[ad_1]
The recent poor performance in the English language test by nurses who had hoped they would work in Britain has sparked a debate on the level of competence in the language both in schools and outside schools. The English Language is not only the language of instruction in Kenya’s educational institutions, but it’s also the official language. The Chinese have Chinese, the French, French, the Russian, Russian and the Tanzanians, Swahili. It is therefore too defeatist to say that the mastery of The English language is not important when in all our schooling and in work and social environments, we use it all the time to communicate. A Tanzanian or a Congolese would be excused if they spoke or wrote bad English. But not a Kenyan. As to whether the mastery of the English language is a measure of intelligence, that’s a whole different thing altogether which I will not delve into here.
Let me step back a little bit for the millennials. Long before the introduction of the 8.4.4 system, The English language was one of the hardest subjects in schools. The grading of subjects was as follows; Distinction – 1 and 2, Credit – 3,4,5,6, Pass – 7 & 8 and Fail – 9
For one to score a distinction one or two in the Language, one had to be exceptionally good. You could find that there was only one student who scored distinction one or two in a whole district. In some marginalized districts in North Eastern Kenya or the coast, for example, you could find there was not even a single student who scored a credit. The same trend could be found at A Level in Literature in English (English Language was not offered at A level). The scores were graded as A B C D E F, A being the best and F as a fail. The few students who chose to pursue Literature in English, very few managed to score an A or B (I managed a C; clap for me Lol).
Then this begs the question, what changed at the 8.4.4 system that majority of the students in all schools score A and A- in the English language which is an equivalent of distinction 1 and 2 in the old system? How, when and why did the subject become so simple that so many candidates could score so well? Why is the good performance not reflected in their communication or in their writings?
If the students were that competent in the language, then why did 290 nurses out of 300 flunk an English language test? Doesn’t then this reflect on the kind of teaching of the language happening in most Kenyan schools? I taught English Language and Literature in English in a secondary school for 3 years before I ‘deserted’. Every year, English language teachers used to have a refresher course, funded and organized by the British government and of course through the Ministry of Education. I think Britain stopped funding these projects when money started being ‘eaten’. It is there incumbent upon the ministry of education to investigate where the rain started doing the beating.
Besides the happenings at school level, most Kenyans stop reading immediately after they have completed their school. With the advancement of technology, many people don’t have time to read novels and other books. People would rather watch movies and videos than read books. And of course 80% of the time is spend on social media.
Reading after school is very important. There are several benefits that accrue from regular reading. It improves the functioning of the brain and increases your vocabulary. It improves the functioning of the mind as well as sharpening memory. Reading also strengthens ones writing skills and fosters concentration.
Lastly when you read you acquire and accumulate a lot of knowledge which you can always use to your advantage. For example when you are in a bar and you are telling people all these stories you have read, they will keep on buying you alcohol…😂😂😂Free alcohol. Unfortunately, I am not benefiting from this because I stopped indulging in carousels.
Read…Read…Read…
By Jay Kioko
The post The Falling Standards of The English Language in Kenya appeared first on LitKenya.
[ad_2]
Source link
