LANGUAGE SKILLS AND CRITICAL THINKING IN TANZANIA: A FINANCIAL PERSPECTIVE ON THE ISSUE.

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LANGUAGE SKILLS AND CRITICAL THINKING IN TANZANIA:

A FINANCIAL PERSPECTIVE ON THE ISSUE.

“An explorative study on the influence of the English educational system

on the Kiswahili speaking critical minds in Tanzania.”

RESEARCH THESIS MSc. IBM-IFM

L.D. Gaastra

University of Groningen

Faculty of economics and business

The Netherlands

And

University of Uppsala

Faculty of economics and business

Sweden

Supervisors:

Dr. B.J.W. Pennink and Professor Dr. L. Karsten

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ABSTRACT

This research is based on several explorative researches done in Tanzania and explores the language skills and critical thinking in Tanzania. This case study is based on the multi-method approach and investigates the relationship between language and critical thinking. Based on the two main questions of this research and some preliminary sensitizing concepts, a research matrix was constructed based on four pillars. These pillars proved a valid framework to measure different aspects of the language issue. The four elements of the research matrix are: Critical thinking, Linguistics and Culture, Financial and Economic environment and finally the Political and Historical situation. In order to measure the concept of culture the research uses a set of cultural characteristics called Ubuntu. This set of cultural characteristics called Ubuntu is linked statistically to many chapters and topics of this research. Tanzania makes an excellent case study because the country has an interesting language history and is still categorized as a country with many bilingual and trilingual citizens, which makes the investigation of the socialisation process easier. Deriving Western conclusion from African data could result into wrong conclusions and that is why the research results should be re-examined by African scientists. We can conclude that historical facts cannot be neglected when exploring this research field. The Western and African culture have been interacting for several decades and this has influenced the perception and the culture of the African people. Finally we have to wonder in what way the critical mind and African culture go along. Maybe African cultures need to use a different set of skills to come to the development and creation of new knowledge.

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1 PREFACE

In this section I take the opportunity to thank the people who were of importance to me during the process of writing and gathering of data for this Thesis. I would like to express my gratitude to the support that was given to me by H.Gaastra, L.J.Gaastra, C.H,Gaastra, N. van der Vinne, P. van der Vinne. Special appreciations goes out to drs B.J.W. Pennink who has offered me the chance to do research in Africa and was always prepared to offer a lending ear and showed a genuine interest in people. Finally special thanks goes out to C.D.N Kassala who gave me a warm welcome in Tanzania and was willing to spend time with me to sharpen each other’s intellectual view on the world.

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2 INTRODUCTION

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3 OPEN RESEARCH APPROACH

3.1 Introduction

In this chapter the research approach will be discussed. The second paragraph in this chapter will be used to set forth the importance of qualitative and quantitative research in social science. The research has an open and explorative setup and this has certain implications and consequences towards the research process. This will be clarified in the third paragraph of this chapter. The fourth paragraph focuses on the research design. The fifth paragraph introduces the multi-method approach - which has been used in practice to increase validation within (explorative) research. In the sixth paragraph the research approach for this paper will be discussed and in the final paragraph the different sub researches used are being displayed.

3.2 Social science: qualitative a quantitative data research

Both traditional academic research and, more in particular, traditional research in the field of business have developed into a more diverse set of implementations. When we look at business research we find that it tended to focus on the delivery of solutions. In general this involves a problem or a set of problems within organisations. In order to solve these problems researchers usually used a fixed sequence of steps to analyse and solve these problems. In general researchers started out by diagnosing the problem, letting it follow by a design phase and finalizing it with an alteration. But such an approach can easily oversimplify the object investigated.

What does this mean for social science? Several researchers in this scientific field have argued that this simplified view of doing research is insufficient. Karsten states that within social science things are more complicated and alternatives are needed, because in most cases the researcher in this field engages into a (communicational) relationship with the research field. (Karsten 1999) Objects are not merely observational as is often the case with natural occurring phenomena. In social science research is restricted to the communication between the researcher and the social actors. (Karsten 1999) This means that social science researchers have no access to their object when it is placed outside the interpretation schemes used by the researchers. (Kunneman 1986)

How can we interpret and analyse this vast and interactive field? Jonker and Pennink start this discussion by emphasising on the diversity of the objects in the field. “Who tries to research an

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Pennink 1999) This vast diversity makes it hard to conceptualize the research needed for this field. Jonker and Pennink argue that in order to solve this problem the researcher needs to take an internal view on the subject in order to develop new insights and possible theory. Doing research from a merely external view hardly produces new insights (Jonker, Pennink 1999). Karsten, Jonker and Pennink argue that in order to find this internal view on the subject one needs to use qualitative data. The use of only quantitative data is in many cases not sufficient enough for social science research.

Now, which methods should be used to gather this qualitative data? The basic difference between quantitative and qualitative data lies in the measure of the simplicity of the data collected. Quantitative data are characterized by numbers and figures, which gives them a more simple nature than qualitative data, which contain categorized interpretations of the subject as seen by the researcher. Although the quantitative data are easier to label, it does not mean that they can’t have any complex interactions. Anyway, in general this form of data has been seen as having more validity and explanatory value. But, as mentioned prior, this is in many cases not sufficient enough to grasp the real world of social science.

