Available findings support the hypothesis that the use of second

language as the school language is detrimental to the students. This is

because the language undermines the actual purpose of education, where

students spends most of their time trying to comprehend what some of

the linguistic constructions means rather than conceptualizing the

ideas contained there within. Using the first language in set ups where

the second language is supposed to be the primary teaching language may

enhance the efficiency of the education system. This essay seeks to

explore the negative influence of second language in the education

system especially student overall performance.

The sole intent of

education is to build up a holistic student. After going through the

education system successfully, it is expected that the resulting person

will have qualities which will make him or her whole person with all

that he or she requires to tackle life. For instance, the resulting

student should be knowledgeable, emotionally and physically healthy,

civically inspired, engaged in arts, and prepared for arts and economic

self-sufficiency, and ready for the world beyond formal schooling. This

can be achieved only by actively engaging the student in the learning

process.

The success of this form of education is founded on its heavy

reliance on culture. Holistic education accepts and appreciates that

knowledge is created within the person’s cultural context. Within this

context, facts are seldom more than just the shared points of view.

Holistic education encourages transfer of knowledge across separate

academic disciplines. To achieve the purpose of education, holistic

study principles dictate that a person must approach culture with

exceptional keenness.

The greatest barrier to achieving holistic

education is the use of second languages in education. This is because

holistic education heavily relies on the culture to achieve its

intended purpose However, use of the native language is vital in the

maintenance of native culture. It is the native language that carries

most of the aspects of a particular culture. Basically, a culture is

defined by the language and any attempts to transfer aspects of that

particular culture into a new language lose most of the aspects of the

culture. It is thereby impossible to integrate the culture into an

education system that uses a secondary language.

Many education

researchers agree that the use of a language that is not dominant in

the daily lives of the student’s impacts on their education prospects

negatively (Helen, 2007; Irujo, 2004). The report by Helen (2007)

further indicates that inappropriate language for instructions can tip

the balance into complete exclusion for student facing any barriers in

education. In linguistically diverse countries, particularly those

with high rural population, it is very sensible to treat school

language as one of the most important variables in fostering good

quality learning outcomes as well as improving access.

Student

performance

Collier, P. (1989 and 1992) in ‘’How long? A synthesis of

research on academic achievement in a second language’’ and ‘’A

synthesis of studies examining long-term language minority student data

on academic achievement.’’, respectively discusses the difference in

academic performance among students who use English as their second

language. She notes that use of second language for teaching especially

in high schools greatly influences non-native performance since

language is better learnt at early stages of development (Collier, 1989

1. 118). In his second article he evaluates academic performance for

non- native students and notes that ‘’Overemphasis on second language

in teaching leads to poor performance’’ (Collier, 1992 pp. 190).

In

another article, The influence of second language teaching on

undergraduate mathematics performance, a dissertation by Naudé, A.,

Engelbrecht, J., Harding, A., & Rogan, J. (2004), the author present

the influence of second language on students’ performance in

mathematics at a south African university. They describe how use of a

second language has negative implication the scores of students whom

the language of teaching is their second language (pp. 6)

Ruiz-de-Velasco, J. (2000) in Overlooked and underserved: Immigrant

students in US secondary schools, explains how immigrants find it

difficult in schools as they struggle to cope with a secondary language

used in curriculum. Ruiz argues that, unlike previous findings,

immigrants especially those with schooling gaps are negatively affected

by the language used in American schools to teach them (pp. 8)

In The

Impact of Second Language Acquisition and Student Achievement from

Teachers’ Perspectives by Floyd K .T. (2011), Floyd continues to

present students who use English as second language being

disadvantaged. He notes that while No Child Left Behind Act was meant

to improve performance across the board, LEP students continue to

suffer. This in turn influences the number of non-native students who

graduate from schools.

Anxiety

Gregersen, T. and Horwitz, E. K.

(2002) in Language Learning and Perfectionism: Anxious and Non?Anxious

Language Learners’ Reactions to Their Own Oral Performance, illustrates

how students react to oral assessment. The writers note that most of

the students learning a second language are anxious and therefore tend

to perform poorly, since they cannot communicate fluently (pp. 126 –

127). This might also be reflected in their classroom performance.

 

Impact of L2 on NCLB Act

Abedi, J. (2004) in ‘’The no child left behind

act and English language learners: Assessment and accountability

issues’’ describes the inconsistency experienced when evaluating school

performance according to the new laws laid down in the No Child Left

Behind Act (pp. 4). He notes a significant difference in performance in

school with high population of Low English Proficiency (LEP) and their

counterpart whose majority are the natives. Schools with many LEP

perform dismally compared to other school.

In The Impact of Second

Language Acquisition and Student Achievement from Teachers’

Perspectives by Floyd K .T. (2011), Floyd continues to present students

who use English as second language being disadvantaged. He notes that

while No Child Left Behind Act was meant to improve performance across

the board, LEP students continue to suffer. This in turn influences the

number of non-native students who graduate from schools.