The influence of students’ attitudes towards learning Kiswahili on their performance among secondary schools in Rachuonyo District, Kenya

Abstract

In second language learning, attitudes play an important role given that students already identify with their first language which may or may not be linguistically related with the second language. Given unsatisfactory performance in Rachuonyo district Kiswahili examinations, it was necessary to look at student attitudes towards Kiswahili on performance. The research was to find out what attitudes students have towards learning Kiswahili and how teachers could implement strategies to effect change in their students’ attitudes. The research was based on the Affective Filter Hypothesis which embodies Krashen’s views on learning second language a/nd Zimbardo and Leippe’s theory of attitude change. It was carried out in Rachuonyo District, Nyanza Province. This was a survey involving 83 Kiswahili language teachers and 3,654 students in 83 schools. Stratified Random sampling, proportionate sampling and simple random sampling were used to select 30 schools and 310 students for the study. A pilot study was done in four schools in the neighboring Nyando and Kisumu Districts, to test the validity and reliability of the data collection instruments. Questionnaires for students, interview schedules for Kiswahili teachers by the researcher and a verification table for language policies, programs and secondary data were used to collect data. Frequency tables, percentages and scatter plots were used to present data. Spearman’s Rank Correlation coefficient was used to establish the relationship and to test null hypotheses. Results of the study indicated that students in Rachuonyo district have negative attitudes towards learning Kiswahili which influence their performance in Kiswahili. Secondly, the boys tend to have a slightly more negative attitude towards learning Kiswahili than girls. It is recommended that teachers engage students in Kiswahili clubs and programmes in teaching and learning and intensification of inspection of teaching of Kiswahili. There is need for further research on attitudes towards learning Kiswahili at primary, teacher training and university levels and the role of mother tongue in the learning and teaching of Kiswahili.