Imagined Futures and NewTechnology: Youths’ Language Attitudes in Songea, Tanzania

Building on investment theory, thisstudy analyses the language attitudes of secondary school students in Songea, Tanzania, with a focus on identity and access to digital technology. The study involved 467 secondary school students aged 14–21 years. The data were collected through questionnaires and...

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Published inLanguage matters (Pretoria, South Africa) Vol. 52; no. 1; p. 92
Main Authors Mapunda, Gastor, Rosendal, Tove
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published 2021
Subjects
General Language Studies and Linguistics
Jämförande språkvetenskap och lingvistik
language attitudes
Songea
investment theory
imagined futures
Tanzania
youth identity
digital technology
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Summary:Building on investment theory, thisstudy analyses the language attitudes of secondary school students in Songea, Tanzania, with a focus on identity and access to digital technology. The study involved 467 secondary school students aged 14–21 years. The data were collected through questionnaires and interviews. Less than half of the students had access to digital technology. Most of them lackedtherequiredlinguistic resources. English, a challenge to most students, and, to some extent, even Swahili, are seen as tools for future possibilities and success. Students invest in learning English and want to go abroad. Lack of resources notwithstanding, students’ decisions to invest in learning a particular language is mostly influenced by imagined possibilities. Structural inequalities and socioeconomic differences impact both language skills and the use of digital tools. Consequently, digital resources using mainly English and difficult Swahili terminology become an exclusion mechanism for many Tanzanian secondary school students.
ISSN:1022-8195
1753-5395
DOI:10.1080/10228195.2021.1876157