The shift to the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) has broadened the scope of English as a learning area, among other subjects. Although language is not a standalone pathway, English plays a pivotal role across all three pathways in the following distinct ways:
First, in the Sciences, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) learning areas – all the learning materials are designed in English as a major medium of instruction. No stand-alone Mathematics or Science book is written in any other language except English.
Upon completing the CBC, this means that the learner is expected to compete fairly in the local and international job market. In the same breath, Social Sciences Pathways encompasses Law, Teaching and Journalism. All three require a mandatory pass in English.
This strong requirement emphasises its study and fluency, and the reading culture inculcated in learners through class-approved class readers will definitely reverberate across all the other pathways. Creative Arts and Sports pathways entail Music, Drama, Theatre Arts, all Sports disciplines, Comedy and the Creative Industry. All these five are based on performance before a live or virtual audience.
It can be a group or solo performance. Depending on the choice of performers, English can be the preferred medium of communication during performance. Though the government wants 60 percent of all learners to join STEM, English remains a greater determinant in selecting STEM pathways and achieving that goal.
Second, English focuses on nurturing every learner’s potential in creative thinking skills. Shared learning, as one of the pedagogical methods in teaching English, enhances collaboration and communication as learners share ideas in writing skills.
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A learner needs English to compose or create narratives, poems, stories, novels, novellas, plays, et cetera. All these genres may have economic gain later in the life of the learner. The world of fiction in English requires the development of imagination as a core competency.
The already available class readers in Junior Schools and set books at Senior Schools will mould children into self-disciplined, self-reliant, and integrated citizens as they seek to ape morals from such fiction.
Next, English is key to increasing digital literacy. The learner uses digital tools to check the meanings of words, idioms, phrasal verbs and even the correct pronunciations from digital dictionaries. They also access ebooks for extensive reading.
Well-written manuscripts written in English by learners can be converted into ebooks for global reach. This sets the stage for them for fair competition globally later in life.
One of the national goals of education in Kenya is to promote the social, economic, technological, and industrial needs for national development. In achieving this objective, English, thus, remains at the centre of the wake of rapid modernisation and globalisation in the local and global scenes.
In conclusion, English will thus continue to lay a firm foundation for learners’ efficient and effective use of the language in the CBC as a communication tool and the medium of instruction at all levels of education and beyond.
By Erick Oteyo
The Writer of the above article is a teacher of English and Literature in English at Ulanda Girls’ High School, Migori County.
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