How must these qualitative data be validated and controlled? Well, first of all researcher should have an open mind, which means that while starting the researcher should not have any preconceived ideas or theories on the object at hand. The testing of a model or concept isn’t also a likely starting point for qualitative research. Jonker and Pennink state that in order to develop a qualitative research, the researcher needs sensitizing concepts. These concepts are pre-theoretical and give a sense of direction to the research. Basically it gives the researcher a broad notion of the subject, a general framework and a clear starting point. In order to get the best results of qualitative research the researcher has to broaden his mind-set. This enables him to understand decisions and actions of people. This means that clear documentation and a systematic way conducting the researching are eminent. “The core is:

searching for the unknown by systematic ways” (Jonker, Pennink 1999) Based on the previously

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3.3 Open research questions and the consequences

What are the consequences of this decision for the research. As mentioned earlier it is important to define the sensitizing concepts of the research. In order to understand the chosen concepts it is important to explain how this research has started. The first outlines for this research are vested in the interests of the author, which include education, foreign cultures and business. Next to these interests the author developed a fascination for the African continent and its cultures. In dialogue with researchers in these fields the issue of Tanzania came up. From an educational viewpoint is was very interesting to study the development of critical thinking in Tanzania and the developing language policy in Tanzania in order to see if there was a correlation. To get a clear view on this matter it seemed evident to us that we first had to construct our own sensitizing concepts and that we had to work mainly systematic in order to increase the validity.

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Figure 3-1: Sensitizing concepts and research area

With these sensitizing concepts we formulated two preliminary open research questions.

1) How does the language (instruction) used in Tanzanian education influence the development of critical thinking.

2) To what extent do financial circumstances influence critical thinking and language skills.

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3.4 Research design

What design should this research have? Based on the work of Silverman, Jonker and Pennink constructed a general model to guide the construction of a research design (figure 3.2). While doing so Jonker and Pennink constructed two interesting lists of inferences. They based them on Silverman’s list of ground rules. (Silverman 1994) Silverman sets out several ground rules or basic attitudes for conducting qualitative data. (Silverman 1994) It is not in our interest to exhibit all these attitudes but we will emphasis on a few core elements later on in this paragraph. The first list constructed by Jonker and Pennink was a list that would layout the consequences for the planning of the research and the second list concerned the course of the research. The most relevant points made in these lists will be explained in the following subparagraphs followed by an analysis of the model.

Figure 3-2: Research design in relationship to theory, methodology and context (by Jonker and Pennink)

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Now, how must the research be organized? Firstly, during the course of the research, existing theories can be used at different stages of the research. Secondly the research has a cyclical basis instead of a linear process. This means that different stages in the research can influence each other. Next to this it is preferable that the research keeps a logbook or journal in order to make the justification easier. Finally the researcher keeps on researching with different data sources in order to adhere to the triangulation until the data gathering is saturated ,or, in other words, finished. (Jonker, Pennink 1999) This triangulation will be examined in the following section.

The model of Jonker and Pennink shows us that we need to combine the three fields called context, theory and methodology, in order to design a proper research. The construction and exploration of the context and theory field have already briefly been dealt with. For the theory field we constructed several sensitizing concepts and for the context field we explained how we submerged ourselves into the research field. For a slight abbreviation we refer back to Silverman and his basic attitudes. Silverman states that the researcher should try to avoid the development of theory before the actual research has started. (Silverman 1994) Secondly the researcher should not be an expert on the subject but be an explorer. Since linguistics is a new research field for the author this helps the previously mentioned attitudes. What does this entail for the pursuing of this research? The construction of several mini-theories will be formed during the analysis of research findings and the inspection of the different but related fields of literature. This means that at this point of the research there were no clear theories constructed.

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research. The first concept that needs to be researched is linguistics, especially how it can be linked to the concept of “habit”. Languages are partly built on habits and cultures and because of this there must be a strong relation. Next to But above this, linguistics is one of our research topics that needs to be included based on the topic of the research. This topic will form the first chapter in this research. The second concept that needs to be addressed is “culture”. This concept is related to linguistics but will also be researched separately and will be measured by the concept of Ubuntu. Ubuntu is a philosophy concerning African culture. This topic will form the second chapter in this research. Next, by analysing the educational system, we want to discover more about critical thinking in Tanzania. This can be linked to the concept of “structure” as we analyse the structure of the educational system. This topic will form the third chapter in this research. The concept of “resources” and the “economic

situation of the country” will be analysed in the chapter on the financial and economic environment

of Tanzania. The final concept mentioned by Staps and Pennink, is “organizational culture”. Which will be dealt with in the chapter on the political situation in Tanzania. (Staps, Pennink 2007)

Now that we have covered the first two fields of the model we now focus our attention to the methodological field. The methodological basis for this research will not be limited to one method. Jonker and Pennink emphasize the importance of not viewing the methodology as a single method of conducting research. In order to widen the concept of methodology the research will not only focus on participating observations but will also use non-participating observations. Basically, methodology dictates how certain methods should be unfolded in order to make them verifiable. Since this research doesn’t follow a linear process it is logical to adhere to different methodical systems. One of the goals of this research is to be able to construct some mini-theories which not only hold in this specific research but can develop into a grand one, like mentioned by Strauss and Corbin (Strauss, Corbin 1990) These grand theories can be created by repeating the research several times.

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held with people in Tanzania concerning the collected findings1. But the statistical analysis and part of the collected literature was not debated, since much of this work has been done back in the country of origin of the researcher. This geographical distance and the poor communication technology in Tanzania made it difficult to reflect properly and forced the researchers to draw a part of the conclusions themselves. We do however understand that this could lead to the wrong interpretation of the research and research findings as mentioned by Staps and Pennink. (Staps, Pennink 2007)

3.5 Multi-method approach

We state that by diversifying the research we can strengthen the research. Now, what does this mean for our research and how can we achieve this. Throughout the previous paragraphs we came across several recommendations to use different data sources. This can be accomplished in two ways. Firstly by combining qualitative data and quantitative data. And secondly by doing so with different types of data collecting during the research. For the first way we are going to make use of assumptions made by Jonker and Pennink. In order to produce sound and useful research in the field of business one needs to combine the qualitative and quantitative data approach.(Jonker, Pennink 1999) Even though Karsten stretches the importance of qualitative data for social research, he is not an opponent of using quantitative data. (Karsten 1999) Since the subject of our research stretches out across different research fields we decide that the use of only the qualitative approach would not be sufficient in the light of the different disciplines.

