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Prime Journal of Social Science (PJSS)ISSN: 2315-5051. Vol. 1(3), pp. 51-56, July 13 th , 2012www.primejournal.org/PJSS© Prime JournalsReviewPromoting the use of an African language as a mediumof instruction in institutions of higher learning inZimbabwe: The case of Great Zimbabwe’s departmentof languages, literature1 Enna Sukutai Gudhlanga and 2 Godwin Makaudze1 Department of Languages and Media Studies, Zimbabwe Open University, Box MP1119, Mt Pleasant, Harare,Zimbabwe.2 Great Zimbabwe University, Department of African Languages and Literature, Box 1235, Masvingo, Zimbabwe.Accepted 3 rd July, 2012This paper is a discussion of the work that has been done by the Department of Languages, Literature andMusic at Great Zimbabwe University in trying to promote the use of an African language as a medium ofinstruction for the respective language. It briefly discusses the colonial and post-colonial language policies thatresulted in the marginalisation of African languages, especially in the teaching of the indigenous languages.The discussion also focuses on the challenges that the Department of Languages, Literature and Music at GreatZimbabwe University has encountered in trying to use an indigenous language (in this case, Shona) as alanguage of wider communication and medium of instruction for the courses under the subject. The paperfinally gives some practical suggestions on how Great Zimbabwe University and some other institutions ofhigher learning could promote the use and teaching of African languages. The argument is that the medium ofinstruction for indigenous languages (Shona in particular) should be the very respective language and not asecond language, or worse still, a foreign language.Key words: African language, medium of instruction, Great Zimbabwe UniversityINTRODUCTIONGreat Zimbabwe University (GZU) is one of the numerousstate universities that were recently established in thecountry. It is situated at Masvingo Teachers‟ College 7kmsouth east of Masvingo town along the old GreatZimbabwe road. The institution was established throughthe recommendations of the Chetsanga Report of August1995, which proposed the devolution of technical andteachers‟ colleges into degree awarding institutions,which would eventually become universities in their ownright. The university started in 1999 with an enrolment of120 students for a two-year in-service Bachelor ofEducation Primary Degree under the Masvingo DegreeProgramme. In 2000, Masvingo Degree Programme wasupgraded to a University College of the University ofZimbabwe. On 22 December 2002, Masvingo UniversityCollege became Masvingo State University through anact of parliament; and in 2009 it was renamed GreatZimbabwe University after the Great Zimbabwe historicalsite found in the city.The university is offering quite a number of degreeprogrammes in the faculties of Arts, Education andSciences, and Commerce. Among the programmesoffered in the Faculty of Arts is the Bachelor of ArtsDegree, with Shona as one of the subjects. Shona is oneof the indigenous languages of Zimbabwe and is spokenby 75% of the total population (Chimhundu, 1993). It istaught in Zimbabwe from primary school level up touniversity. What worries advocates of the indigenouslanguages is the fact that 32 years after independence, inall Zimbabwean universities except Great ZimbabweUniversity, the medium of instruction for Shona isEnglish. The reason for this abnormal situation ofteaching indigenous languages using the Englishlanguage as a medium of instruction was a result of

Gudhlanga and Makaudze 52colonial and post colonial language policies that wereprevalent in the country. Below is a brief discussion of thelanguage policies that gave rise to the marginalisation ofthese indigenous languages.Colonial language policies and their impact on theteaching of indigenous languagesAfter colonising African countries, the colonial mastersintroduced their languages as the linguistic tools ofadministration and power. In the education system, thesyllabi were designed to portray the settler‟s culture ingeneral and language in particular as the epitomes ofcivilisation. In the then Southern Rhodesia, Englishlanguage was portrayed through the curriculum asprestigious and as a gateway to success whilstindigenous languages were relegated to the background.In order for one to be considered for further educationand employment, one needed to have passed English atOrdinary Level. Although an Ordinary Level certificatecould be valid without an indigenous language, it couldnot be so without English (Chimhundu, 1993; Gudhlanga,2005).The language policy was such that students wereovertly and covertly forced to speak in English. Thosecaught speaking in an African language were severelypunished, sometimes by receiving strokes of cane or byhard labour (Chiwome, 1996). Given this scenario,Africans had no option but to master the Englishlanguage. Such a situation is what