THE NATURE AND CONSEQUENCES OF LANGUAGE DIFFICULTIES ON FOREIGN STUDENTS’ STUDY OF FIRST YEAR ACCOUNTING AT THE UDBS IN TANZANIA

Said Juma Suluo

Assistant Lecturer

University of Dar es Salaam Business School, Tanzania

Introduction

Foreign students come from Kenya, Uganda, Mozambique, Rwanda and China

They take B.Com in Acc, Fin, HRM, THM, Mktg, Bank&FinServ

Required to study Principles of Accounting 1 & 2 in Semester 1 & 2 respectively of first year of study

Motivation: FS – esp from Mozambique and Rwanda usually struggle much to cope with studies at UDBS esp in the first year of study – most of such struggle is associated with PoA courses

Prior Studies

FS face academic and social adjustment difficulties for being in a new country (Grayson, 2008)

Language proficiency is reported to be at the heart of academic adjustment difficulties (Kirby et al, 1999; Ramburuth, 2001)

Language difficulties cause failures in lecture comprehension, slow reading and writing, limited interaction with teachers and local students (Ramsay et al, 2009; Robertson et al, 2000; Holmes, 2004)

Problem

Prior studies associated with FS linguistic issues have mainly focused on ESCs only (Andrare, 2006) where English is both a language of instruction and local language.

In NESCs [e.g. TZ], English is a language of instruction in formal classrooms and there are local language(s) spoken within local communities

How does this NESC language phenomenon affects foreign students’ study of first year accounting at UDBS?

Methodology

Study made use of grounded theory approach FGD followed by interview Interviews were used to validate FGD findings

and clarify emerging themes All discussions were in English and were

guided by certain discussion themes which were informed by literature and researcher’s experience

FGD and Interviews were recorded, listened and transcribed

Methodology

Preliminary Analysis involved coding the transcribed responses using the approach recommended by Corbin and Strauss (1998)

Initial 13 sub-themes were produced Sub-themes were then linked to each other,

classified, related, and those depicting similar and/or related issues were combined

Final 3 themes were produced which form the findings

Findings

Theme 1: Language DifficultiesRwandese and Mozambicans had relatively poor English proficiency at the time they join universityFew years of using English as an instructional language in secondary schools

Rwanda – between 0 and 3 years Mozambique – never

Had difficulties to comprehend lectures and understanding textbooksInability to effectively “Study Personally” – run after study groups

Findings

Theme 1: Language DifficultiesAll FS involved in the study did not know Swahili – local languageStudy group discussions mainly run in Swahili – dominated by localsHad difficulties making friends and/or communicating with peers in the study groupsInability to participate in the study groups effectively

Findings

Theme 2: Course Study StrategiesUse of Study Groups Anyway – to counter poor lecture and reading comprehensionUse of Study “Buddy” – to counter Swahili language difficulties in large study groups Study Individually – after failure to find local student to collaborate withLearn Swahili – to manage study groups interactions

Findings

Theme 3: Learning OutcomeLearning outcomes included performance or feeling of understanding the course contentLearning outcome was perceived to be influenced more by course study strategies than language difficultiesThose who studied alone reported poor learning outcomesBetter learning outcomes were reported by those who collaborated (in groups or with a “buddy”) or learnt Swahili

Discussion

Foreign student had difficulties studying the first year accounting courses due to incompetence in both English and/or Swahili language

Foreign students (in non-English speaking countries) needs a reasonable proficiency of both language of instruction – to manage study demands – and local language – to manage out-of-class study interactions.

This is consistent with previous studies findings except that in those studies English was both instructional and local language.

Discussion

FS developed several strategies to counter language difficulties

Learning outcomes were determined by students’ efforts to counter the language challenges and not by the challenges themselves

This is also consistent with some previous studies which did not find any significant relationship between language proficiency and performance

Emphasizes importance of students’ choice of proper strategies in influencing learning outcomes

Recommendations

FS were mainly EAs – linguistic issues in EA education systems need to be addressed as we head towards integration

Universities needs to set certain minimum English language proficiency as part of admission requirements

Limitations and Areas for Further Research Complementing FGD and interviews with

observation of study group discussions to corroborate the findings

Determine the influence of other adjustment factors on FS adjustment in a host country

Determine the influence of other course specific factors on FS adjustment in a host country

Thanks for Your Attention

Thanks for Your Attention