Abstract
This paper reconceptualises the teaching of English in selected private schools in Kano, Nigeria, against the backdrop of emerging sociolinguistic realities in which English is increasingly functioning as a first language (L1) for many school-age children in elite private schools. Situated within Vygotsky’s Social Interactionist Theory, the study interrogates how early and sustained exposure to English within formal school domains, peer networks, and home environments is reshaping linguistic competence, preference, and identity among pupils. The study is descriptive and a sociolinguistic survey. Data were generated through participant observation and questionnaire administration to 468 pupils aged 6–13 years in ten selected private primary and junior secondary schools, with 400 valid responses analysed. Findings reveal a significant shift in language patterns: 37% of respondents demonstrate fluent English usage, while a comparatively lower proportion report fluency in their indigenous mother tongues. Although 63% identify as bi/multilingual and exhibit code-switching practices, English increasingly occupies primary communicative domains, often at the expense of indigenous languages. The study argues that these patterns signal a transition from English as a Second Language (ESL) to English as a de facto First Language in certain urban private-school contexts. Consequently, it calls for a pedagogical and curricular reconceptualisation that reflects learners’ evolving linguistic realities while addressing the implications for indigenous language vitality.
Keywords: First Language, Sociolinguistic
Shift, Language Socialisation, Bilingualism, Private Schools, Nigeria
DOI: 10.36349/sojolics.2026.v02i01.008
author/Dr Abdussalam Sani
journal/Sokoto JOLICS 2(1) | June 2026 |
