The Impact of Shifting the Medium of Instruction on Academic Performance in Lower Primary Schools in Rubavu District, Rwanda

The aim of this research was to examine the academic performance results of lower primary school pupils in Rubavu District before and after the introduction of English as a medium of instruction (MOI). The study focused on school head teachers and teachers of English and Science Elementary Technology (SET) in five selected schools. The theoretical foundation of the study was the behaviorist theory of second language acquisition. The correlational research design and the mixed methods approach were applied. Data was collected through questionnaires and documentary reviews as research tools. The target population was 150 people, from which a sample of 69 participants, including school leaders and upper primary and lower primary teachers, was selected through purposive random sampling from five randomly selected schools. Excel and SPSS were used to aid in data analysis. The data was analyzed descriptively using frequencies and percentages and inferentially using the t-test. The key finding showed that learners’ performance improved, with 71% of respondents believing that learners performed better when the method of instruction was shifted to English. This was also reflected in the quantitative data of t-test results, showing that learners performed better in English and SET after the MOI was shifted to English than before when it was in Kinyarwanda. In lower primary English, scores increased from 58.36 before the shift to 62.53 after the shift, while in SET, scores increased from 28.51 before the shift to 34.64 after the shift. In upper primary, scores increased from 46.27 before the shift to 49.51 after the shift, while in SET, scores increased from 40.56 before the shift to 45.73 after the shift. Respondents said that initially, EMI learners struggled due to different challenges, but when these issues were resolved, there was an improvement in learners' performance. The researcher recommends that the government and policymakers avoid instability in the MOI and consider early transitions, as they help pupils develop their target language from a young age.