6.1 Implications of Education Language Policy on Teaching and Learning STEM
Findings from interviews with teachers and focus group discussions with students revealed that the English language imposes difficulties to teachers and students in teaching and learning STEM, particularly biology. In the same position, Gabrieli
Table 3 Classroom observations on pedagogical language strategies through inquiry process (Note T=Teacher, S=Student, N for students=250, N for teachers=20)
Inquiry process phase Frequency (S) % (S)
Frequency (T) % (T)
Participant (s) Engage/excite
Use of activities that stimulates students by the use of Kiswahili and English
74 29.6 13 65.0 Teacher
Explore
Students discuss in groups using Kiswahili and English to foster student-material interaction
62 24.8 Student
Explain Students provide
interpretations and conclude from given activities in English
62 24.8 Student
Elaborate
Teacher gives other scenarios to help students apply their knowledge in a different situation from the one they explored by fostering student–teacher interactions
52 20.8 7 35.0 Teacher
Total 250 100 20 100
Table 4 Students’ performance in English language skills (N=250) Skills Before intervention After intervention
Frequency % Frequency %
Writing 50 20 60 24.0
Speaking 35 14 67 26.8
Reading 30 12 65 26.0
Listening 26 10.4 58 23.2
Performance 109 43.6 All students got 50%
and above
All students got 50%
and above
Total 250 100 250 100
et al. (2018) found that students struggle with the use of the English language as for the majority it appears to be the third language, the first being the mother tongue and the second being Kiswahili. Besides, Barrett et al. (2014) found that the majority of form one student could not read simple English texts well. Barrett et al. (2014) and Gabrieli et al. (2018) agree that English language skills remain a problem for most Tanzanian students. Further, the authors indicated that students in secondary schools
of Tanzania are not prepared for the use of English as the language of instruction.
This imposes teachers struggling with teaching the subject content in the language less understood by students. Therefore, once both English and Kiswahili become the languages of instruction, benefits shall be for both students and teachers to understand the subject content and provide clarifications of the subject concepts.
6.2 Effectiveness of Pedagogical Language Strategies in Learning STEM
6.2.1 Bilingual Classroom Instructions on STEM Teaching and Learning in Tanzania
In Tanzania, little emphasis was given to the English language as a matter that contributes to the effective teaching and learning STEM (Rubagumya,2003; Gabrieli et al.,2018). This is added to the lack of language support to STEM teachers, specifi- cally biology teachers. Results of this study indicated that more often teachers allow students to discuss in Kiswahili and report in English (Table2). This is a sign that the language support using mixed language strategies has a positive impact and helps students to understand STEM content. Phillipson (1992) points out that cognitive development in Kiswahili has significant effects on English and subject content.
It appears that failure to offer encouraging classroom pedagogical practices that favour literacy in Kiswahili may undermine the development of skills such as crit- ical thinking for students. In addition, Vygotsky (1962) argues that the child can transfer the knowledge to the new language and develop a deep understanding on her/his own. In this context, Kiswahili can be used strategically to support students in understanding the subject content in English.
It was also evident that increased students’ interactions, improved academic reading and writing skills, and the mastery of the subject content (Table3). Cummins (2000) argues that in bilingual classrooms, the development of students’ literacy skills can improve the understanding of the lesson. It was again observed that classroom sessions that did not value the use of bilingualism, students remained silent during the lesson. This effect may persist in students’ life-time learning even when they join college and university. Puja (2003) observed that the greater part of students was silent in class. The author was impressed by the fact that as soon as the class is over, students and teachers switch over to Kiswahili and communicate freely. The authors then concluded that bilingual classroom instructions may potentially support students’ understanding of the subject content by fostering classroom interactions.
On the other hand, policy and pedagogy used in Tanzania secondary schools place critical language demands on students due to insufficient strategies or teacher exper- tise in STEM teaching (Barrett & Bainton,2016). Before the intervention, frequently observed features included the dominance of teacher-centred approach with inade- quate student replies (Gabrieli et al.,2018). During the intervention, specific patterns
of classroom interactions such as student–student interaction, student–teacher inter- action, and student–material interaction were frequently observed. We assume that the reason behind this is the training which equipped teachers with skills and knowl- edge that allowed them to link and contextualize the subject content with the use of both Kiswahili and English. This supports the conclusion of Puja (2003) about the use of bilingualism while teaching and learning.
Furthermore, Rubagumya (2003) supports that English as a medium of instruction constitutes a problem of education for the majority of the Tanzanian people, to which English is less used by the population of Tanzania. This affects the use of English as a language of instruction since it hinders effective communication among students and between teachers and students. This indirectly slows down the students’ speaking skills, thus remaining silent and less confident in class. In essence, the language of instruction policy needs to be well articulated to support its effective implementation in teaching and learning STEM in Tanzania.
6.2.2 Students’ English Writing and Reading Skills Development in STEM Teaching and Learning
Writing and reading skills are very important for students to develop an understanding of curriculum concepts (Cummins,2000). In Tanzania, English being the language of instruction in secondary schools, writing and reading are important for students to understand STEM concepts, and translate studied content into daily life. This study revealed that the support of students with writing and reading skills increased academic performance during the formative assessments. It was also evident that activities prepared by teachers foster and increase reading skills especially when students are given the opportunities to interact while they are doing learning activities.
This confirmed the demands of social constructivism theory, where much is expected and anticipated to the development of cognitive and critical thinking skills.
Further, students learn fairly through reading textbooks, which introduces them to the world of academic literacy and strengthens the understanding of subject concepts.
Unfortunately, there is evidence that students are less engaged in reading textbooks in Tanzania secondary schools (Barrett & Bainton,2016; Brock-Utne,2014; Gabrieli et al., 2018). There is hope that the implementation of the language instructional objective activities introduced by this study into a lesson plan will help STEM teachers, particularly those teaching biology, to use potential short texts that would help students to improve English reading and listening skills.
Considering the relevance of bilingual instructions in teaching and learning, the questions evoked by this study are to know when and how the mentioned strategy can be used in classroom while teaching and learning STEM? In relation to biology subject, specifically invertebrate systematic, the relevance of the use of both English and Kiswahili was found very relevant. For example, using the binomial nomencla- ture, some biology teachers mentioned the nameLumbricus terrestris(Earthworm).
However, in places where schools are located, it is difficult for a student to under- stand this binomial nomenclature because this name is far from the Kiswahili name
“Mnyoo wa ardhini” commonly used as fishing bait. For other teachers who started with Kiswahili name, students could remember and memorize the scientific name than the previous case. This is a sign that switching from English to Kiswahili is more helpful to clarify and provide an understanding of the subject content and its transfer into daily examples.