Establishing the Pupils’ Level of English Vocabulary Proficiency in Public and Private Rural Primary Schools in Kyuso Division of Kitui County

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to answer the question of what is the pupils' level of English vocabulary proficiency in public and private rural primary schools in Kyuso Division in Kitui County. The study was an attempt to provide relevant data on English vocabulary proficiency in Kyuso area. This study focused on the English vocabulary proficiency in Kyuso area among children in classes’ two to four. Learners from one class to the next depicted some changes hence a level of vocabulary proficiency manifestation. The study was limited to respondents within the sample in rural areas where the language of communication after school was purely Kikamba. The two categories of primary schools in the area were day schools, unlike secondary schools whereby 90% of them are boarding. The assumption was that the pupils had the same school hours, share the same locality and the same parents. The question was why there was a big difference in children from the two categories of schools. The study was based on primary schools, the level where the grammatical rules are initiated, and as the children grow up, they continue to utilize what they continue acquiring. It was observed that competent speakers show up right from primary schools. It is also at the primary level where a child can be ‘modelled' to improve or change to a better person due to their language acquisition device (LAD). In both public and private primary schools there seem to be differences in pupils level of vocabulary proficiency.