Effect of Bilingual Education on EFL Students Performance Enrolled at Congo Christian Bilingual University
Article Sidebar
Main Article Content
Abstract
This study is conducted in the area of bilingual education and English as a foreign language. It evaluates the impact of a bilingual education programme on students' English language performance at the Christian Bilingual University of Congo in the first year of the academic year 2023-2024. Applying a quasi-experimental method, students’ English performance was tested both prior to and after their participation in class activities during the academic year 2023-2024 through pre- and post-tests on listening, speaking, reading, grammar, vocabulary, and casual expression. A sample of 110 students was drawn using defined criteria for homogeneity and relevance. Statistical analysis revealed significant improvements in students’ post-test performance across all language areas. The findings support the effectiveness of university’s bilingual education model in promoting students' productive and receptive English language skills. Based on these outcomes, the study recommends a phased increase in English instruction, targeted teacher training, and institutional support for sustainable bilingual teaching practices.
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
TESOL Today is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0 (CC BY-4.0).
References
Anderson, J. R. (2015). Cognitive psychology and its implications (8th ed.). Worth Publishers.
Baker, C., & Wright, W. E. (2017). Foundations of bilingual education and bilingualism (6th ed.). Multilingual Matters.
Ball, M.-C., Bhattacharya, J., Zhao, H., Akpé, H., Brogno, S., & Jasińska, K. K. (2024). Effective bilingual education in Francophone West Africa: Constraints and possibilities. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 27(6), 821–835. https://doi.org/10.1080/13670050.2023.2290482
Creswell, J. W., & Guetterman, T. C. (2019). Educational research: Planning, conducting, and evaluating quantitative and qualitative research (6th ed.). Pearson.
Cummins, J. (2000). Language, power and pedagogy: Bilingual children in the crossfire. Multilingual Matters. https://doi.org/10.21832/9781853596773
Dormer, J. E. (2018). Immersion. In J. I. Liontas, TESOL International Association, and M. DelliCarpini (Eds.), The TESOL encyclopedia of English language teaching (pp. 1–8). Wiley. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118784235.eelt0213
Dormer, J. E. (n.d.). Bilingual education [PowerPoint slides]. School of Education, Messiah University.
Graham, K. M., Choi, Y., Davoodi, A., Razmeh, S., & Dixon, L. Q. (2018). Language and content outcomes of CLIL and EMI: A systematic review. Latin American Journal of Content & Language Integrated Learning, 11(1), 19–37. https://doi.org/10.5294/laclil.2018.11.1.2
Jeff, C. B. R. (2019). The most difficult basic skill faced by learners of English in first year undergraduate classes at UEA/Bukavu, DR Congo. Creative Education, 10, 464–474. https://doi.org/10.4236/ce.2019.102033
Krashen, S. D. (2013). Second language acquisition: Theory, applications, and some conjectures. Cambridge University Press.
Mashauri, M. M. (2023). An investigation of English sound production among Nande bilingual students in the Democratic Republic of Congo: A case of Bilingual Christian University of Congo. British Journal of Education, 11(3), 38–54. https://doi.org/10.37745/bje.2013/vol11n33854
Matlin, M. W. (2013). Cognition (8th ed.). Wiley.
Musafiri, K., & Katuka, L. (2016). Analysis of the instruction medium at the Christian Bilingual University of Congo: A 2011–2013 case study. Revue de Recherche–Développement, 10, 76–94.
Paschalidou, T. (2016). Integrating CLIL modules of art history into Greek secondary education: An investigation of content, language, and motivation levels [Master’s thesis, Hellenic Open University]. Apothesis. https://apothesis.eap.gr/archive/item/82939
Sanfo, J.-B. (2022). Bilingual education and learning achievements in Anglophone and Francophone sub-Saharan Africa. LADU: Journal of Languages and Education, 3(1), 1–17. https://doi.org/10.56724/ladu.v3i1.140
Shil, S., & Singh, Y. (2024). The impact of bilingual education on cognitive development and academic performance. Stallion Journal for Multidisciplinary Associated Research Studies, 3(6), 110–115. https://doi.org/10.55544/sjmars.3.6.8
U.S. Agency for International Development. (2021). Language of instruction country profile: Democratic Republic of the Congo. https://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PA00XHZQ.pdf