Bringing the outside in: attitudes towards multilingual competence in Zambia and Tanzania

Citation

Reilly C, Gibson H, Kula N, Costley T, Mapunda G & Mwansa J (2024) Bringing the outside in: attitudes towards multilingual competence in Zambia and Tanzania. In: Learning Languages, Being Social.

Abstract
Language-in-education policies in many African countries are heavily influenced by a monolingual mindset and monoglossic conceptualizations of language. This policy situation does not accurately reflect the multilingualism which characterizes language use within communities nor the linguistic repertoires of individuals in these communities. This chapter focuses on the tensions between multilingual repertoires found outside of the classroom and the seemingly monolingual policies within them. We discuss findings from linguistic ethnographic research carried out in Zambia and Tanzania. We examine individual attitudes towards language and how children acquire their communicative competence and compare the language practices that are found and valued outside of schools, with those found within schools. Our findings show that adults and children engage in sophisticated translanguaging practices as a natural part of their everyday lives outside of educational contexts. Multilingual practices are seen to emerge organically from the necessity to communicate in different contexts within the community. This informal practice sharply contrasts with the language education provided in formal educational contexts where an artificial monolingualism is enforced and where multilingual practices and skills are often not welcomed or valued. We conclude with recommendations for utilizing the multilingual practices which are acquired outside of the classroom to enhance learning within the classrooms, thereby strengthening communicative competencies across formal and informal contexts.

Keywords
multilingualism; language attitudes; language policy; Zambia; Tanzania

People

Dr Colin Reilly

Lecturer in Linguistics, English Studies