The Influence of Mother Tongue(s)on the Learning and Teaching of English as a Foreign Language at Three Universities: The Case of Protestant, Kinshasa and Technological/Bel Campus Universities in the Democratic Republic of Congo
Keywords:
DRC, foreign language, Kinshasa, Local language, Mother tongue, status, vernacular
Abstract
This paper attempted to assess the attitudes of students in the use of national and international languages in DRC and to identify the factors that constitute linguistic barriers among Congolese students from three universities (UNIKIN, UPC, and Bel Campus). The study used a quantitative method for data collection through a questionnaire given to each randomly selected representative sample of students, targeting only three faculties (arts, economics, and medical school). According to the survey results, the majority of students, primarily girls, were opposed to the use of local languages in favor of foreign languages such as French and English and also parents' social status has a significant influence on the use of the preferred language(s) of student targeted.
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2026-03-11
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