Abstract:
The government of Rwanda adopted the English Language on top of French and Kinyarwanda as the official language to integrate the country into the East African Community, the English speaking countries community, and trade in 2009. English became the Language of instruction in the education system, from primary school to higher learning institutions. MINEDUC took different initiatives to upgrade the student's and teachers' proficiency in English; however, the gaps were still noticeable. A lack of English proficiency impacted academic performance, especially among engineering students. Therefore, this study investigated the relationship between English proficiency and academic achievement at RP, specifically at IPRC-Kigali, to determine the significance of the correlation. The study consists of a dependent variable (academic performance/achievement), an independent variable (English proficiency), and an intervening variable (Cummins' theory of self-efficacy) to clarify the correlation between English proficiency and academic success. The research used systematic and random sampling techniques to select students from Civil Engineering, Electrical Engineering, and Mechanical Engineering and Information and Communication Technology. Data collected from mark sheets and questionnaires revealed that English proficiency significantly impacts academic performance (b = 0.572, p > 0.0001), which proves a strong correlation between English proficiency and academic performance. At 32.8% of academic performance or achievement, self-efficacy (culture of reading, participation in English clubs, self-coaching) of the students can intervene to improve English proficiency, which ultimately leads to academic performance. Consequently, we recommended that RP revise the curriculum based on needs analysis (present situation and target analysis) to ensure that students can improve their English proficiency in their studies, reinforce the use of English in the academic environment, and, more importantly, develop policies to accommodate English as an official language, educational Language, and general Language. Periodically, RP (Rwanda Polytechnic) should develop instructors' English language teaching and learning capacity and create a conducive learning environment that permits self-teaching and peer learning. Additionally, ICT is essential in the classroom to encourage students to improve their English proficiency.
