Mhadhiri Shangwe Ameandika Haya Kuhusu Uzoefu Wake:
Kwa
kuanza kabisa niweke msimamo wangu mbele: Kiswahili kitumike kama lugha ya
kufundishia. Kiingereza kifundishwe.
Naomba
nitoe uzoefu wangu kama mwanafunzi wa Kiingereza kwa takribani miaka 24 sasa.
Sina tofauti sana na Ndugu Chambi hapo [chini], mpaka leo nikiandika jambo kwa
lugha ya Kiingereza, au kuzungumza, natumia nguvu nyingi sana kuliko nikitumia
Kiswahili ambacho kwa lugha ya mtaani huwa ‘natiririka’ kama maji ya mto
Rufiji! Lakini kupitia kazi yangu ya ualimu (tena ngazi ya Chuo Kikuu) ambayo
nimeifanya kwa muda mfupi tu, na kwa kuzingatia uzoefu wangu kama mwanafunzi
katika mfumo huu wa Kiingereza kama lugha ya kufundishia, nimegundua kwamba
hakika wanafunzi huwa hawaelewi. Wanakariri.
Kama
mwalimu (narudia tena mwalimu wa chuo, maana mnasema wale wa sekondari na shule
za msingi walifeli – mimi sikufeli!), mimi mwenyewe hulazimika kutumia
Kiswahili mara kwa mara ninapofundisha. Awali nilidhani nafanya vile ili
kuwasaidia wanafunzi lakini baada ya muda nikagundua kumbe nafanya vile
kujisitiri mwenyewe! Maana yapo mambo mtu unataka kuyasema lakini kauli haitoki
kwa kukosa msamiati mwafaka, na hapo ndipo hukimbilia Kiswahili. Unaweza kusema
mbinu hii ilikuwa ya msaada mkubwa kwa wanafunzi kama ilivyokuwa kwa mwalimu mimi!
Kuna
hali ya kujidanganya katika hili, kama ambavyo nilikuwa nikijidanganya kwamba
kwa kutumia Kiswahili kuelewesha wanafunzi basi nilikuwa nawasaidia wanielewe na
kamwe si udhaifu wangu wa lugha ya Kimombo. Nakumbuka nilipokuwa Sekondari jinsi
tulivyokua tukikariri mambo mbali mbali lakini tulikuwa hatuelewi. Juzi rafiki
yangu kanikumbusha kitu kinachoitwa “round-bottomed flask” na “flat-bottomed
flask”, ni vifaa vitumikavyo katika maabara na tulisoma katika somo la Kemia.
Nakumbuka tulivyokua tukipata tabu kukariri vifaa hivi na wakati mwingine hata
kuchanganya wakati wa kuvichora, yaani badala ya kuchora “round-bottomed flask”
unachora “flat-bottomed flask”. Mwisho tulikariri, tukajua kwa kukariri kila
kimoja kutoka kingine. Lakini hatukuelewa maana ya maneno “round-bottomed” au “flat-bottomed”.
Pamoja
na kujua maana ya “round” na “flat” sikuweza kuoanisha maneno haya yalipotumika
pamoja na neno “bottom” kwenye “round-bottomed” au “flat-bottomed” ili kuleta
maana!!! Laiti ningejua hili la kuchanganya “round-bottomed” na “flat-bottomed”
lingetoka wapi? Miaka mingi baada ya kumaliza shule ndipo nilipogundua kwamba
kumbe nilitumia nguvu kubwa sana kujifunza kitu kirahisi. Nguvu hiyo ingetumika
sehemu nyingine sidhani kama somo lile la Kemia ningepata alama ya D!
Lakini
miaka mitatu iliyopita nilikuja China kwa masomo. Nikatakiwa kusoma lugha ya
Kichina kwa mwaka mmoja. Walimu wanaofundisha Kichina ni Wachina, na wanatumia
Kichina kufundishia, hata kwa wageni. Mwalimu wangu wa kwanza kabisa
hakuzungumza Kiingereza japo neno moja. Sikumbuki. Kabla ya kuanza somo la siku
kuna orodha ya misamiati inayotumika katika somo hilo na tafsiri ya kila
msamiati katika lugha ya Kiingereza. Pamoja na kwamba sikupata shida sana kwani
misamiati mingi niliielewa maana yake lakini mara kadhaa nilijikuta kurejea
kamusi ya Kiingereza ili kuelewa maana ya msamiati ule wa Kichina. Kwamba
unatoka neno la Kichina, unapewa tafsiri yake kwa Kiingereza, unagundua kwamba
hilo la Kiingereza nalo hulijui/hulielewi hivyo inabidi kutafuta maana yake
pia!!