Is diversifying by using qualitative and quantitative data sufficient to operationalize the sensitizing concepts? In order to answer this question we resort to the multitrait-multimethod matrix approach by of Campbell and Fisk. (Campbell, Fiske 1959) Firstly the approach that Campbell and Fisk use, makes sure that concepts are operationalized in different ways. Secondly the approach uses different methods and forms for collecting data. When the measurements are operationalized in different ways, the data collection methods used are divergent and there are similarities one can speak of reliable and valid measurements of a concept (Campbell, Fiske 1959) The second part relates to our second interpretation of using different types of data. The work of Jonker and Campbell convinces us to use a qualitative and quantitative approach in combination with different sorts of data and operationalization’s. Brewer and Hunter use a comparable approach called the mutli-method approach. (Brewer, Hunter 1989) Brewer and Hunter extended the approach of Campbell and Fisk in a certain sense. They don’t limit the multi-method to only the measuring instruments, but they also want to increase the validity by a step-up of the variety of different stages and activities of the research, which is done mainly to minimize the danger of getting biased by a single research method. Every method has his own strengths and weaknesses and by combining different methods Brewer and Hunter believe

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the research can strengthen. Brewer and Hunter define their approach as following: “Its fundamental

strategy is to attack a research problem with an arsenal of methods that have nonoverlapping weaknesses in addition to their complementary strengths” (Brewer, Hunter 1989) Brewer and Hunter

admit that a large divergence in results could decrease the reliability but it can also produce new insights. Based on this insight the possibility of theory development could increase. The development of potential mini-theories is one of the goals of this paper and are in line with this approach. That is why we will use a multi-method approach during the development and execution of this research.

3.6 Research approach

How can this multi-method approach be translated to a more concrete model, that could be useful for this particular research? In order to meet the requirements of a multi-method approach we used several sub studies, like Pennink does in his PhD thesis on managing on the basis of images. (Pennink 2004) Although he uses many elaborate researches of colleagues in order to be effective and efficient in the data collection, we restrict ourselves to only self-executed sub researches. This has mainly to do with time and resource constrictions. We do however use some research setups used be other researchers. One example of this is an altered version of the Ubuntu questionnaire, which will be explained in a later chapter. By using different sorts of sub researches we are able to broaden the search process, because it gives us the opportunity to search at different locations. Furthermore, we increased the research approach by using different sorts of methods, the most important ones being: interviews, informal and formal conversations, closed and open questionnaires and our own impressions.

In the research carried out by Pennink the question arises how a researcher can decide if a sub research is useful enough to contribute something to the main research. This is done by determining deciding if the deviation from the main research is not to large. Pennink tries to restrict the amount of variety and tries to systemize this process in order to increase the validity. Jonker and Pennink had already mentioned in prior research that it is important to be systematic in the collection of qualitative data in order to increase validity. In addition to this they claim it is of importance to justify many decisions by thoroughly documenting the thought process. (Jonker, Pennink 1999) In order to follow this view we found it of importance to spend a large part of this paper on the development of the research, which can mainly be found in this chapter.

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The matrix is based on the sensitizing model mentioned earlier in this chapter, but has gained one important section to which one important section is added. Before defining and exploring this model we refocus our attention to the concepts constructed in the field of the research context. Based on the concepts mentioned by Staps and Pennink we formulated our own set of relevant concepts. (Staps, Pennink 2007) In the following model we will summarize the layout and visualize the connection between the concepts mentioned by Staps and Pennink and our own set of concepts. For the description and motivation of these connections we refer to the context described earlier in this chapter (Model 3-1).

Model 3-1: Concepts of Staps and Gaastra

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Figure 3-3: Research matrix

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Figure 3-4: Operationalizing subjects per concept

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situation will be operationalized and measured by direct observations in the form of visitations at different educational institutions.

3.7 Sub researches: empirical material

Based on the preconditions we constructed earlier in this chapter we developed a diverse set of sub-researches. The sub-researches can be categorized into six main research types. These types are described in the next section in random order. The first type concerns the construction and the data collection with the completion of 140 questionnaires among IFM students. The second type of research deals with a set of interviews and dialogues within different institutions and settings. The third research type concentrates on discussions and conversations with experts. The observations made in Tanzania constructs to the fourth type of research. The fifth research type, which we have termed world cup interaction, is basically a combination of several different research methods. And since it was so unique and of importance to the research we discuss this phenomena separately. Finally we used a combination of formal and informal meetings to construct our final research type.

1. Questionnaire among students from IFM 2

At the educational system called the Institute of Finance Management (IFM) we distributed a questionnaire among the pupils and some of the staff workers to measure different aspects related to the sensitizing concepts. Before the distribution of the questionnaires we did a pilot among staff workers in order to construct a second version. The questionnaire was set out among the six departments active at the institute. Because of uncertainty and unclear communication about the official ending of the academic year the response rate resulted in a recovery of only 140 questioners out of the 400 questionnaires distributed. This means that the response rate among the students was approximately 35%. This is still a decent sample size but decreases the validity.

