Navigating linguistic shifts: Challenges and opportunities at Rwanda’s teacher training colleges and model schools

Abstract

This study examines the shift from French to English as the dominant language of instruction in schools across Rwanda, focusing on one Teacher Training College and two Model Schools in Gisagara District. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 4 teachers from primary, 2 teachers' training college tutors, and 2 district-level education officials, to gain an in-depth understanding of stakeholders' experiences with this language transition in education. The teacher participants had varying years of experience, ranging from 5 to 20 years, and represented rural schools. Interviews explored the impacts of the policy change on teaching practices, classroom dynamics, availability of resources, and perceptions of support received. Education officials provided perspectives on the rationale for the shift at the national level and efforts to facilitate local implementation. Interview transcripts were analysed using thematic analysis in NVivo. The findings indicate that while the shift was primarily driven by national policy changes aimed at improving English proficiency to align with regional economic integration goals, it presented pedagogical challenges for some teachers accustomed to French as the primary language of instruction. Students from rural areas, who had less exposure to English outside of school, also struggled more with adaptation compared to their urban peers. Overall, the study provides contextualised insights into some of the difficulties experienced during language transitions in education and highlights the importance of targeted support structures for effective policy implementation, especially in under-resourced areas. The results have implications for equitably managing linguistic reforms.