Rich with linguistic diversity, Tanzania has over 120 local languages. The relationship between these languages and their various purposes in society prompted a line of inquiry for Jasmin Msuya, a third-year doctoral student in the Literacy Culture and Language Education Program.

“Within that kind of multilingual community, you have to understand where you stand when it comes to language,” Msuya says. “Which language are you using? Which language are you not using? How do you identify yourself within all these languages?”

Msuya examines these questions in relationship to her own linguistic identity, which is shaped by her family language practices.

“Growing up in a big city in Tanzania, I was only exposed to Swahili and English,” Msuya explains. “But, when I would visit my grandmother, she would address me in Swahili and my mother in the local language, Chagga. I thought, why didn’t anybody teach me my grandmother’s and mother’s language?”

This impactful question prompted Msuya to investigate the broader sociopolitical circumstances surrounding language policies and ideologies in Tanzania.

“The language policy in Tanzania has been evolving over time,” Msuya explains. “Right after independence, we declared Swahili the national and official language alongside English.”

Msuya expounds the tension embedded within these policies. On one hand, Swahili was needed to unite and reclaim national identity in Tanzania’s early postcolonial stage. On the other hand, English was viewed as a vehicle to integrate with the rest of the world. 

This historical context continues to have impact through language policies in Tanzania. Msuya’s experiences as an English language teacher in Tanzania, a Swahili language teacher in Iowa, and an Anthropology Teaching Assistant in Iowa provide concrete examples of the complexities of language policy in education.

Teaching English in Tanzania

During her final year of undergraduate training at the University of Dar es Salaam, Msuya taught English in a rural region of southern Tanzania—Milola-Lindi. Msuya expresses how this experience of working with students who speak a local language instead of Swahili at home gave her new perspectives as a language teacher.

“Because the students speak a local language at home, at school they have to transition from the local language to Swahili,” Msuya says. “When they go to English instruction, they have to transition from the local language to Swahili, and Swahili to English.” 

Msuya describes her desire to support these students by upholding their home language while also fulfilling her responsibility to help them acquire English. “As an English teacher, I was trying to see if there's any resource that I can provide to help them transition easily.”

Msuya’s experience in Milola Secondary School shaped her present ideas for the kind of research she wants to pursue for her dissertation. “I want to go back to Milola to interview the students, the teachers, and the policymakers and see what exactly I can contribute,” Msuya says.

In this way, Msuya’s research is student-focused, using the data she gathers to make multilingual education an equitable experience, one which derives from the desires and needs of the students and their families, particularly students who speak local languages at home.

This student-centered philosophy is evident in Msuya’s interest in a variety of research methodologies, including digital storytelling. “Digital storytelling is a platform where students can put their own experiences out there,” Msuya says. “It can be used to see if the language policy connects to and supports student and teacher voices.” 

One goal of Msuya’s research is to help reinstate local languages into educational spheres in Tanzania. 

“We need to retain our national identity, so we need Swahili, but what about our social and cultural identities that come with the local languages?” Msuya asks. “We erased the local languages from prestigious institutions such as academia, but maybe it's time to reinstate them for our future.”

“Everything becomes about language.”

Msuya arrived in Iowa City as a Fulbright Teaching Assistant in 2019. Although Msuya was an experienced English teacher, teaching her mother tongue came with new obstacles.

“When I first came here to teach Swahili I thought, ‘How do I teach the language that I know?’” Msuya says. “When you're teaching a language that you're very familiar with, there are parts of understanding the intricacies of the language that you take for granted.”

As a Tanzanian international student in Iowa City, Msuya explains the importance of connecting with other people who speak your language. “Being in the United States and meeting people who speak the same language as you, it feels like your little home.”

Early in her time in Iowa City, Msuya connected with many people who influenced and supported her graduate school experience. 

“All of them in one way or another have guided me through my academic journey,” Msuya says. “Among many things, they have helped me understand how to navigate grad school, which has been especially important because I’m a first generation college student.”

“As a first gen college student, there's a lot that you need to learn, and there is a fear that I won’t get it,” Msuya elaborates. “There's a lot that is lost in the process of trying to balance being in graduate school. Sometimes you don't think there is anyone that you can tell your true experience to, but for me, I was fortunate enough to have found people with whom I can share what I’m going through.”

Amongst these challenges, Msuya describes her graduate school experience as rewarding and exciting, and she finds that her curiosity about language is stoked at every turn. 

“When you are interested in language, everything becomes about language,” Msuya says. “As I keep on uncovering new things, I am making unexpected connections to my research.”  

Msuya’s community-centered research and pedagogy stands to illustrate the contested and variable role of English globally and uphold the linguistic rights of individuals who speak a minoritized language.