The language-in-education policy to teach in mother tongues at lower primary level is not adhered to by classroom teachers in Kenya due to, among other reasons, lack of content terminology. The purpose of this study was to demonstrate that mother tongues can be used to teach science up to the end of grade three, considering the nature of topics for this level and other extra-classroom realities. Our research objectives were to examine the nature and content of science topics and sub-topics from grade one to grade three; examine conceptual and technical terms in grade one to grade three science textbooks; describe the Ekegusii equivalents of these terms; and explain the feasibility of teaching science in Ekegusii up to the end of grade three. The findings are: science topics and sub-topics from grade one to grade three deal with basic knowledge that children interact with on a daily basis; both conceptual and technical vocabulary in grade one to grade three textbooks have Ekegusii equivalents. This implies that Ekegusii can be used effectively as a language of instruction for grade one up to grade three. This suggests that the teaching of science in Ekegusii is achievable.

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揭穿小学词汇教学不足的神话：在肯尼亚的埃克古西探索科学术语

肯尼亚的课堂教师不遵守以较低的小学水平进行母语教学的语言教学政策，原因之一是缺乏内容术语。这项研究的目的是证明，考虑到本年级主题的性质以及其他课堂现实，可以使用母语讲授科学课直到三年级。我们的研究目标是检查从一年级到三年级的科学主题和子主题的性质和内容；检查一年级到三年级科学课本中的概念和技术术语；描述这些术语的Ekegusii等价物；并解释了在三年级之前在Ekegusii进行科学教学的可行性。调查结果是：从一年级到三年级的科学主题和子主题涉及儿童每天与之互动的基本知识；一年级至三年级教科书中的概念和技术词汇都与Ekegusii相当。这意味着Ekegusii可以有效地用作一年级至三年级的教学语言。这表明在Ekegusii进行科学教学是可以实现的。