Rethinking the Use of English as a Language of Instruction in a Botswana Public University

Abstract

This paper examines students’ perceptions of the use of English as a language of instruction at one of the public universities in Botswana across levels. The institution uses English as a language of instruction only even though it enrols international, regional, and local students, hence making it a multilingual and multicultural setup. The study adopted the qualitative approach with the use of open-ended interview questions to tease out students’ views about the language of instruction and relied on critical language theory. The population of the study was students at first-year level from different faculties of the university. The findings of the study indicated that some students appreciate the use of English because it has been the language of instruction from lower levels of learning, while other students share different views that they do not understand the language. The study concluded that the institution needs to intervene by introducing support lessons for English proficiency to enhance learning for students who are weak in the language, for better understanding.