LANGUAGE AND POWER
Although Swahili is the national language, all secondary schools are taught in English. This is an example of Western imperialism permeating social systems and shaping perceptions of reality.
GLOBALIZATION AT BANGATA SECONDARY
It is a strong Western ideal that the major problems that plague the world can be solved with proper education. Ngugi Wa Thiong’o discusses in his book, “Decolonising the mind: The politics of language in African literature” how imperialism has created a world where the West dictates the standard of what is ideal and what is truth for the rest of the world. The Western ideologies around education and the English language is a demonstration of this power dynamic, which is represented in Bangata Secondary School in Ausha, Tanzania.
“Education is not the preparation for life, but education is life itself!” In Bangata, my fourteen year-old homestay sister quoted this phrase as a response to why she loves school. The same quote was printed on the bottom of her Form Two practice exam, the test that determines if she will continue to the next level of school. When my Bangatan sister enthusiastically proclaimed this phrase in English, my Western-educated heart smiled. I interpreted her recitation in English as her comprehension and mastery of the language, which I equated with her success in school.
However in Brigit Brock-Utne's study titled "Language policies and practices in Tanzania and South Africa: problems and challenges" she found that the majority of Tanzanian learners struggle to understand academic content because it is not taught in their native language (2004). I found this to be true when I was helping my homestay brother, who is a teacher, correct his classes' tests. More than half of the students were failing. I found many students would answer with a string of English words demonstrating a direct connection between their failing with the lack of comprehension of the language of instruction. In an additional study conducted by Brock-Utne titled "Learning through a familiar language versus learning through a foreign language—A look into some secondary school classrooms in Tanzania" she found that learning through a foreign language creates students who obey, sit quietly, are indifferent, and apathetic, rather than students who are creative and critical thinkers. She states, "It was this type of work force the colonial powers wanted" (2007).
English as the teaching medium is stunting Tanzania's progress as well as shaping Tanzanian's perceptions of reality. I asked my homestay brother if it was difficult to teach in English, if he felt as though the students understood, and if he believed teaching in Swahili would be more beneficial for the students. I was surprised when he told me without hesitation, “Teaching in English is good.” When I asked him why he believed that, even when most of students were failing, he responded, “because English is the language of teaching.” This shows that in Bangata, English is understood as the only acceptable language of education which reinforces the superiority of the English language and Western ideals.
Language is not only a means of communication but an enforcer of cultural control. Wa Thiong’o highlights how economic and political control is not possible without mental control, and language is used as this tool of control. He writes “Language carries culture, and culture carries...the entire body of values by which we come to perceive ourselves and our place in the world." The language of education dictates truth and shapes how one perceives themselves, their culture, and the world. This domination and undervaluing of the native cultures and society demonstrates that colonization is still present. Globalization in Bangata is manifested as a power dynamic of Western ideals dictating what is the truth, and the Tanzanian school system is being used as a tool to implement this knowledge.
“Education is not the preparation for life, but education is life itself!” In Bangata, my fourteen year-old homestay sister quoted this phrase as a response to why she loves school. The same quote was printed on the bottom of her Form Two practice exam, the test that determines if she will continue to the next level of school. When my Bangatan sister enthusiastically proclaimed this phrase in English, my Western-educated heart smiled. I interpreted her recitation in English as her comprehension and mastery of the language, which I equated with her success in school.
However in Brigit Brock-Utne's study titled "Language policies and practices in Tanzania and South Africa: problems and challenges" she found that the majority of Tanzanian learners struggle to understand academic content because it is not taught in their native language (2004). I found this to be true when I was helping my homestay brother, who is a teacher, correct his classes' tests. More than half of the students were failing. I found many students would answer with a string of English words demonstrating a direct connection between their failing with the lack of comprehension of the language of instruction. In an additional study conducted by Brock-Utne titled "Learning through a familiar language versus learning through a foreign language—A look into some secondary school classrooms in Tanzania" she found that learning through a foreign language creates students who obey, sit quietly, are indifferent, and apathetic, rather than students who are creative and critical thinkers. She states, "It was this type of work force the colonial powers wanted" (2007).
English as the teaching medium is stunting Tanzania's progress as well as shaping Tanzanian's perceptions of reality. I asked my homestay brother if it was difficult to teach in English, if he felt as though the students understood, and if he believed teaching in Swahili would be more beneficial for the students. I was surprised when he told me without hesitation, “Teaching in English is good.” When I asked him why he believed that, even when most of students were failing, he responded, “because English is the language of teaching.” This shows that in Bangata, English is understood as the only acceptable language of education which reinforces the superiority of the English language and Western ideals.
Language is not only a means of communication but an enforcer of cultural control. Wa Thiong’o highlights how economic and political control is not possible without mental control, and language is used as this tool of control. He writes “Language carries culture, and culture carries...the entire body of values by which we come to perceive ourselves and our place in the world." The language of education dictates truth and shapes how one perceives themselves, their culture, and the world. This domination and undervaluing of the native cultures and society demonstrates that colonization is still present. Globalization in Bangata is manifested as a power dynamic of Western ideals dictating what is the truth, and the Tanzanian school system is being used as a tool to implement this knowledge.