SOCIOLOLINGUISTIC SURVEYS - Centre for Language Studies

mentioned the Nsanje variety, another 6.3% mentioned Nyungwe. An overwhelming
87.5% did not know any variety. A corollary asked the respondents to name where the
best Chisena is spoken and the responses are recorded in Table 93.
Table 93:
Where Best Chisena is Spoken
Place Frequency %
Marka 1 6.3
Nsanje 7 43.8
Mbenje 2 12.5
Chikwawa 1 6.3
Ndamera 5 31.3
A further question sought to find out whether or not the teachers found it embarrassing to
speak Chisena. An overwhelming 87.5% said they did not, 6.3% said they did, and
another 6.3% said they did not know. A corollary question asked the teachers whether or
not they were embarrassed to be identified as Sena. A staggering 93.7% said they were
not, 6.3% said they were.
A set of questions which had direct relevance to the aims and specific goals of the survey
were posed. The first question asked the teachers whether they accept Chisena in
schools. 87.5% said they would and 12.5% were undecided. A corollary question asked
the teachers whether they would accept Chisena as a medium of instruction, 75% said
they would, 12.5% said they would not and another 12.5% were undecided. A further
question asked whether they could teach Chisena as a subject, 81.3% said they could,
6.3% said they could not, 12.5% were undecided.
Another question sought to elicit information regarding the languages the teachers were
trained to teach. 12.5% said Chichewa and 62.5% said Chichewa and English. The
remainder were not trained teachers. These untrained teachers were recruited under the
Free Primary Education Programme. Responding to the question on what teaching and
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