The language used for the questionnaires was dependent on the wishes of the respondent. The respondents were free to choose a Kiswahili version or an English version. The questionnaire was divided into three different subsections but measured six different aspects towards the research. In random order we will now give a short indication of each aspect we wanted to measure. One of the aspects measured was a possible indication for the presence of Ubuntu. This section was based on the work of Sigger, Polak and Pennink (Sigger, Polak & Pennink 2010) who developed a questionnaire to identify and measure this highly debated cultural difference called Ubuntu. We reconfigured the questions to make them suitable for students, though we used only the basic concepts of this pioneering setup. The second aspect that we tried to capture in the questionnaire was the financial influence on the subject. The third aspect focused on word associations. With this aspect we try to measure to what extent the use of language influences the perception of the students in order to get an

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indication if this could influence their way of critical thinking. The fourth aspect is the measurement of the perception and sense of the different languages. The fifth aspect would give us an indication of the different ways the many languages and in particular Kiswahili and English are used. Finally we collected basic situational information concerning the respondents in order to be able to describe our sample and possibly derive unforeseen correlations.

2. Interviews and dialogs

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translated (International Economic and Commercial Sciences Students Association). This was possible because the researcher was a resident of the campus of IFM and came into contact with AIESEC representatives during open lectures at the IFM. These dialogues and discussions proved to be very valuable to get a more inside view on the educational system and the culture. This was mainly possible because of reoccurring and informal communication.

3. Talking with experts

The third sub-research area concerned expert interaction on the field of language and knowledge transfer. Dr. Camillus Kassala proved to be a great inside source of information into these topics and gave a better understanding of the Tanzanian perspective on the topic. Next to experts on the research field we also interacted with professionals in other disciplines and work areas, which contributed to having a better understanding of the Tanzanian society and culture. One of these experts was in control of the largest security organization in east Africa and was able to give an insight in the wealthy and poor parts of the society of Dar es Salaam.

4. Observations

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5. World Cup soccer

In the introduction of this paragraph we already stated that the World Cup soccer type of research is a combination of different research types. But it needs some additional explanation. The empirical data for this research was mainly collected during the World Cup soccer 2010 in South Africa. Tanzania was not participating with their own national team this time, but the World Cup was of a high importance and interest to many Tanzanians and foreigners in Tanzania. From student to businessman almost everybody was absorbed by the different matches played. Although the researcher has no general interest in soccer, the World Cup turned out to be a perfect research tool. The many matches gave all the different nationalities one temporarily shared language, the language of soccer. From these informal meetings at matches grew a sense of world citizenship and a mutual understanding of cultural differences. Many matches at the German languages institute (GOETHE) and the local IFM cafeteria resulted in culture transcending discussions. This was often possible because many typical cultural habits were amplified by the gathering of the same nationalities. Because of this shared interest in soccer people were more open to discussion and bonding, which often led to very useful discussions concerning the topic or related topics of this research. This is why this sub-research is partly a compilation of the other types of research but brings along a transcending ability.

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4 LINGUISTICS AND CULTURE

4.1 Introduction

This chapter deals with the linguistic and social aspects that influence the perception on the world and the way students think and develop mentally. The second paragraph deals with a short contribution after which paragraph three starts with the introduction of social linguistics. This is then followed by the fourth paragraph that focuses on educational linguistics which is a new research field that is directed more towards the interdependence of language (proficiency) and education. The fifth paragraph deals with the relativist view on language and comparable views. Basically it acknowledges the fact that the language usages influences the way we perceive the world.

The sixth paragraph takes a look at the creation of knowledge and critical thinking. The seventh paragraph is dedicated to the description and display of the empirical results found concerning social linguistics. The final paragraph deals with what we have learned towards the research matrix.

4.2 Contribution

This chapter is devoted to exploring the section called Linguistics and Culture, but we also address a second section of the research matrix called Critical thinking that is part of our research matrix (Figure 4-1). In the literature section we devote attention to characteristics of language in order to introduce the concept of thinking, critical thinking and knowledge creation.

Figure 4-1: Research matrix 1

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potential way of thinking when students were using one or the other language. Unfortunate the answers collected were so diverse that we as researchers discovered our own language limits and were not able to develop an appropriate categorization3. The third test was concerned with the language students used for filling in the questionnaire and a potential link with the African culture philosophy called Ubuntu. In order to compare the results to previews findings a paragraph has been devoted to previews findings.

4.3 Social linguistics

In order to explore the language part of our research we need a more specific discipline than linguistics in order to both cover the linguistic aspect of our research as the cultural aspect and that is why we start with the discipline of sociolinguistics. Before we continue we adopt the definition of sociolinguistics proposed by Spolsky: “Sociolinguistics is the field that studies the relation between

language and society, between the uses of language and the social structures in which the users of language live. It is a field of study that assumes that human society is made up of many related patterns and behaviours, some of which are linguistics.” (Spolsky 1998) Spolsky continues by stating

that one of the principle uses of language is to communicate meaning and to establish and maintain social relations. (Spolsky 1998) Because languages contains patterned variation it is possible to identify groups and derive an identity from this. This variation and the association people make towards these identifications make languages a source of social and political power. (Spolsky 1998) Spolsky claims that both linguistic factors and social factors should be taken into account when analysing complex but rule-governed behaviour. This is the main goal of the sociolinguistic field. (Spolsky 1998)

Where does this socialization start? If we look closer at the acquiring of language and social skills of children we refer to Spolsky who claims that these developments are acquired at the same time. (Spolsky 1998) There is a vast set of social rules concerning language that children need to obtain to be successfully socialized as Spolsky terms it. Bilingualism amongst children is of great interest to researchers because it displays different developments of the socialization process towards the two languages and switching between these. Since many children in Tanzania are bilingual or even trilingual it is of interest to investigate this development. Spolsky mentions the usage of borrowing, code-switching and code mixing as being common amongst bilingual people. This concept will be explored later in this paper during the description of the educational system in Tanzania.