led local writers likeDambudzo Marechera to abandon their mother language(Shona) and use English for their creative writing.Marechera argues:Shona was part of the ghetto demon I was trying toescape. Shona had been placed within the context of adegraded mind wrenching experience from whichapparently the escape was into the Englishlanguage…(Veit-Wild 1988).Such language policies that were tilted in favour ofEnglish had a strong bearing on the language that wasused as a medium of instruction, even in the teaching ofindigenous languages. English was not surprisingly, theofficial language of instruction in all subjects including inthe teaching of local languages.When Shona was introduced as a subject at Ordinarylanguage in 1957 and Ndebele in 1967 for Africanschools, the two indigenous languages were taught inEnglish. In former group A schools, Shona wasintroduced in 1964 and Zulu, and not Ndebele in 1979(Chimhundu, 1993). In all such cases where Shona wastaught (as expected); the medium of instruction wasagain English. This can be explained by a number offactors. Firstly, the very first subject teachers of theseindigenous languages were themselves English firstlanguage speakers whose second language was Shona.These teachers relied heavily on English to explain thegrammatical, syntactical and lexical features of the locallanguages to their students. Among this first group ofteachers was George Fortune, a prolific writer on Shonalanguage and grammar as testified by a collection of hispublished titles: An Analytical Grammar of Shona, AGuide to Shona Spelling, Shona GrammaticalConstructions Volumes 1and 2, Elements of Shona,among others.Later on, this first group of teachers and theirsuccessors (of European descent), despite havingmastered the languages to the extent of freely interactingwith the local people; continued to teach in English. Inaddition, the very first group of Shona scholars andteachers of the language to emerge from this schoolsystem continued teaching indigenous languages inEnglish, only limiting the respective indigenouslanguages to exemplification. Although it was partly dueto the language medium through which they wereexposed to their language, it was mainly because of thecolonial language policies, which had deified English andrelegated indigenous languages (Gudhlanga andMakaudze, 2007). So even if they would have wanted toteach indigenous languages in their own exclusivemedium, this would not have been in line with thelanguage policies of the time. Everything that was Africanin origin was looked down upon, viewed as backward anddeficient in many respects, including the indigenouslanguages. That is why they were not an integral part ofthe curriculum of the time. In some cases, indigenouslanguages were offered as options to French andPortuguese (Chiwome, 1996). However, for the love ofadventure and prestige African students opted to studythese foreign languages and not their mother language.So throughout the colonial period, wherever Shona andNdebele were taught, they were never viewed as seriouslinguistic substitutes in the teaching of these indigenouslanguages. Indigenous languages were never granted thechance to explain themselves and to develop. Englishalways spoke on their behalf.The legacy of Post-colonial language policiesThe post-colonial language policy in Zimbabwe has notchanged from the colonial one. Zimbabwe does not havean explicit language policy document on indigenouslanguages and their position in the teaching-learningprocess. The legal status of languages in the country isstipulated in the Education Act of 1987. According to thisAct, English is the official language while Shona andNdebele are national languages with restricted officialuse (Campbell and Gwete 1988). It also states that thehome language should be used as a medium ofinstruction for the first 3 years of primary education andEnglish should be used from the fourth grade onwards.This is a replica of the colonial language policies thatvalued a foreign language. That is why an Ordinary Levelcertificate is still invalid without English but valid evenwithout an indigenous language.The preceding discussion amply demonstrates how the

53 PJ Social Scienceindigenous languages were marginalised, especially aslanguages that should be used to explain themselves inthe teaching-learning process. This explains whyuniversities and schools do not use an indigenouslanguage as a medium of instruction even today.Institutions like Great Zimbabwe University have reallymade some great strides in the history of promoting theuse of an African language as a medium of instruction.The rationale for Great Zimbabwe’s stance on usingan indigenous language as a self-explanatorymedium of instructionAccording to Cristina Guerra (2001), language directs thethinking and organising process. She quotes Vygotsky‟slanguage theory where the Russian scholar argues thatthinking is shaped and directed by increased languageskills. Where a child is forced to