Preferred Name
Clemence Mbabazi
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Date of Graduation
5-11-2023
Semester of Graduation
Spring
Degree Name
Master of Education (MEd)
Department
Department of Educational Foundations and Exceptionalities
Second Advisor
Katy Koubek
Third Advisor
William White
Abstract
This qualitative case study examined how science teachers in Rwandan secondary schools linguistically support their students. The study was conducted virtually on Zoom through two rounds of interviews with three science teachers at a secondary school in the East of Rwanda. The primary research question examined the strategies used by these teachers to linguistically support their students. Through individual interviews with the science teachers, the participants were able to share their perspectives and experiences on students' multilingual abilities, the use of English as an instructional language, especially after the transition from French, and the relationship between students' language proficiency and their engagement with the subject matter. Using interview transcripts and notes from the researcher’s journal, the following themes emerged: language policy, students’ background, language supports, teachers’ backgrounds and peer learning. These themes demonstrate various methods used by teachers to meet students’ linguistic needs in science classes.
