Imagined Futures and New Technology

Youths’ Language Attitudes in Songea, Tanzania

Bibliographic Data

ID20406353
AuthorsGastor Mapunda (0000-0001-5683-0175, University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, corresponding author), Tove Rosendal (0000-0001-5075-5362, University of Gothenburg)
Year2021
Volume52
Issue1
Pages92-112
Publication date2021-01-02
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueLanguage Matters (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1022-8195 • E-ISSN: 1753-5395
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/10228195.2021.1876157
OpenAlexW3163431473
LanguageEN
Citations received3
References cited23

Building on investment theory, this study analyses the language attitudes of secondary school students in Songea, Tanzania, with a focus on identity and access to digital technology. The study involved 467 secondary school students aged 14–21 years. The data were collected through questionnaires and interviews. Less than half of the students had access to digital technology. Most of them lacked the required linguistic resources. English, a challenge to most students, and, to some extent, even Swahili, are seen as tools for future possibilities and success. Students invest in learning English and want to go abroad. Lack of resources notwithstanding, students’ decisions to invest in learning a particular language is mostly influenced by imagined possibilities. Structural inequalities and socioeconomic differences impact both language skills and the use of digital tools. Consequently, digital resources using mainly English and difficult Swahili terminology become an exclusion mechanism for many Tanzanian secondary school students

Linguistics · Mathematics education · Pedagogy · Political science · Public relations · Socioeconomics · Sociology · Swahili · Tanzania · Terminology · EFL/ESL Teaching and Learning · Multilingual Education and Policy · Psychology · Second Language Learning and Teaching

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