learn his or her languagethrough a language he or she has not mastered, itbecomes very difficult for that individual to conceptualisewhat he or she is learning. In other words, aspects of theShona language can best be explained, and understoodby a Shona learner if conveyed through the Shonalanguage itself and not through a second language.Language helps to focus attention and to influencedevelopment of thinking skills. Students in Zimbabwe arerequired to learn a foreign language at an early age butthey struggle to master the foreign language. As a result,the students‟ thinking skills are affected. Learning in anindigenous language helps students to conceptualise anygiven content. Teaching content of a local language usinga foreign language or a second language makes itdifficult for students to understand the concepts. If themost difficult concepts in some subjects can be explainedin local languages and make more sense to the locallearners, it means Shona can be easily understood iftaught and learnt in its exclusive medium. More so, anyShona aspect taught in a foreign medium becomes lessShona but when the same aspect is taught in Shona, itbecomes more Shona. This is because the language ofinstruction carries a different culture from the one beingexplained. So, the use of the mother tongue (homelanguage) in learning any subject should make it easierfor students to understand the concepts. Also languagehas the power to aid meaning and to force learners tothink in a second or foreign language can influence thestudent/child to hate or detest the second language.Currently, most African countries are engaged in twinprocesses of decolonisation and nation buildingprocesses which place African people‟s culture at thecentre. Decolonisation is meant to restore humanity andidentity to a people who have been marginalised fornearly a century, especially in Zimbabwe. Language isimportant in this process for it is a carrier of culture and avehicle of communication (Ngugi, 1987). To try andpromote an indigenous language using a differentlanguage altogether is counterproductive. Ngugi (1987)argues that where an indigenous language is spoken bymore than two thirds of the population, it is always goodthat that language be taught and be elevated into anofficial language that can be used in various aspects oflife in that society. The use of the local language is apositive and humanistic approach because it contributesgreatly towards national development. So its use is alsoabout the respect for humanity.Again, self help projects aimed for rural areas aremainly conducted in English yet the people there arepredominantly indigenous language speakers. Hence ifindigenous languages are given room to develop bybeing used as languages of instruction in the teaching ofthe local languages, they become usable even indevelopmental matters. The use of a local language asan exclusive medium of instruction for its contenttherefore becomes one of the many ways of makinguniversities relevant to the communities that they serve.This explains why Great Zimbabwe University has foundinstruction of an indigenous language in a local medium anoble cause.Steps taken by Great Zimbabwe University in usingShona as a medium of instructionDespite the thunder, the Department of LanguagesLiterature and Music has tried to have its voice heard. Ithas established an Indigenous Languages PromotionalCommittee, which spearheads research andpresentations on the promotion of indigenous languageslike Shona, Ndebele and other minority languages suchas Venda, Shangaan and Kalanga. This committee hasencouraged presentations on the indigenous languages(done in the very indigenous languages themselves) and,through heated debates; informative papers have beenpresented, especially on term creation. Thesepresentations also seem to be cultivating the muchneededzeal among learners who also contributepositively in these discussions.The department has also taken a bold move that allindigenous language courses, at the moment Shona andNdebele, should be taught in the local medium. Despitethe scarcity of resources and earlier setbacks in the locallanguage medium, instruction in these languages seemsto be bearing the relevant fruits. Students, in theirassignments have been encouraged to use the Englishtexts whose ideas they translate into the local languagesstudied. To necessitate this, the department has made it„policy‟ that all students undertaking courses in theselocal languages should do courses in translation andlexicography. These are courses that focus on how tocreate terms and how to make dictionaries. This haseased problems of learners who use the predominantlyEnglish texts for most of their courses. They easily comeup with similar ideas in the indigenous languages thusmaking the languages speak for themselves.Again, those students who are majoring in the locallanguages have to do a research project in either Shonaor Ndebele, writing the project in the respective language.

