Classroom Discourse in A Multilingual Context: The Case of Selected Primary Schools in Chuka Division, Tharaka-Nithi County, Kenya.

Abstract

The sociolinguistic situation in Kenya is triglossic in nature (Schmied, 2012) English is at the top of the rank as the official language. Kiswahili has been in the middle as the co-official and national language. It is also used as the country’s lingua franca. The indigenous languages are at the base of the hierarchy. In such a multilingual setting, code-mixing and code-switching are inevitable. It has not been established how teachers in lower primary utilise the repertoire of languages at their disposal: thus the need for this study. This paper evaluated whether the language-in-education policy is implemented in the classroom. It was a case study carried out in Chuka Division, Tharaka-Nithi County, Kenya. Data was collected using participant observation. The paper establishes that teachers mainly use code-mixing in the classroom and also in official domains. The findings contribute to scholarly literature in Sociolinguistics and should benefit curriculum developers.