Revisiting the Use of English as the Language of Instruction in Tanzanian Secondary Schools

Abstract

There are various challenges facing the use of English as the language of instruction policy in Tanzania secondary schools. These include low levels of English among teachers, a lack of qualified teachers, and a lack of guidelines about how to teach in English. The challenges negatively affect the learning of content subjects as well as the learning of the English language itself. This article examines English as the language of instruction policy in secondary schools by reviewing theoretical bases for adopting an additional language as a language of instruction and education approaches in which subject contents are taught using English as the medium of instruction. The paper discusses the weaknesses of the current practice and recommends refocusing English as the language of instruction policy by highlighting its implicit goal of improving language skills through the integrated content and language learning approach.