Accessing School Content Using Multiple Languages in Early Childhood

This study examined use of multiple languages in learning school content in early childhood. Data were collected from 25 classrooms in five schools in Kilimanjaro, Arusha and Dar es Salaam regions in Tanzania. The data collection process included structured classroom observations of teacher-student interactions, parent questionnaire responses and interviews notes, and teacher interview notes. These sets were analyzed separately and then triangulated to determine convergence of the study findings. Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS 15.0) was used to summarize numerical data and to correlate variables (age, gender, number of languages spoken, school location and performance ratings by parents). Content analysis was used to analyze descriptive data. Existing assessment data on the performance of multilingual children in selected subjects were also examined to provide understanding of how well the multilingual children mastered class content in relation to the performance of their monolingual peers. The study results revealed school-related, and family-related factors that supported use of multiple language in learning the school curriculum content