Resumen de Revisiting English as medium of instruction in rural African classrooms
In this paper, we address findings from a study conducted in a rural, Ugandan secondary school from August 2009 to May 2011 that explored the challenges and possibilities of developing language and literacy across the curriculum, including digital possibilities for the development of multilingual academic literacy. The central questions we address are: (1) in a rural African context, what educational conditions and language policies impact the use of English as a medium of instruction in secondary schools? and (2) how do teachers across the curriculum navigate these conditions and policies to integrate English language and content? Data collection methods included questionnaires, interviews, observations, policy document analysis and researchers' journal reflections. Central findings highlight the difficulties faced by content teachers in addressing their students' language needs in the context of contemporary policy guidelines; issues related to the pre-service preparation of subject area teachers; and possibilities for developing pedagogy for teaching language/s and literacies across the curriculum. From the findings, we argue that language policies, despite best intentions, might, like other ‘placed resources’ become dysfunctional when moved across distinctly different spaces from relatively well-resourced urban areas to poorly resourced rural communities and from elite to grassroots contexts.
