Abstract:
In Tanzania, two types of primary schools exist, based on the language of instruction used. These are English
medium schools and Swahili medium schools. Students who complete their studies from both types of schools
join secondary schools where the language of instruction is solely English. This study investigated the influence
of students’ backgrounds in the language of instruction on secondary school academic performance. The specific
objectives of the study were two: First, to compare form one annual examinations results for students who had
used English and those who had used Swahili as the medium of instruction at primary school level and,
secondly, to compare the form two national examinations results for students who had used English and those
who had used Swahili as the medium of instruction at primary school level. The study involved 524 students
from eight secondary schools in Mbeya region. The data were collected through review of documents containing
students’ admission lists and examinations results. The analysis of the collected data was done using computer
software, Statistical Package for Social Sciences, version 18, in which an independent samples t-test was
conducted to test the hypotheses advanced for this study. The findings were as follows: First, students whose
medium of instruction at primary school level was English, performed better in form one annual examinations
than their counterparts who had used Swahili and the difference was statistically significant at p<0.05, in a twotailed
test. Secondly, students who had used English as the medium of instruction at primary school level,
performed better in form two national examinations than those who had used Swahili and the difference was also
statistically significant at p<0.05, in a two-tailed test. It was thus, concluded that the language of instruction used
by students at primary school level influenced significantly students’ academic performance at secondary school
level.