Gudhlanga and Makaudze 54The project is selected from any of the courses thatwould have been studied during the course of theprogramme. Through this the department has openedavenues for the growth of reading material in indigenouslanguages for the various courses taught in thedepartment. It is also from these projects that locallanguage groups like African Languages ResearchInstitute have extracted some terms for variousdictionaries of different aspects of Shona that they havepublished.Cultural galas have also been encouraged in whichstudents and practitioners show case using the locallanguage medium. Community groups have also beenco-opted especially with regards to oral literature andculture. Various dance and drama groups have had achance to participate in these cultural galas and studentsand lecturers have also had the chance of interacting withthese and building up their knowledge base of indigenouslanguages. Videotapes on these galas have beenproduced and are used especially in the teaching of suchcourses as oral literature and culture. These galas havealso helped to bring up some terms that were originallyabsent in the curricula.The challenges of Shona language instruction beingencountered by Great Zimbabwe University (GZU)Some students undertaking different studies from Shonahave persistently asked their colleagues studying Shonawhy they are learning it in Shona. Even lecturers indifferent subject areas have also questioned, rebukedand even warned Masvingo State University graduates ofrunning the risk of failing to pursue further orpostgraduate studies in other universities where themedium of instruction for the Shona subject is Englishand not Shona. While this may theoretically appearsound, in reality it is not wholly so. It seems GreatZimbabwe University students are more advantaged thanthose in other universities where English is the medium ofinstruction for the language. This is because they havetwo experiences of the same concept. Firstly, they aretaught the concepts in Shona, a language they are morecomfortable with, and then, they read about the sameconcepts in the English texts. Their grasp of the sameconcepts is thus made vivid and fairly easy. This is unlikestudents who are introduced to the concepts in Englishonly, a language most of whom are not well conversantwith. However, the challenge among students and Shonalecturers of being criticised by fellow students andlecturers still remains a reality. There needs to be agreater sense of understanding among those usingShona as medium of instruction for Shona not to havetheir efforts derailed by retrogressive critics.Shortage of financial resources has also impeded theproduction of up-to-date materials for teaching Africanlanguages in the local medium. Great ZimbabweUniversity lecturers being enthusiastic as they are inteaching an African language using an African languagemedium cannot do much in the production of relevantliterature. This is because some of the organisations thatwere funding indigenous language projects havewithdrawn aid to Zimbabwe citing lack of goodgovernance. For example the Swedish InternationalDevelopment Agency (SIDA), which was the majorfunding for the African languages research withdrew itsfunding in 2001 (Gudhlanga, 2005). With limited funding,it means research; workshops and publications graduallydwindle, as is happening in the country at the moment.The country is also going through a lot of economicchallenges due to Economic Social AdjustmentProgramme, new land redistribution policies and„Operation Restore Order‟. The later two have left thecountry with almost no partners in trade anddevelopment. As a result, foreign currency, which isimportant for example in the publishing industry,continues to elude the country. This has resulted in thereduction of government‟s educational budget and, inturn, reduced the amount of money allocated for theproduction of educational books in indigenous languages.The impact of the HIV and AIDS scourge has also shiftedthe government‟s attention from language developmentto combating the epidemic. Previously the governmentused to promote the publication of literature in indigenouslanguages, giving prizes to outstanding writers. This wasdone through the Literature Bureau. The few financialresources available are being channelled into the healthand construction sectors, the government‟s top prioritiesat the moment. This poses a great challenge to GreatZimbabwe University students and lecturers who end upwith no reference books written in indigenous languages.Strategies for changePositively, a Shona Language and Culture Association(SLCA), has since been formed and an AfricanLanguages Research Institute (ALRI) already exists. Thisis a very good starting point. The Shona Language andCulture Association‟s mission is to promote the use ofindigenous languages in the teaching-learning processand to elevate them to official status. The AfricanLanguages Research Institute‟s mission is to elevateindigenous languages through research, term-creationand publications. The two language groups thereforehave similar interests and goals- the elevation of locallanguages into official tools of communication. However,the association and the institute should work closely withthe owners of the language (people in society) to comeup with the relevant terminology for the various coursesthat have to be offered. Workshops (such the one alreadyheld on the creation of a dictionary for Shona literary andLinguistic Terms) should be encouraged and relevantstakeholders such as university and college lecturers,distinct students, high school teachers, writers andpublishers as well as some representatives from therelevant academic disciplines need to be invited.Participation by all these stakeholders would render the

