Reading and Comprehension in the African Context: A Cognitive Enquiry

Chapter One: Introduction

Introduction CHAPTER ONE Introduction Background A ccording to the 1999 National Population Census the Kenyan population is composed ofAfricans who belong to different mother tongues, Asians of several Asiatic languages, Europeans of different nationalities, Arabs and other nationalities that come from diverse linguistic backgrounds.TheAfrican languages are traditionally regarded as belonging to four major linguistic groups: Bantu (for example, Gikuyu, Akamba, Luhya), Para-Nilotic (for example, Nandi, Kipsigis, Maasai), Cushitic (for example, Orma, Somali, Galla), and Nilotic (for example, Luo). These tribes conceal basic information concerning the rich linguistic diversity that is characteristic of Kenya. The Kenyan Government (1999) listed 42 African tribes who speak different languages. Besides these African languages, there is Kiswahili which is commonly associated with the coastal people. The Kiswahili language developed as a lingua franca between the early coastal traders notably, the Arabs and the indigenous coastal people. Since the vast majority of the coastal people belong to the Bantu linguistic group, the language borrowed many morphological structures from the Bantu languages. The word Swahili is derived from anArabic word, Sahila, which means coast. It is a combination of the local language and Arabic. From the coastal area where it is still widely used, Kiswahili spread into the hinterland along the 1 Reading and Comprehension in the African Context Mombasa–Kisumu railway line after which it spread into the rural districts. Kiswahili is currently widely used in the urban areas and in some rural districts where people are linguistically heterogeneous. The subjects in the research project speak their respective mother tongues, (that is, Gikuyu, Kalenjin, Luhya and Kikamba) and they have acquired Kiswahili in and outside classrooms. The acquisition of English is quite different from Kiswahili as it is learnt only in schools where it is taught as a subject which means that do not practice English after school because the language that is used in most homes is either Kiswahili or vernacular. Most of these learners do not stay in their homes to read in the evenings because there are no reading facilities at their homes. Instead, they hang out with their friends in the neighbourhood where they speak Pidgin English which is known as ‘sheng’. This is a mixture of English, Kiswahili, and many local languages.According to Espelago (2001) peer pressure dictates that for one to belong and be accepted in a group, he must behave like it. Therefore, the Kenyan youth must speak ‘sheng’ as speaking English is unacceptable and is regarded as a formal way of communication. The speaking of ‘sheng’ hampers the development and mastery of English. Therefore, the environment at home does not assist these learners as they struggle to acquire and learn vocabulary. A Kenyan Historical Perspective The history of the establishment of Kenya, as an independent nation plays an important part in understanding the present situation of language use, policy and the attitude the Kenyan nationalities have towards English. During the colonial period, the colonial government discouraged the use of Kiswahili in the education system with some regarding its teaching to those who had received early education in other vernaculars as a “complete waste of time and effort” (Muthiani, 1984:12). Some Christian missionaries on the other hand distrusted it because of its Islamic connotations. The place of mother tongue teaching was largely undisputed because it was favoured as the initial medium of instruction by all the parties concerned. 2 Introduction The colonial government’s wishes as expressed by the then Director of Education (Mr. Orr) was to make English the lingua franca of East Africa and in his words “that is the star to which we must hitch our wagon” (Muthiani, 1984:6). Speakers of English were favoured vis-à-vis those of other languages. Consequently, good jobs were the preserve of those who could speak English. As a result, many Kenyans saw the knowledge of English as a key to prestige, material benefits, and social status. They equated education with English. This attitude is still prominent in Kenya. English as a medium of instruction plays a major role in Kenyan schools and institutions of higher learning making it crucial in determining the performance in other subjects. Success at primary, secondary and tertiary levels in terms of vocabulary and comprehension has been seen to depend on the level of achievement in the four skills relating to English (Waithaka, 1993). The same observation has been made by Omutsani (1997: iii) as he states that one...