The Nature of Television and Radio Programs and Their Influence in the Growth of Kiswahili among University Students in Kenya

Purpose: This paper traces the place of the nature of programmes in Kenyan media and their influence on Kiswahili growth among university students studying journalism in Kenyan universities. Three fundamental concerns were on focus here; Length of programs; language in programs and the type of Programs. Methodology: The study used mixed method design to obtain qualitative and quantitative data. It targeted University students sampled from 4 public Universities in Nairobi County. A sample size of 327 students was used. Focus group discussions involving 32 participants were also involved. Four Swahili experts were interviewed to get expert opinion. Multi-stage sampling design was used to select the sample for the survey. This sampling technique was appropriate because the study sample was selected in stages using stratified random sampling and simple random sampling technique. Purposive sampling was used to collect qualitative data. The tools used to collect data were questionnaire for quantitative data, interview schedule for key informants and interview guide for focus group discussions. These were to help to assess the influence of the nature of programmes in media organizations on the growth of Kiswahili among university students in Kenya. The study triangulated quantitative and qualitative data to give results shared in this paper. Data was then analyzed using SPSS (version 20) statistical program. Inferential statistics used were descriptive, correlation regression and ANOVA. Data was presented using tables. Findings: Findings show that nature of programmes has a significant effect on the growth of Kiswahili.For instance, majority of the respondents agreed that the length of Swahili programs in media have made them develop positive attitude toward Kiswahili. Additionally, they agreed that the nature of language used in presenting Swahili programmes makes them use correct grammar. The study also noted that the respondents agreed that the types of programs have significant influence on their Swahili vocabulary. Unique Contribution to Theory, Practice and Policy: Social Learning Theory posits that learning takes place in a social context through observation or direct instruction. People learn the tenets of language through these various types of programmes which carry instructions and are observable. For the Behaviorist Theory of Language Development focus is on objectively observable behaviors where learning is acquired based on environmental conditions (McLeod, 2016). Language acquisition, use and growth has been as a result of emulating what is going on around the learner. The Cultivation theory that suggests television is responsible for shaping or cultivating viewer conceptions of social reality has it that TV viewing affects the language development of children through role modeling where children always want to behave like the characters they see and end up developing language aspects such as pronunciation, intonations and vocabulary like those of the TV and Radio presenter believing that that is the way the world is.For practice and policy media literacy to practitioners has been found to be a necessary educational tool for them to understand the type of media content to interact with if they have to grow their language capabilities. There is need to increase knowledge of risks involved in use of hybrid Kiswahili. While this is so language policy should encompass organizing workshops and seminars for the youth to sensitize them on proper language.