Mother tongue as default language of instruction in lower primary science classes: Tension between policy prescription and practice in Nigeria

Abstract

The forecast for the first quarter of this century is that the issue of teaching science in the language to which the learner is most familiar will receive more attention in our quest to win more students for science. Over two‐thirds of countries in Africa, Asia, and Europe have developed policies on the use of the mother tongue for teaching science in the lower levels of their education system. In spite of this policy thrust, the educational system of many of these countries has not responded fully to the demands of such a policy. Because studies which mapped the dynamics of communication in science classrooms taught using the mother tongue are scant, we remain in the dark as to how best to structure such classrooms. The study was conducted in 12 primary schools and it involved 36 teachers in urban and rural locations of Lagos State, Nigeria. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected from primary science classrooms where the mother tongue is expected to be used as a medium of instruction. Mismatch between policy and practice was found especially in urban science classrooms. Among other things, it was found that on the average, science lessons delivered in primary 1 in rural settings, were found to be 93.6% in the mother tongue (L1). In primary 2 this fell to 91.1% and in primary 3–84.6%. In contrast, in the urban schools, mother tongue content was found to be 61.8% in primary 1, 49.2% in primary 2 and 26.6% in primary 3. The geo‐spatial communication between and among pupils in urban and rural science classes also showed interesting findings, that is, English served as a mediating language. The implications of the findings for future policy considerations and future research to inform policy are drawn. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 50:62–81, 2013

Probing the Dynamics of Primary Science Classrooms in Nigeria in Relation to Pupils’ Interest in Science

“…This corroborated P. A. Okebukola, Owolabi, and F. O. Okebukola (2013)'s finding that mother tongue as medium of teaching was least favoured and as medium of communication less prominent. This is understandable because the sampled school is elitist hence pupils involved in the study are likely less proficient in the use of mother tongue as medium of communication.…”

The effects of the medium of instruction in certificate-level physics on achievement and motivation to learn

“…The findings of the questionnaire‐based survey also indicated that, overall, the CMI students in this study were more motivated to learn physics than their EMI counterparts. Underpinned by the literature on language in science learning (e.g., Maerten‐Rivera et al, ; Okebukola et al, ), we reason that native language use is advantageous in the science context, as science requires students to simultaneously learn new reading, writing, listening, and speaking skills in acquiring both the academic language of science and the subject content (Wellington & Osborne, ). At the same time, however, the data revealed a different orientation among the high‐ability students .…”

“…Such deficiencies no doubt account for the increasing dominance of English as the world's leading MOI in science education, although it is still acknowledged that learning science through the medium of a second language constitutes a formidable task, one that involves the simultaneous mastery of science content and a new language (Isa & Maskill, ; Strevens, ). Okebukola, Owolabi, and Okebukola () also recently found that parental preferences play a major role in schools' choice of English as the MOI for science learning, with those preferring English strongly resistant to a change to home‐language instruction. Those preferences conflict with the findings of a recent review of language policies in African countries, which called into question the prevailing belief that using English to study science promotes a better understanding of the subject, thus urging examination of the roots of such belief (Brock‐Utne, ).…”

“…Moreover, Cleghorn et al () discovered that restricting native language use during instruction in Kenyan primary schools ultimately hampers student understanding of important concepts. Although the positive effects of native language use in science learning have not been conclusively proved—for instance, a study on the performance of Malaysian eighth graders in the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) in 1999, 2003, and 2007 indicated no significant link between that performance and the language used at home (Mohammadpour, )—mainstream theories (e.g., Lee, ; Maerten‐Rivera et al, ; Okebukola et al, ) on the effects of MOI still favor the use of the home language in science teaching at the lower grade levels.…”

Att kommunicera naturvetenskap i nationella prov : En studie med andraspråksperspektiv

“…Andra studier har visat att om inte bedömningen i form av prov, sker på samma språk som undervisningen bedrivs på, så uppstår en konflikt. Denna konflikt uppstår även om eleverna använder sitt förstaspråk frekvent utanför skolan (Noble et al, 2012;Okebukola, Owolabi, & Okebukola, 2013). Det har även visats att eftersom andraspråket ska användas som redskap i alla ämnen i senare skolår så bör det också vara undervisningsspråket för eleven.…”