Impacts of Time in Transition to English Medium Instruction on Students’ English Language Exam Performance: The Case of Primary School Students in Ethiopia.
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.69475/Keywords:
early transition, exam performance, late transition, mother tongue, target languageAbstract
This study is to investigate the impacts of varying transition timings to English Medium Instruction on students' English language development and exam performance in Ethiopian primary schools. Following the 1994 Education and Training Policy, which promoted mother tongue instruction in primary education, regions adopted different EMI transition points. Thus, the study compares English language exam performance between students transitioning to EMI at different primary education stages in two relatively homogeneous schools from regions with differing EMI transition timings. Totally, 196 students participated in the study. Using a quantitative approach, the study analyzed data from Primary School Leaving Regional English exams and a standardized English proficiency test. Results from independent samples t-tests for both data revealed statistically significant differences, with students making later transition to EMI outperforming those that make earlier transition. This finding supports the hypothesis that extended mother tongue instruction contributes to better second language development and exam performance.
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