By Shaaban Fundi
English language learning in the
Tanzania Education System can be described as being “problem-solving” oriented.
This sort of problem solving does not refer to exercises that cultivate
higher-order thinking skills.
On the contrary, the goal is to
obtain enough knowledge of English to reach a minimal level for a specific
purpose, such as obtaining a position doing menial work or more relevant to
secondary and tertiary education, passing standardized exams. Noticeably absent
is the goal of real learning.
When students focus on passing
exams, they lose sight of learning in my views especially for those that
English is their second or third language. And this is common in most parts of
Tanzania.
Equivalently, when educators fixate
on having their students pass exams, they may neglect teaching. Educators
should certainly work to comply with the country’s learning standards and
prepare students for standardized tests, but should place these formalities in
the background and place learning in the foreground. If students are truly
learning, they will pass the m***f tests ANYWAY.
As educators, one question we need
to ask ourselves is that, “Do we want to teach our students to just survive, or
to flourish?”
Along similar lines of reasoning,
educators need to grasp the need for cycles of Question-Answer-Question instead
of merely Question-Answer. For that matter, educators should not be the only
ones asking the questions. If educators are to treat students as “explorers”,
rather than “plants” that absorb information, and provide space for their
voices, students should be able to pose their own questions and problems and
seek solutions themselves with the facilitation of the educator, as needed.
The idea is to break the orthodox of
what is called in education as “The Pedagogy of the Oppressed,” in which
educators control learning and “deposit” knowledge into students. This is quite
rampant in the Tanzanian education system.
Similarly, educators cannot be the
only expert in the classroom. To deny students their own expert knowledge is to
dis-empower them. Let the students ask and answer their own questions damn
it!!!
When working with English Language
Learners, it is especially important to help build students’ confidence.
Adapting these ideas would hopefully create an environment rich in learning, in
that students would learn from each other and the teacher and the teacher would
learn from the students.
These ideas may be difficult to
accept, as they require that educators relinquish some of their power. It may
be more difficult to manage such a classroom and students would need adequate
practice in instructional conversation and class discussions. I do realize the
fact that most classes in Tanzania are extremely overclouded. Moreover,
enrichment activities that feature language learning would likely require
increased efforts on the part of the teacher to construct and execute, as
compared with implementing lessons grounded in straightforward test preparation
and grammar drills.
Yes, fostering real learning will
require a lot of work. However, although instructional practices and broad
structural changes are necessary, real change cannot occur until we drastically
modify our ideological framework.
Expectations make all the
difference. That is, if all that is expected from the educator is that students
pass the standardized exams or obtain jobs in the menial labor industry, then
learning goals and instructional practices will reflect such aims, and at best,
that is merely what students will learn and do.
I do believe that there is no need
to switch from all English instructional delivery in secondary and tertiary
schools as of yet. But, changing the way we teach English to second language
learners in Tanzania, modifying our ideological framework, and raising our
expectations will yield the most desired result of producing students with
higher-order-thinking skills. In my view, the Swahili only educational delivery
model is flawed to say the least.
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