Mesthrie points out that is important for sociolinguistics to avoid subjective judgments in their description of their findings. (Mesthrie 2008) There is no good or bad in the development of languages. Languages develop and interact with other languages when they coexist in a region and are

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molded and influenced by different variables or actors. This attitude is not only upheld in order to obtain an academic and objective view but also to dissociate from the a purist judgment. A purist is a linguistic that views the field from a pure language point of view. The terminology: “spoiling of a

language” should not be part of the sociolinguistic description arsenal. (Mesthrie 2008) In accordance

with this plea we pursue to use this objectively as much as possible. Secondly Mesthrie discusses Language Planning and the potential outcome in language policy. (Mesthrie 2008) Although these language policies can have a significant influence on the future of a language they are rarely sufficient in stopping the decline of a language. He claims that perceived economics and the prestige of speakers and would-be speakers are of equal importance. (Mesthrie 2008)This supports the sensitizing concept concerned with the resourcing and finance. Wortham contributes another perspective on the language of instruction. He states that true writing and speaking educators and learners do not only communicate about the subject matter but also show their affiliations with social groups inside and outside class. This can shape the life of students and consequently influence how they learn and perceive subject matter. (Wortham 2008)

4.4 Educational linguistics

Language education has developed rapidly over the last decades and in particular the foreign language education. This development needed its own field which was named “educational linguistics” by Spolsky more than 35 years ago. (Spolsky 2008) The term or field has now been widely recognized. Spolsky claims that this acceptance is linked with the growing significance of language education due to decolonization and globalization. (Spolsky 2008) Spolsky was discontent with the term applied linguistic because in his opinion it lacked a clear core. The core between language and education was more obvious to his opinion which made him to propose the term educational linguistics.(Spolsky 2008) Spolsky emphasis that the term is necessarily ambiguous. Spolsky puts it as following: “It

includes those parts of linguistics directly relevant to educational matters as well as those parts of education concerned with language. “(Spolsky 2008) Hult describes this approach of Spolsky as a

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language management activities. (Spolsky 2008) With the first component he refers to the choice of varieties. With the second component he refers to values assigned to each variety by various actors in the community and with the third component he refers to any attempts of actors (which could be institutions or individuals) with authority or claiming authority to change the language practice and language beliefs of other actors of that community (Spolsky 2008) In our case we relate the first component to the diverse set of languages present in Tanzania with an emphasis on English and Kiswahili. The second component relates to the view that society in Tanzania has towards these languages. Although these views have changed in the course of resent decades it is an important component in the discussion on languages development and the influence on critical thinking. That is why both components will be examined in following chapters. The third component will of course be examined as well but is rather divers and complex since many actors are involved in the development of the language practices and they claim or buy themselves authority in maintaining or changing the language practice. Spolsky states that most students of language policy focus and continue to focus on decisions that are made towards the status of a language at the level of the nation-state as he terms it. He continues this claim by stating that researchers are starting to acknowledge that major changes of language practices and beliefs are likely the result more from management activities that are concerned with education. Strikingly Spolsky gives an example of this claim that is applicable to our case study. He refers to the way that decisions concerning the language of instruction have been the major source of the degradation or elimination of minority languages. In his example he refers to former colonies in Africa. Which will turn out later in this paper to be partly the case for Tanzania and that is why we will emphasize on this in the appointed chapter.

4.5 Relativist view

Herrlitz and Loos write about language and language usage in international company communication. They state that languages can be seen as a set of glasses which can change your view on the world. Based on this subject, the authors explain the two ruling views on language. (Herrlitz, Loos 1994) The first view is called the Relativists view, which is translated from the Dutch. The basic concept behind this view is that language has a high influence on the perception that language communities have. As the name suggests, it stands for the relative view on reality. The second view is called the

Universalists view and is also a translation from the Dutch. This group states that concepts of reality

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world views. (Lee 1996) At a certain point the linguistic determinism was included in the hypothesis of Linguistic Relativity. Hill however points out that Sapir and Whorf both did not give a strong form of support to the linguistic determinism in their writings. (Hill 1988) She continues by stating that the writings of Whorf that might be considered an implication of linguistic determinism are contradicted by his own interpretative method. (Hill 1988) Lucy however focusses her attention on potential evidence from different disciplines. These include language and culture and in the following chapters of “Evidence for linguistic relativity” different authors claim to have evidence for linguistic relativity. Lucy summarizes and defines the various linguistic relativity proposals into two relations which sets forth a clearer conceptualization of this side of the debate. (Hill 1988) The first relation is based on the idea that language embodies an interpretation of reality. The second relations states that language can influence thought about reality. (Lucy 2000) Although the contribution of Lucy clarifies the issue we need a more usable definition and that is why we look at the work of Salzmann. In Salzmann’s book (chapter 3) “language culture and society’’ the author refers to John B. Carroll who restated the hypothesis of linguistic relativity and determinism. (Salzmann 2004)The restatement is set forth as following: “Insofar as languages differ in the ways they encode objective experience , language users

tend to sort out and distinguish experiences differently according to the categories provided by their respective languages.” (Carroll 1963 quoted in Salzmann 2004) Based on this restated relativist view

or linguistic relativity principle we develop our understanding towards knowledge creation and the development of critical thinking in this case study. In order to establish a better understanding we continue by looking at the relationship between language and culture. Many languages are grouped together based on their level of context. High context languages are characterized by the usage of inferred meaning and low context languages are characterized by a more straightforward and to the point approach. An often used example of an individualistic culture is the USA and an often used example of a collective culture is Japan. Hofstede is considered to be the founder of this categorization of cultures and Smith a Bond use his understanding as a basis for their research. Based on the previous statement the languages have different goals. The more individualistic societies have the aim of putting their ideas forth (with the usage of language) in an effective and clear way. Collectivistic societies on the other hand have the tendency to prevent conflict with the other actor and because of this use a more elaborate and unclear language construct. (Smith, Bond 1999) Many African cultures have been qualified as collectivist cultures with a high context system.

