Analysis of the use of mother tongue based-multilingual education (MTB-MLE) strategies by teachers in lower primary grades in Chongwe rural district.

This study investigated the use of Mother Tongue Based Multilingual Education strategies by teachers at Primary level in Chongwe Rural District. The study is informed by the Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) and Ruiz’s three language orientation theories. Adopting a descriptive research design, the study used qualitative research approach. The study sought to address the following objectives: (i) to establish teachers’ understanding of MTB-MLE strategies used in the classroom. (ii) to analyse teachers’ use of MTB-MLE strategies in lower grades of Primary school. (iii) to identify the challenges that teachers face when applying MTB-MLE strategies in lower grades of primary school. The sample size was thirty teachers of Primary from ten schools of Chongwe District. The population was sampled using purposive sampling and the data were collected using Focus Group Discussion, classroom observation and document analysis and was analysed using thematic analysis. The findings reveal that most teachers in Chongwe District somewhat understood the meaning of MTB-MLE strategies. In addition, the results of the study indicated that teachers of Chongwe District used a variety of MTB-MLE strategies in the classroom. These strategies included translanguaging, use of pictures and picture stories, use of groups, song and real objects. Furthermore, the findings showed that teachers of Chongwe District in an effort to use MTB-MLE strategies faced a number of challenges. Challenges included inadequate materials, unfamiliar concepts in the mother tongue, inadequate preparation time on the part of teachers, and over enrollment. The study concludes that teachers in Chongwe District understand and use MTB-MLE strategies to help learners not familiar with the LOI in multilingual contexts. The study recommends that MOE should come up with a deliberate policy where teachers from time to time should be capacity built on how to handle learners in multilingual contexts. Also, DCD should capacity build teachers to be able to design materials in Zambian languages that can be used in multilingual classrooms. In addition, teachers should be more liberal and innovative in the classroom by making use of other minority languages as opposed to regional languages.

Grantor dc:publisher

The University of Zambia

Year dc:date.issued

2024

Author dc:creator

• Mwiinga, Clare

Language dc:language.iso

en

Repository record dc:identifier.uri

https://dspace.unza.zm/handle/123456789/8921

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.unza.zm:123456789/8921