Educational language policies in Tanzania have responded to a complex web of often-contradictory pressures throughout the country’s history, serving as a powerful insight into the country’s struggles balancing development of a cohesive national identity with the desire to integrate into an English-dominated economic world.

Joe Bogumill and Jordan Lee
LING 3545 World Language Policies
Advisor: Dr. Raichle Farrelly
LURA 2021

    Educational language policies in Tanzania have responded to a complex web of often-contradictory pressures throughout the country’s history, serving as a powerful insight into the country’s struggles balancing development of a cohesive national identity with the desire to integrate into an English-dominated economic world. Tanzania was formed in 1964 when the recently independent nations of Tanganyika and Zanzibar united under the leadership of President Julius Nyerere. Tanganyika was incredibly linguistically diverse, with over a hundred different languages from multiple linguistic families spoken, while Zanzibar was a relatively more homogeneous island with heavy influences from Arabic traders. Creating a united national identity out of the various ethnic groups that found themselves living within these new borders was, and remains, a major issue for post-colonial African nations. As part of the nation-building process, Nyerere chose Kiswahili to be the national language to both promote a sense of African identity, and to challenge the prominence of English, a colonial language (Harries, 1969). This created differences in the social and cultural capital carried by each language, with Kiswahili as a language marking Tanzanian and East African identity, and English as a global language associated with economic opportunity. 

    Through our research on language education policies, we found that Tanzanian language education policy aligns ideologically with nationalist planning, though it does not serve the Tanzanian populace well by failing to provide desired levels English proficiency and neglecting development of ethnic community languages. In primary school, Kiswahili is the primary language of instruction, and English is taught as a subject. In order to be accepted into secondary schools, students must then pass state exams, which are conducted in English. This creates a barrier between primary and secondary education that makes it difficult for many students to continue their education. If a student doesn’t belong to a family with English-speaking social connections, or access to additional tutoring in English, it’s very unlikely that they’ll be able to pass these exams and continue beyond a middle school-level of education. Despite an increasing literacy rate throughout the country, these gatekeeping mechanisms disproportionately hinder educational access for girls, children with disabilities, and children from rural or poor backgrounds (World Bank, 2015). English-medium national exams after minimal exposure to English both in- and outside the classroom particularly affect social groups who cannot afford private English medium education or tutoring. 

    However, even English proficiency does not automatically enable future educational and career opportunities. One study of a secondary school in northern Tanzania found that fewer than half of students were employed or pursuing higher education four years after graduation (Vavrus, 2002). Furthermore, while the education system itself limits access to English learning, many positions in tourism, travel, and banking require only English proficiency, but not necessarily a high level of education (Billings, 2009). Furthermore, many Tanzanians speak an ethnic community language (ECL)  in addition to Kiswahili and English. The education system, however, fails to recognize this multilingual situation by not permitting the use of ECLS in teaching or in governmental communication, and by enforcing a dichotomized bilingual education that compartmentalizes Kiswahili and English. Especially for children from ECL-speaking homes and communities, the abrupt change from Kiswahili to English hinders day-to-day learning, and students are unable to make full use of their linguistic abilities on national exams. Ultimately, current language policies in education reflect English’s linguistic capital as a connection to future opportunities, but have not translated into significant improvement of educational and economic prospects for many Tanzanians. 

    Language acquisition planning requires reform to more equitably serve linguistic communities throughout the country. Possible suggestions to better recognize the existing linguistic situation in Tanzania and foster linguistic diversity while forwarding national and economic opportunity include offering national exams in Kiswahili and English, or using them as benchmarks rather than gatekeepers for pursuing further education. Furthermore, the state could offer English language learning opportunities outside of the formal school system for sectors that don’t require specialized training, such as tourism. Finally, having less compartmentalized mediums of instruction and allowing for the use of ethnic community languages in the classroom could help bridge linguistic gaps for many students and increase the sense of national and community pride. While Tanzanian language planning faces the challenge of balancing national, cultural, educational, and economic concerns, we believe changes such as these would promote a more equitable linguistic landscape throughout the country. 

Bibliography

Billings, S. (2009). Speaking Beauties: Linguistic Posturing, Language Inequality, and the Construction of a Tanzanian Beauty Queen. Language in Society, 38(5), 581-606. Retrieved September 17, 2020, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/20622683 
Harries, L. (1969). Language Policy in Tanzania. Africa: Journal of the International African Institute, 39(3), 275-280. Retrieved September 18, 2020, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/1157997
Vavrus, F. (2002). Postcoloniality and English: Exploring Language Policy and the Politics of Development in Tanzania. TESOL Quarterly, 36(3), 373-397. doi:10.2307/3588418
World Bank. (2015). Tanzania: Engaging the Private Sector in Education. SABER Country Report, 1-35. https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/bitstream/handle/10986/22987/SABER0engaging0port000Tanzania02015.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y