55 PJ Social Scienceagreed terms easily acceptable. These workshops shouldonly be aimed at standardising what would have beenobtained from the various consultations that would havebeen done prior to them. For a start, these workshopsshould focus on areas like phonetics, phonology,translation and lexicography, dialects and orthography.This is because these constitute some of the areas thatare currently being offered in most institutions of higherlearning and they are again, areas where little has beendone in terms of standardising the terminology.Once terminology has been standardised in theseareas, it means that most if not all of the courses beingoffered now can easily be taught in the respectiveindigenous languages. Any new courses that could laterbe introduced could also have their terminologystandardised as they come. This is possible basing onthe fact that some dictionaries with relevant standardterms have since been produced while others are at theverge of publication. The published dictionaries include:Duramazwi reUtano neUrapi (Dictionary on Health andMedical Terms), Duramazwi reChiShona (ShonaDictionary), and Duramazwi Guru reChiShona (BigShona Dictionary). Those at the verge of publicationinclude: Duramazwi reMutauro neUvaranomwe(Dictionary of Literary and Linguistic Terms) andDuramazwi reMimhanzi (Dictionary of Musical Terms).Such a systematic approach would create a conduciveatmosphere for successful implementation of theteaching of indigenous languages in their own medium.However, efforts by both Shona Language and CultureAssociation and African Languages Research Instituteshould be complemented by government intervention.The government could set up an Educational ResearchCouncil (ERC), which could facilitate the accessing of anEducational Research Grant by lecturers, teachers or anyqualified personnel to carry out research onstandardisation of various indigenous language terms foruse in institutions of higher learning. In other words,government can avail funds for research, workshops andpublication of materials in Shona. This is partly becausecurrently, one of the problems hampering production ofliterature in indigenous languages is lack of funds. Thegovernment could also intervene by implementing a clearlanguage policy. The language policy should make theteaching of indigenous languages in their own mediumcompulsory. It could also elevate local languages toofficial status. The language document that is currently inuse seems silent on the position of the use of indigenouslanguages in the teaching process, especially after GradeThree. Other countries have elevated their indigenouslanguages to official status. South Africa has a languageboard for every local language and this has made itpossible for these languages to be used as mediums ofinstruction up to university level. Doctor of philosophydegrees can now be written even in indigenouslanguages like Tsonga.The other major contribution that the government couldmake is to establish tertiary institutions that train teachersof African languages. Currently, indigenous languagesare being taught in most teachers colleges anduniversities by people who were instructed in a foreignmedium. What Zimbabwe needs at the moment areinstitutions that specifically train teachers for Zimbabwe‟svarious indigenous languages (Gudhlanga, 2005). Thiswould enable qualified personnel to teach theselanguages. Some countries have already done so. Ghanafor example, has established a specialist training collegeat Ajumoko, specifically for the training of professionalpre-university teachers of Ghanaian languages(Bamgboes, 1991) Zimbabwe could benefit a lot byemulating what Ghana has done. This is possiblebecause, currently, in Zimbabwe, there are institutionsthat focus on specific disciplines like technology.Examples are Chinhoyi University of Technology, BinduraUniversity of Sciences. So an institution that focuses onand champions the teaching of indigenous languages intheir exclusive medium can be established and do thecountry proud.Equally important is the establishment of the Shonawriters Association (SWA). This association would putinto immediate use and circulation, the standardisedterms through writing and publishing various works usingthe terms that would have been agreed on. The ShonaWriters‟ Association should also include translators sothat works that are currently available in English only aretranslated into Shona so as to boost reading literature inthe Shona language. This in a way can make teaching ofShona in the exclusive medium of Shona a fairly easyendeavour. The establishment of the Shona WritersAssociation should go alongside that of a journal inindigenous languages, bearing such titles as, “Shona”,“Mutauro waAmai” (Mother Tongue), “Dada nomutaurowako” (Be Proud of your Language) or a more apt name.Currently, most calls for journal articles are in English.The establishment of a journal in an indigenous languagewould promote the writing and publishing of literature inthe target language thereby making it possible to teachthat particular language in its local medium.CONCLUSIONIt is therefore high time that the medium of instruction foran indigenous language should be the respectivelanguage. Whilst Ngugi, Achebe, p‟Bitek and Chinweizuet al have talked of moving the centre from Europe toAfrica in the writing and criticism of African literature, wemust continue moving the centre from Europe to Africa byteaching African languages using the respective locallanguages as a medium of instruction.AcknowledgementsThe first draft of this paper was presented at The SouthAfrican Association of Research and Development inHigher Education (SAARDHE) Conference held at theUniversity of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa from

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