Abstract:

The Moroccan educational system still uses a monolingual approach to education, favoring the use of one language as a medium of instruction (MOI) and the separation of the language of instruction from students’ first language (L1) or mother tongue. This is what Cummins [1] refers to as the two solitudes approach. Starting from secondary school, students can choose to study in different media of instruction (Moroccan Standard Arabic, French, or English) while the use of their mother tongue is kept to a strict minimum. Findings from previous research revealed that students’ L1 or mother tongue can be a valuable asset in their learning [2]–[4]. Thus, this study investigated the factors that affect new science baccalaureate (K12) holders’ preference of the medium of instruction. A questionnaire was distributed to 104 students who just obtained their baccalaureate degree and enrolled in the three departments (Maths, Physics, and Earth & Life Sciences (SVT)) at the Faculty of Science in El Jadida, Morocco. Data were analyzed using correlation techniques in the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) 25. Results revealed that different factors such as students’ proficiency in French, their perception of the role the languages play in facilitating the process of learning, their mastery of the languages as well as the use of these languages in other sectors of everyday life are associated with students’ preference of the use of French, English, and the mother tongue as media of instruction. Findings indicated that students tend to prefer the use of mother tongue in education out of the belief that it facilitates the process of learning and because they master this language. Our findings suggest that the move from a monolingual approach to education to a translanguaging one may have a positive impact on students’ learning in content area subjects.

Keywords:

Bi/multilingualism, medium of instruction, two solitudes approach, mother tongue, translanguaging.