What language should be used for teaching?: Language policy and school reform in Burundi

Abstract

This paper examines language of instruction policies in primary schools in Burundi where French is used for teaching in grades five and six and for administration of the concours national which selects students for admission to secondary schools. The present language policy, adopted in 1973, has been implemented in the context of dramatic increases in school enrolment achieved chiefly through the introduction of double shifts that have shortened the teaching schedule. Classroom observations, interviews with teachers and school directors and information obtained from testing grade six students in three primary schools as well as school leavers in the school catchment areas indicate that the use of French: (1) seriously distorts the programme of studies making it difficult for teachers to cover the syllabus, resulting in the neglect of agriculture and other practical subjects; (2) encourages teaching practices oriented to French vocabulary building rather than to enhancing understanding of academic subjects; and (3) while present policies may be effective in developing students’ literacy skills in French as well as in the mother tongue, school leavers who do not go on to secondary school do not maintain functional literacy in French. Attention is given to strategies for improving the teaching of French while reducing its importance in the school curricula and expanding instruction in the mother tongue and practical studies which were the objectives of the 1973 reform.

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