Language ideologies in multilingual Tanzania

Parental discourses, school realities, and contested visions of schooling

Bibliographic Data

ID11184234
AuthorsMonica Shank Lauwo (0000-0002-3663-8087, University of British Columbia, corresponding author)
Year2022
Volume43
Issue7
Pages679-693
Publication date2022-08-09
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0143-4632 • E-ISSN: 1747-7557
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/01434632.2020.1760286
OpenAlexW3025757603
LanguageEN
Citations received8
References cited17

Language ideologies shape ways in which different learners’ linguistic repertoires are positioned as resources or problems, with significant implications for educational access and equity. In Tanzania, tensions between the national language of Kiswahili and high-status English have given rise to two parallel schooling systems, while 130+ local languages are effectively muted in formal schooling. This comparative study explores how Maa (Maasai language), Kiswahili, and English are discursively constructed by parents and teachers at one Kiswahili-medium government school and one English-medium private school in a predominantly Maasai community in northern Tanzania, and examines how these languages are positioned pedagogically at both schools. Education for Self-Reliance (Nyerere 1967/2004 Nyerere, Julius. 1967/2004. “Education for Self Reliance.” In Nyerere on Education/Nyerere Kuhusu Elimu, edited by Elieshi Lema, Marjorie Mbilinyi, and Rakesh Rajani, 67–88. Dar es Salaam: E&D Limited.[Crossref] , [Google Scholar]. “Education for Self Reliance.” In Nyerere on Education/Nyerere Kuhusu Elimu, edited by Elieshi Lema, Marjorie Mbilinyi, and Rakesh Rajani, 67–88. Dar es Salaam: E&D Limited) and Duchêne and Heller’s (2012. Language in Late Capitalism: Pride and Profit. New York: Routledge) work on ‘pride and profit’ provide theoretical lenses. Findings show that parents’ strong appreciation for multilingualism contrasts with schools’ monoglossic ideologies; discourses of nationalism and identity vary dramatically depending on parents’ educational background; and Maasai language and culture are constructed unambiguously as problems in schooling. The linguistic, ideological, and cultural divide between home and school, and between respective schools, is problematised. This paper addresses implications for debates on language education in Tanzania and beyond, exploring possibilities for pluralistic ideologies of nationalism that create space for multilingual and multicultural resources

Ethnology · Ideology · Language planning · Multilingualism · Pedagogy · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Tanzania · Vision · Anthropology · EFL/ESL Teaching and Learning · Gender Studies · Multilingual Education and Policy · Second Language Learning and Teaching

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