The Rwandan teachers’ and learners’ perceived speaking proficiency in both Kinyarwanda and English after 2008-2011 consecutive language-in-education policy shifts

Abstract

While several studies on speaking proficiency are found in various languages worldwide, there is a paucity of studies that investigated the learners’ and teachers’ speaking proficiency after language policy shifts. This article investigates the perceived speaking proficiency in English and Kinyarwanda among Rwandan lower primary school learners and their teachers after experiencing two consecutive language policy shifts, that is the shift from French-dominant medium to English-only in 2008 and the shift from English to Kinyarwanda medium in 2011. An attitudinal survey was administered among 324 learners and teachers, selected in six schools in both rural and urban settings of Rwanda. Interpreted within the lens of language preference model and integrative theories of communication competence, the main finding is that both urban and rural teachers and learners perceived themselves to have high proficiency in speaking Kinyarwanda; while their perceived proficiency in speaking English is unbalanced. The paper argues that Rwandan learners’ and teachers’ characteristics, circumstances, exposure and endoglossic ideology have all led to uneven levels of proficiency in both English and Kinyarwanda, after the two consecutive policy shifts.

Keywords: Language-in-education policy shifts; teachers’ and learners’ perceived speaking proficiency; endoglossic country; Rwanda