Bilingualism or Monolingualism? Exploring Possibilities of Using Translation as a Method of Teaching English and Kiswahili in Kenya

The role of translation in second language teaching process has been a controversial issue. Various theories have been proposed as effective for second language teaching while others have been criticized because of being perceived as ineffective tools of language teaching. Particularly, the proponents of "natural methods" of language teaching and learning of the grammar-translation method were vehemently dismissed in the 20th Century. Consequently, very few experts in language teaching recommend translation as a reliable method in language pedagogy. Nevertheless, research has recently shown that pedagogical translation has great potential in language teaching. This conceptual paper explores ways in which pedagogical translation could effectively be used in the teaching of Kiswahili and English in primary and secondary schools in Kenya. It is an attempt to recommend bilingualism rather than monolingualism in language classrooms. © 2023, Adonis and Abbey Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.