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second factor of difference between the Western world and the general African countries is the cultural difference between written and oral traditions. African countries predominately have an oral tradition in contrast to Western counties who have a more written tradition. (Staps, Pennink 2007) Davidson explains that the context of Tanzanian heritage has to be included into the debate about language and education. She points out that in a language that has no prior understanding of writing traditions the meaning and power invested in literacy comes primarily from an incomplete understanding and desire to obtain knowledge and skills from a different culture. (Davison 2008) She continues her explanation by stating that this drive to be part of a larger society in order to benefit from the goods available is not entirely complete. Although this can be a strong motivator the perception that literacy will bring development and employment will frustrate people, when the expectations are not met. (Davison 2008) This urge to be part of the international community is for many students a reason to develop and learn English in Tanzania.

4.6 Creation of knowledge and critical thinking

Broch-Utne and Holmarsdottir state that knowledge and skills are transmitted through language, whether this is spoken or written. (Brock-Utne, Holmarsdottir 2004) This reasoning contributes to the view that language proficiency is often considered to be the most important factor of the learning process. (Brock-Utne, Holmarsdottir 2004) In order to construct a better understanding of knowledge creation and critical thinking we look at Staps and Pennink who describe the dominance of Western science. (Staps, Pennink 2007) Western science is characterized by the fact that results are formalized in written form and that researching and knowledge creation is based on critical thinking. In order to grasp these concept we will clarify the meaning of science and provide a definition of critical thinking. Although a single definition of science is impossible to create because of many different interpretations around the world, we can construct a description of science. Staps explains that science should be seen as a process of growth rather than as a fixed concept and entails several methods related to questions , solutions, verifications and contexts developments. (Staps, Pennink 2007) Staps continues by pointing out that: “science should be seen as an accumulation of ideas constructed from

experiences and actions from the past and derived from different persons and locations” (Staps,

Pennink 2007) Since critical thinking is a term that is often associated with Western science or the North-Atlantic view4 upon science we focus on the definition of critical thinking. Facione uses the following definition of critical thinking: “Critical thinking is the process of powerful, self-regulatory

judgment. This process gives reasoned consideration to evidence, contexts, conceptualizations, methods and criteria.” (American Philosophical Association Delphi Report, 1990 quoted in Facione

2008) (Facione, Facione 2008) Jackson points out that the commitments and behaviours associated with critical thinking can clash with the African culture. The critical attitudes as portrait are regarded

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as disrespectful to traditional and prevailing power relations within the social-cultural setting. (Jackson 2004) If we go along with Jacksons statement this would entail extreme pressure on the relationship between language and critical development in Tanzania. Jacksons statement has to be put into perspective in order to contribute to the discussion. Although it is clear that African countries had different historic developments towards language and knowledge development, the cultures have been interacting for several decades. Consequently one has to acknowledge the fact that these interactions have influenced the development of the language and knowledge cultures and hence it’s hard to speak of pure African or Western way of thinking. Although the historical development of Tanzania will have an effect on the relation between critical thinking and language the difference that was suggested by Jackson will probably not be as eminent as indicated by Jackson. Staps and Pennink point out that two other differences are of crucial importance. (Staps, Pennink 2007) The first contains the difference in the learning process between Africans and the colonial powers. The difference between oral and written tradition plays an important role in how knowledge is received and produced. (Staps, Pennink 2007) Secondly Staps and Pennink point out that according to the Maslow pyramid, people in Africa are at different level and operate on the level of deficiency needs which are connected to the survival level. This indicates that many Tanzanian’s cannot fulfil the growth needs. (Staps, Pennink 2007) Staps and Pennink quote Manuwuike who claims that: “the foundation of African education was

primarily designed to strengthen Africa service to Europe.”(Manuwuike quated in Staps and Pennink

2007) The discussion continues and Manuwuike states that “Africans did not see European education

as a value itself, they saw it only as a new trick to make money.” (Manuwuike quated in Staps and

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4.7 Empirical results

In order to maintain and increase proficiency in a language it is important to practice and use the language as often as possible. To get a better understanding if and how much students practice their English we asked them if they took opportunities to practice their English and if they could give examples of this. More than 40% (40,3%) answered that they did5 take opportunities to practice their English. From the remaining group 25,6 % said they sometimes take opportunities to practice followed by 17,1 % who rarely practiced and 17,1% which never took opportunities to practice. Compounded we see that slightly less than 60% of the students is practicing sometimes or less than this. This relative high number indicates that this could weaken the development and the understanding of English. Consequently this influences the understanding of course material. In order to ascertain how this limited level of practicing English could partly be explained we resort to a different question. The question asked was concerned with how the students felt when they were speaking English. The largest group containing 41% of the group stated that they felt proud when they spoke English. On the contrary 8,6% said they felt ashamed and 25,9% uncertain when speaking English. Only 19,4 % of the group felt normal. In order to analyse these findings we categorized the answers in three groups. The first being positive, the second neutral and the final negative. Both the group that was particular positive as the negative exceeded one third of the answers. 6

We researched if students took opportunities to practice their English and we looked at how they feel when they speak English. In order to discover more about their usage and level of English we could organize different tests or re-examine previously made exams to objectively measure their level of English. To effectuate such a research we would have to resort to a chosen English standard (probably the British version or the American) and use this as reference point. This concept would not represent an alternative version of the (British) standard English which makes it harder to account for culturally added words and phrases. Although we could partly control for this deviation it still is not of interest to execute such a research since the authors (researchers) are not native English speakers and do not have an education in English language. Secondly there are already researches done on the level of English. In general the level of English is dropping (according to British Council) and this is being confirmed by recent results of national tests. Because a lot of research has focused on the actual level of English we want to focus on the view students have of their English. By using this new viewpoint we want to broaden the discussion on the level of English. How people perceive a situation can deviate

5

Answer possibilities were Yes, Sometimes, Rarely and No. A better construction of possible answers would have been Often instead of Yes.