Na
niseme kwa kujifunza Kichina pia nimejifunza Kiingereza kwa kiasi kikubwa
wakati huo huo nikigundua kwamba maneno mengi ya kawaida kabisa sikuyajua kwa
Kiswahili. Majina ya wadudu, matunda, chakula, miti, wanyama, n.k. siyajui kwa
Kiswahili!! Sikujua Kiswahili wala Kiingereza, lugha ambazo zingenirahisishia
sana mimi kujifunza Kichina! Zaidi kwa lugha ya Kiswahili, ingeniwia rahisi
sana kuelewa mambo mengi ambayo maana yake inaendana na mazingira na utamaduni
nitokako. Sidhani kama ugumu huu uliwapata wenzangu waliotoka nchi zinazotumia
lugha zao kufundishia. Sikufanya utafiti lakini sidhani.
Hizo
takwimu za Kenya kuwa na 25% tu ya watu wanaoelewa Kiingereza ni za kushitusha.
Tanzania ni asilimia ngapi? Haiwezi kuzidi 10, hapana? Kumbe suala la lugha ni
suala la demokrasia!! Huwezi kutumia lugha ambayo watu wako zaidi ya 85%
hawaielewi. Hawa “elites” 25% ndiyo taswira ya “demokrasia” yetu. Hawa ndiyo
tunawaona tukitaka kupima maendeleo yetu ya kiuchumi. Hawa ndiyo ishara ya
maendeleo. Hatima ya jamii zetu tumewakabidhi watu hawa wachache. Kuna
udikteta unaozidi huo?
Maswali
haya yanatuhitaji kutafakari si tu masuala ya lugha bali utaifa wetu ambao
umejengwa kutokana na matokeo ya mkutano wa Berlin wa mwaka 1884-85. Lakini
tuanze na hili la Kiswahili. Kitumike kufundishia. Ngazi zote.
Great article and insightful reactions also. Much has been said about
> the Tanzania's education and the role of Kiswahili. These debates
> attests to the centrality of the question of language and education to
> many Tanzanians in the way they imagine their future and their roles
> within the nation. To inject my own strand of conversations to the
> ongoing debates, I would like to recount my own experiences working with
> English speaking scientists in Tanzania.
>
> In my own experience working with Tanzanian scientists, mostly mid-20s
> to late 40s, I saw many of my colleagues going out of their ways to
> speak English–their code switched, they responded to Kiswahili
> questions in English etc.. These "forced" attempts to speak a language
> that they were not comfortable went beyond presenting their scientific
> findings. But even if they employed Englsih to present their findings,
> at times it missed the mark.
>
> For them and for most of us, speaking in English is a way to be
> "scientific", "modern" and "progressive." Speaking Kiswahili is the
> inverse. However, there is a big problem when my colleagues presented
> their findings in English. At times, there was great difficulty in
> really knowing what they were trying to say or what their findings were
> about. They felt compelled by the institutional culture and the popular
> thrust to speak in English, even if it meant that their ideas were not
> clearly received. The problem was not these bright and gifted
> individuals didnt know their stuff but the medium they used let them
> down. As they say the problem is systemic and institutional rather than
> personal.
>
> What I came to conclude then is that we need to master our knowledge and
> content in our languages first and then we can proceed to translate our
> insights into other languages because not doing so we are actually short
> circuiting the whole idea of sharing our knowledge to others.I should
> say, publications of scientific knowledge in English also marginalizes a
> huge public, some say over 50 Million people speak Kiswahili. Do these
> people deserve to know what their scientists are doing?
>
> I agree with Baruani and Chambi that we should not blanketly adopt
> what has "succeeded" in other contexts without more informed analysis
> and secondly, if our own teachers and scientists cannot express their
> views well in English then is that moving forward or backwards. I
> chuckled when I read Chambi's example of species and infertile. When I
> suggested to my colleagues that we write our papers in Kiswa first and
> then translate them, no one took the idea. And as we speak no one has
> produced a single paper yet. They all say the work is in progress.