English Language and Mathematics in Secondary Education

By Beniel Seka

In many cases, the problem of low performance in Mathematics at Secondary school has been said to be contributed by language barrier.  However, in Mathematics, numbers and figures are kinds of language themselves.  In this article, our special correspondent BENIEL SEKA describes a research intended to find out whether language is the major factor.

A comparison of the results in the Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) and the Form Two Secondary Education Examination (FTSEE) indicates that candidate’s performance is better in the PSLE than in the FTSEE for test items which are similar and having the same level of difficulty.  The Forms One and Two mathematics syllabus contains topics which are also covered by the primary I – VII mathematics syllabus.  The primary school syllabus is in Kiswahili whereas the secondary school syllabus is in English. A translated version of the Primary School Mathematics for the English medium schools is also available.

In 2006, the Inspectorate of Schools, Southern zone in collaboration with the Japanese International Corporation Agency (JICA) conducted a research to identify the contributing factors to students’ low performance in Mathematics in secondary schools as compared to their performance in primary school.

The research was conducted in 4 secondary schools in Mtwara Municipality involving 336 Form One students.

The ‘Mtihani wa Kumaliza Elimu ya Msingi Hisabati 2005’ (Primary School Leaving Examination, Mathematics 2005) was translated into English and administered to the sampled students.  All the students in the sample had done the said examination.  The PSLE mathematics 2005 results were analysed item-wise and compared with the 2006 Form One  results.  The mean score for the secondary school (Form One) students in the test was 34% while that of PLSE mathematics (2005) was 45%.

The rate of correct answers for each question (test item) was calculated and a comparison made.  The rates for primary schools were higher than that of secondary schools in 41 (82%) items. The items in which the difference between the two levels was more than 30% were categorized in 3 groups. Rates from 30% to 50% were regarded as fair.

Group 1:   Fair performance in the PSLE but less than 30% of the secondary school  Form One pupils got the correct answer.

Items identified were numbers 33, 34, 37, 46, 49 and 50. Items 33 and 37 had clearly marked diagrams.  If the students understood the figures, they did not need to read the sentences in English.  However, in item 34 they needed to know at least some important words in English such as rectangle, area, triangle, length, height, base which are very basic in common language.  This item calls for English language use and mathematical formula, thus causing the low performance.

In item 46, the problem cannot be caused by the English language alone.  A study conducted in the same zone showed that pupils  have great weakness in time conversion from 12-hour clock to 24-hour clock and vice versa.  Since they use Kiswahili time in their daily life, they need continuous exercises to establish in their memories on how to covert the time.  Primary school pupils are usually given many exercises through tuition and what have you, when preparing for the final examination.

Items 48, 49 and 50 were word problems.  In general pupils are afraid of word problems because they are not competent in the language.  Those questions were skipped.

Group 2:      Good performance in the PLSE but in secondary schools, the rates dropped more than 15%.  

                    Items involved are 11, 14, 21, 26, 28 and 45.  Item 11 demanded some explanation in English and this caused problems.  Item 14 showed that the pupils lacked exercises since no factor of English language was involved.   Item 21 required a technical term, “lowest common multiple (LCM)”.  Item 26 had content which required English explanation. Item 28 was on calculation with no English explanation.  Item 45 demanded knowledge of terminologies and English explanation.

Group 3:   Poor performance for both PLSE and secondary Form 1 but with a difference of less than 30%.

                    Items involved are 17, 18, 23, 27, 30, 31, 40, 41 and 48.  In items 17, 18, 23, 31, and 48, English was one of the possible contributing factors for the low performance.  In item 27, terminology, English explanation and graph interpretation were required while item 30 required only an algebraic operation.  Items 39 and 40 were Geometry Word problems with no diagram.

                     Generally, Geometry is one of the most difficult topics for students.  In item 41, the students lacked knowledge of the content since no factor of English language was involved.  The results of this group show that if pupils did not understand the concepts in Kiswahili it was difficult for them to understand them when presented in English.

There were some items in which the Form 1 pipils performed better than the primary school ones.  These topics were revised in the early stages of Form 1.  This implies that revision reminds students about the topics and helps them to think in English.

This research has shown that English language is one of the major factors contributing to the low performance in Mathematics.  Others are terminologies, lack of revision and poor teaching in primary school.

The research reiterates that many students are not late in catching up in order to reduce the problem provided that secondary school teachers help them with their English language when they teach mathematics. Since in secondary schools, the official language of instruction remains English, puplis must be helped to improve their English proficiency.