6

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from the actual situation and that is why we look at the perception students7 have. We asked the students to judge their own level of reading, writing and speaking skills in English. The student were given the choice between five different answers. The possible answers were poor, below sufficient, sufficient, above sufficient and excellent. The group of students that qualified themselves as poor for all three disciplines was between the 0% and 1%. When we continue by comparing the cumulated results below the sufficient level we conclude that the percentage of the discipline speaking is larger than the other two disciplines. The former entails a total of 9,8% and the other disciplines both have a 6,3% of their respectable discipline. This preliminary view indicates that students believe that their level of speech is lower than their writing and reading skills. The percentage of students that indicated that they are sufficient in the different disciplines of English confirm this preliminary view. The reading and writing percentages are comparable again and range between 26 % and 27,5 % The speaking discipline consists of almost 37% of the total. When we accumulate all the percentages per discipline that are above the level of sufficient we establish that the percentage of the speaking discipline is approximately 13% lower than the other two disciplines. The disciplines reading and writing are similar again. Mathematically this makes sense. We can conclude that in general the students believe their level of English speech is relatively the lowest. If we look closer at the remaining disciplines we see that the distribution among the more than sufficient level and the excellent level differs. The reading disciple is divided into 31% of the students perceiving themselves as being more than sufficient and 35,2 % that believes that they are excellent. The discipline of writing was divided into 42,9% that believed they were more than sufficient and 24,6 % that believed to be excellent. (to complete the spectrum the discipline of speaking was judged at 11,5% for excellence. The first conclusion drawn on these findings is that students at IFM in general perceive their reading ability of English to be relatively the best discipline followed by writing. The worst discipline according to the students is their speak ability. This distribution shows striking resemblance to the usage of these disciplines. Based on other question in the questionnaire we can conclude that the amount of English reading is relatively large because of the usage of English textbooks, followed by notes and summaries which are largely made in English, but partly also in Kiswahili. Finally the usage of spoken English is limited during and outside of class which could partly explain the distribution. Next to this conclusion we made a second conclusion based on the overall scores. The students indicated that more than 89% of students is sufficient, more than sufficient or excellent. This is a large percentage of the total group and although it is needed to clearly define what is sufficient in order to make strong conclusion it is safe to say that this percentage is rather high.8

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Although problem solving and critical thinking are not the same we asked students at IFM how the two languages could influence problem-solving concepts. We used the term problem solving instead of critical thinking to avoid the potential interpretation difference and took problem-solving as a more operational terminology that could indicate the presence of critical thinking. The results were as following. When we asked students at IFM how they thought the English language in education influences problem solving abilities we received a very diverse set of reactions. Several students indicated that they did not belief the usage of English had any influence on the problem solving skills. Other students on the contrary believed it was of great influence since the usages of English could increase the amount of different solutions and ideas consulted in the diverse and large world of English literature and international researchers. Some on the other hand pointed out that the lack of fully comprehending the problem in English would cause for worse problem solving skills. Finally one of the students pointed out that because most students cannot comprehend the problems in English most of them memorize the problems and answers and do not develop problem solving skills by them self. This is supported by earlier findings that state that the education in Tanzania is mainly build on transmitting knowledge instead of creating knowledge. This will be dealt with in the following chapters on education and culture.

The second question that we gave to the students was comparable to the first but in this case the students were asked if the usage of Kiswahili in education had influence on the problem solving abilities. Some students reasoned from a community perspective and indicated that the usage of Kiswahili would improve the problem solving abilities because everybody would understand the problem which could increase the communication and efficiency of the problem solving. Other students took a more individualistic approach and indicated that the problem solving ability decreased since they could not interact the problem as clear is in English to international contacts. This means that the students considered themselves more part of a larger world community than a local community. Finally several students indicated that although the interpretation value and language communication could increase the language lacked sufficient scope and was to limited in analysing the problems.9

We now continue to the statistical analysis of this paragraph. The students were able to choose in which language they could fill in the questionnaire. Some of them completed the questionnaire both in English and Kiswahili. To see if they differed in their level of Ubuntu we compared Kiswahili to English. We left out the students who used two languages. This reduced the number of students to analyse to 34 subjects who used Kiswahili and completed the Ubuntu list, 14 did so in English. The means of Ubuntu show that Kiswahili users score a 2,12 and English users 2,24. This is both a high

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score. An ANOVA is performed to see if there is a significant difference. This isn’t the case, as can be seen in the output presented in the Appendix. Since only 48 from 150 completely filled in the Ubuntu part of the questionnaire, it can be doubted if this is a large enough sample size to even come to conclusions. But since the test wasn’t significant we cannot state there there’s a difference between a preference for English or Kiswahili and Ubuntu.

These findings indicate that based on this data there is no proof for a mini theory that would indicate a difference in the level of Ubuntu based on the usage of a different language. In this case Kiswahili and English.

