Learning English in Kenya

The paper reports a survey of secondary school teachers of English in Kenya. Eighty‐six teachers answered a questionnaire during seminars in which the role of English in Kenya was one of the topics discussed. They were asked to rate the seriousness of various problems experienced by their students, and to give their most likely causes. Sociocultural and motivational problems relating to the communicative use of English were not considered to be as serious, as obstacles to the use of English, as bad grammar, lack of vocabulary and mistakes in the written language. The paper considers the findings in the light of the current status of English in Kenya, including the strong association of English with the classroom, the methods used to teach it and its role in the life of the students. It concludes that English as a national second language, for internal use in Kenya, may have to be given greater priority in the school programme while English as an international language, which will be relevant only to certain professions and trades, will tend increasingly to be treated as a variety of ESP (English for Special Purposes)

English language · Grammar · Linguistics · Mathematics education · Medical education · Pedagogy · Political science · Seriousness · Sociocultural evolution · Sociology · Variety (cybernetics · Vocabulary · Computer Science · EFL/ESL Teaching and Learning · Medicine · Multilingual Education and Policy · Psychology · Second Language Learning and Teaching

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