Attitudinal Factors as Determinants of Language of Educational Instruction in Kenya: A Case Study of Nairobi

Abstract

Using Nairobi as a case study of attitudinal factors determining language in education in Kenya and my familiarity with Kenyan language attitudes at large I in this paper try to make a case for and against the use of Kiswahili, Kenyan endogenous languages, and English at all levels of education in Kenya. This paper therefore aims at revealing the attitudinal factors that determine the languages of educational instruction in Kenya. The attitudinal factors that are revealed will go along way in showing how they impact on the language in education generally and on language education policy for Kenya in particular. Data for this paper were collected by means of library research, field visits, interviews, observation, and discussion. This work, being field based, used tape-recorders also and the information recorded was transcribed and analyzed focusing on the specific items of the interview schedule. The work purposively selected its sample and was conducted with the participation of 282 respondents. Using the Sociological theoretical framework and the Social Psychological theory, the study found out that the attitudinal factors towards the languages of educational instruction in Kenya range from integrative to instrumental with the instrumental attitudinal factors being given much prominence.

Key words: Language attitudes, Language policy, Language planning, Endogenous languages