subjects and contexts. The study demonstrates that code-switching is sophisticated communicative competence and culturally responsive pedagogy, not a linguistic deficiency. The findings indicate that the education language policy in Kenya needs to be reviewed to allow strategic code-switching as pedagogical scaffolding that supports rather than undermines English language acquisition, given the multilingual realities in Kenya. The study contributes to the scholarly debate on translanguaging in postcolonial African contexts and has practical implications for policy reform, teacher education and curriculum development.

Biografia de l'autor/a

  • Beatrice N. Manyasi, School of Education, Maasai Mara University, Kenya orcid.org/0009-0000-9510-6083

    Manyasi N. Beatrice is an Associate Professor of Language Education, currently serving as Director, Board of Postgraduate Studies at Maasai Mara University, Kenya. She holds a PhD from Moi University and has published widely in refereed journals, in addition to authoring several books.She previously served as Dean, School of Education; Chair of the Department of Curriculum, Instruction, and Education Management; and Director of the Kajiado Campus, all at Maasai Mara University. Her research interests include language education, applied linguistics, curriculum instruction, research methods, and educational technology. She is a member of the Association of English Language Educators and Researchers (ASELER), the Distance, Open and E-Learning Practitioners Association of Kenya (DOLPAK), and the Society of Educational Research and Evaluation in Kenya (SEREK). Links to her academic networks are:

    ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0000-9510-6083 

    Google Scholar: https://g.co/kgs/Yj7FsH

    ResearchGate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Beatrice-Manyasi-2/research

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Descàrregues

Publicat

2026-07-04

Número

Vol. 13 Núm. 7 (2026)

Secció

Articles

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