Early Multilingualism and Bi/Multilingual Education in Tanzanian Primary Schools: Teachers’ Perceptions

Abstract

The article investigates early multilingualism in Tanzanian primary schools, focusing on teachers’ perceptions of bilingual/multilingual education. It highlights Tanzania’s rich linguistic diversity, with over 156 languages, and the bilingual education policy using Swahili and English. The study examines language teaching methods, the development of multilingualism with English, and the effectiveness of these methods in fostering language proficiency in young pupils. The research was conducted in three primary schools in the Kagera region and involved structured interviews with 24 language teachers. The findings contribute to understanding multilingual education in Tanzania, presenting implications for teaching strategies and policy development to enhance multilingual proficiency in the educational system.

Keywords:

• bilingual education
• early multilingualism
• language proficiency
• Tanzanian education
• teaching strategies