In a second statistical analysis the students had to qualify their own level of reading, writing and speaking in English. Comparing this to Ubuntu could shed light on how either being better or worse in English influences the level of Ubuntu. The means of the different groups (Below Sufficient to Excellent) are presented in table 5A ANOVA shows that there is at least one significant difference between two groups concerning reading (F(3, 48)=6,049, p=0,001). Contrast analysis shows that the difference between Sufficient and Excellent is the significant one (contrast estimate=0,567, p<0,000 (95% confidence interval [0,289;0,845])), with Excellent showing a higher level (high) of Ubuntu than Below Sufficient (moderate). The same comparison has been made for qualifying own writing and speaking skills. In writing the same trend is visible: students who qualify themselves as Below Sufficient in writing (2,38, high), but also Sufficient (2,49, moderate) score significantly lower than students qualifying themselves as Excellent (1,92, high) (F(3, 45)=4,387, p=0,009). Contrast analysis for Below Sufficient and Excellent: contrast estimate=0,582 (p=0,008, 95% CI [0,159;1,01]) and for Sufficient and Excellent: contrast estimate=0,501 (p=0,006, 95% CI [0,155;0,846]). There was no significant difference found for these groups in speaking. We want to point out the limitations of these findings by emphasizing that the views students have of their English skills don’t have to match their real English skills. Students could over or underestimate themselves. The mini theory that would have to determine that students that define themselves as better in English have a lower score on Ubuntu because they have been influenced by the English language has not been confirmed. On the contrary, there is even an indication that students that indicate to having high English skills score higher on Ubuntu. We will not try to clarify this, but want to present these findings to African researcher to ask their opinion on the findings. This is in line with the advice given by Staps and Pennink to be careful with making Western scientist biased conclusions.

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Kiswahili speaking score high on Ubuntu. This difference isn’t significant, ANOVA shows. Like many others of the analyses, it could be interesting to see if something changes in the ANOVA outcome when there are more observations.

4.8 Reflection

This chapter provided us with insights towards theory and empirical findings in two sections of the research matrix. Firstly it displays theory and empirical findings towards “Linguistics and culture” and secondly it displays theory and empirical findings on “Critical thinking and education “. Although both sections are presented separate in this chapter they are partly interdependent so they are not separate completely.

When we focus on the insights on the Linguistic and culture aspect of the research matrix we first have to concentrate on the theory we discovered and used. In order to investigate the first research matrix aspect it became clear to us that we had to use the social linguistic discipline (field) to cover both the language and culture aspect of the research matrix section. According to literature, language is a source of social and political power. This indicates that there is indeed a link with a third aspect called politics and history (and policy). Researchers point out that the socialization of bilingual or trilingual children develops differently from children with one language and this makes it interesting and practical to research. Tanzanian children are in general bilingual or trilingual and make an interesting case study to look into the issue on language and socialization and the relation between them. Mesthrie points out that in linguistics it is important to use objective descriptions of language relations because language is not good or bad. And it is constantly in development, according to Staps. We used this advice of Mesthrie during the remainder of the research. Wortham showed us that language influences perception and the way people learn. This does not only refer to subject matter. Mesthrie mentions that although language policies are of importance to future language development, this is not the main factor. Perceived economic conditions and the positions of key players are of equal importance. This statement links linguistics to politics and history and financial and economic environment. Spolsky introduces educational linguistics, which is a more problem-orientated approach and is more suitable to this research. Spolsky mentions three interrelated components which we use for analyzing the situation in Tanzania. Regular language practices in a community - this is linked to a diverse set of languages present in Tanzania and with emphasis on the English and Kiswahili language - beliefs related to language - analyzed in a separate chapter - and language management activities

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focused on linguistics and culture. Based on different literature arguments we adopt the relativist view that states that language has a high influence on the perception of reality that language communities have. From literature we concluded that African countries have a high context level in their language and are characterized by a more collective culture. Next to this African languages have more words for interpersonal emotions based on this collectivism and they have an oral tradition towards sharing knowledge instead of a Western writing tradition. Although the Tanzanian language culture has been influenced over the decades by Western values these findings can still partly apply to the situation in Tanzania. Davidson points out that the meaning and power of literacy for not writing tradition cultures is caused primarily by incomplete understanding and desire to obtain knowledge and skills from a different culture. Taking just the benefits of this culture is not the entire story, because when expectations are not met it will frustrate people. We discovered that this attitude was present among students who wanted to be part of the international community and saw education as a mean and not as a goal. Concerning the empirical findings we discovered that many students take a limited amount of opportunities to practice English which can influence their language skills and in turn the understanding and development of knowledge. Another empirical finding is that the attitudes of students towards speaking English are predominantly positive and negative and just a small percentage is neutral. We cannot derive any conclusion from this but that it is characterizing for the linguistic situation and because of that is being mentioned in this reflection. In order to broaden the discussion on the linguistic side we measured the perception that students had of their own English language ability. Strikingly 89% claimed it to be sufficient or that they were better in English. Official institutions however claim that the level of English is dropping and that this implicates that the failing rates of students are higher than this 11 %. Because it is not clearly defined what is meant by sufficient, it is hard to derive any conclusion. We found differences between reading, writing and speaking skills and different possible explanations for these differences. Speaking turned out to be the most difficult skill. In order to try and prove the relativist view in this case we used the culture characteristic called Ubuntu and by doing this linking the two (linguistic and culture section and

critical thinking and education section) research matrix sections together. The mini theory that

predicts that students who define themselves as better in English have a lower score on Ubuntu because they would have been influenced by the English language has not been confirmed. On the contrary, there is even an indication that students who claim to have high English skills score higher on Ubuntu.

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LANGUAGE SKILLS AND CRITICAL THINKING IN TANZANIA: A FINANCIAL PERSPECTIVE ON THE ISSUE.