Influence of Language of Instruction Preference on Mathematics Learning Outcomes among Public Secondary School Students in Monduli District, Tanzania
Sane S. Lazaro
Irkisongo Secondary School, Monduli.
Email: sethlazaro2022@gmail.com
Paul Raphael Kitula & Kennedy Omondi Otieno
St. Augustine University of Tanzania (SAUT), Arusha.
Email: kitula07@gmail.com& omondiken2016@gmail.com
Abstract: This study examined the influence of language of instruction preference on mathematics learning outcomes among public secondary school students in Monduli District, Tanzania. Specifically, it compared mathematics outcomes between students preferring Kiswahili and English and determined the extent to which language preference influenced achievement. Cummins’ Linguistic Interdependence Theoryguided the study. A quantitative approach employing a correlational research design was used. The target population comprised 10,728 Form Three and Form Four students from 16 public secondary schools. A sample of 384 students was selected through stratified and systematic sampling, while 376 completed questionnaires were returned, producing a 97.92% response rate. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire and document analysis schedule. Instrument validity was established through expert review, while reliability coefficients for the two questionnaire scales were 0. 872 and 0.889. Data were analyzed using frequencies, percentages, means, standard deviations, an independent-samples t-test and simple linear regression in SPSS. Ethical principles of informed consent, confidentiality, anonymity and voluntary participation were observed. Findings showed that students who preferred English recorded a higher mean mathematics score of 33.66 than those preferring Kiswahili, whose mean was 26.28. The difference was statistically significant, t (84.976) = -3.127, p = .002. Regression results further showed that language preference significantly predicted mathematics achievement, β = .525, F (1,374) = 142.313, p < .001. The study concluded that language preference meaningfully shapes mathematics learning outcomes. It recommended effective bilingual instructional support, gradual strengthening of academic English and greater use of Kiswahili for clarification.
