{"id":318,"date":"2013-09-06T08:00:19","date_gmt":"2013-09-06T07:00:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.iwacu-burundi.org\/blogs\/english\/?p=318"},"modified":"2013-09-06T08:00:19","modified_gmt":"2013-09-06T07:00:19","slug":"english-and-swahili-studied-but-not-done-in-national-test","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.iwacu-burundi.org\/englishnews\/english-and-swahili-studied-but-not-done-in-national-test\/","title":{"rendered":"English and Swahili: Studied but not done in National Test"},"content":{"rendered":"

In Burundi, pupils from primary school study the English and Kiswahili languages added to Kirundi and French since 2005-2006 School Year. But up to now, the two new languages are not included in National Test of the primary school final year-<\/strong>by Lorraine Josiane Manishatse<\/em><\/p>\n

\"6th<\/a>

6th year primary school pupils doing a nationl test.\u00a9Iwacu<\/p><\/div>\n

Burundi has recently adopted English and Kiswahili courses in primary school curricula in order to prepare Burundian youth into the regional integration. The main objective is to have harmonized curricula and active competition in EAC. Those two languages have been added to Kirundi and French languages, but two National Tests have already been done without including either English or Swahili. The reasons are not well known but some people think that the teaching methodology isn\u2019t yet appropriate.<\/p>\n

According to Mrs. Juliette Rwamiye, a teacher at Ngagara II Primary School, in 6th Year, English and Kiswahili courses can\u2019t be considered in the National Test as they are only taught orally and teachers have been prohibited to teach other linguistic skills.\u201cEnglish and Kiswahili courses are not part of the National Test because this one is written. Pupils are not able to write anything in those languages.\u201d says Rwamiye.<\/p>\n

For her, they should only be considered in the National Test, if the program and teaching methodology changed. \u201cPerhaps, in the following years, this will be feasible after having changed the program,\u201d she hopes.
\nThe view is shared by B\u00e9nitha Muhoza, a pupil at Muramvya II Primary School, who has just done the 2012-2013 school year National Test. \u201cI would like to do even English and Swahili in National Test because I enjoy studying them. I don\u2019t know why they are not included,\u201d she complains.<\/p>\n

She adds that she masters Kirundi and French more than English and Kiswahili because she doesn\u2019t know to read and write those latter.
\nAs far as Eulalie Nibizi, Burundi Trade-Union of Teachers\u2019 Chairwoman (STEB) is concerned, if a teaching policy is implemented, it must go with an evaluation policy.\u201cBurundi Government has introduced the teaching of the English and Kiswahili languages without promoting their essential learning tools which would facilitate children\u2019s good learning and acquisition. They should have evaluated pupils and teachers\u2019 performance by introducing the two courses in the National Test\u201d she states.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf 1st and 2nd years\u2019 pupils are taught orally, since 3rd year, they can learn to read and write without any problem. So, pupils of 6th year must be able to write and read English at this level,\u201d she explains.
\nShe concludes that it is very important to allow Burundian pupils to communicate in English and Swahili effectively, because knowing a language implies mastering the four linguistic aptitudes namely speaking, listening, writing and reading. We tried to get an interview from the Minister of Education, to give us more details why English and Kiswahili courses are not considered in National Test, but in vain. The permanent secretary says that he can\u2019t express himself about it unless he is authorized.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In Burundi, pupils from primary school study the English and Kiswahili languages added to Kirundi and French since 2005-2006 School Year. But up to now, the two new languages are not included in National Test of the primary school final year-by Lorraine Josiane Manishatse Burundi has recently adopted English and Kiswahili courses in primary school […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":327,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[9],"tags":[233,366,502],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.iwacu-burundi.org\/englishnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/318"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.iwacu-burundi.org\/englishnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.iwacu-burundi.org\/englishnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.iwacu-burundi.org\/englishnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.iwacu-burundi.org\/englishnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=318"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.iwacu-burundi.org\/englishnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/318\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.iwacu-burundi.org\/englishnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/327"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.iwacu-burundi.org\/englishnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=318"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.iwacu-burundi.org\/englishnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=318"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.iwacu-burundi.org\/englishnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=318"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}