English as a post-colonial lingua franca: A multivariate analysis of English-ownership and language-In-Eeducation model preference among Ghanaian tertiary students

Thesis

Ghana, like many postcolonial African nations, is at a sociolinguistic crossroads in which English is believed to be encroaching on sociocultural domains, while the country’s indigenous languages are being promoted by governments to have a stronger presence in mainstream education. The current study therefore aimed to understand the extent of English ownership and Language-In-Education model preference (LIEMP) among tertiary students in Ghana to investigate whether the attitudes of the country’s most active English users corroborate these governmental initiatives. The study also considered the influence of sociodemographic factors, namely (i) L1, (ii) Age, (iii) Gender, (iv) SES, (v) Region, (vi) Academic Discipline, (vii) Most Spoken Language, and (viii) English Variety Preference, on students’ attitudes towards English in Ghanaian society and indigenous languages in Ghanaian mainstream education. The study employed a mixed-methods approach, with quantitative data collected through an online questionnaire completed by 159 participants and analysed through descriptive, correlative, and regression analyses, and qualitative data obtained through 4 semi-structured interviews that were analysed thematically. While the questionnaire results revealed that most of the sample did not claim ownership of English on a macro-level, their self-directed LIEMP varied strongly based on select sociodemographic factors, namely L1, Home Region, and SES. A relationship was also found between participants’ lack of ownership and LIEMP, with qualitative findings indicating that, regardless of which LIE model the students prefer, they view implementing appropriate curricula for all L1 groups as impractical or simply irrelevant to the Ghanaian market at large. These results demonstrate the importance of attitudinal studies to appropriately strategise language planning through “bottom-up” incentives, as well as the need for prestige planning to accompany acquisition planning in order to facilitate public sensitisation towards L1-incorporated education in postcolonial Africa.

Authors: Nowakowski, M

• DOI: 10.5287/ora-5rydoknop
• Type of award: MSc by Research
• Level of award: Masters
• Awarding institution: University of Oxford
• Language: English
• Keywords: Bilingual Education; English as a Lingua Franca; Minority Languages; Language Shift; Language-In-Education; Language Policy; Dominant Indigenous Languages; Ghana; English Ownership; Endonormatisation; Post-colonial Africa; Language Attitudes; Mother Tongue Medium of Education