Examining the Perceived Influence of English Source Culture on Students’ Comprehension and Translation of English Idiomatic Expressions into Kinyarwanda

Idiomatic expressions are among the most culturally loaded features of English, yet they receive limited attention in multilingual classrooms where English is the language of instruction. This exploratory study examined the perceived influence of English source culture on students’ comprehension and translation of English idiomatic expressions into Kinyarwanda in a selected secondary school in Muhanga District, Rwanda. Guided by Nida’s dynamic equivalence theory, the study adopted a case study design with a mixed-methods approach. All 76 upper secondary students in the Literature, French, Kiswahili and Kinyarwanda option and four English teachers were purposively selected. Data were collected through a student questionnaire containing a multiple-choice idiom task and a translation task, together with semi-structured teacher interviews, and were analysed using frequencies, percentages and thematic coding. Results show that 75.0% of students rated their comprehension of idioms as poor or very poor, although all reported having studied idioms in compulsory lessons (the extent of this instruction was not measured). Correct responses in the multiple-choice task concentrated on one idiom that appears to have a Kinyarwanda counterpart, while no student translated under the weather acceptably in the translation task. Literal translation (40.8%) and cultural misinterpretation (23.7%) were the most frequent dominant error types (one per student), and 80.3% of students reported perceiving that English source culture influences their understanding to a high or very high extent; students’ cultural knowledge was not measured independently. Teachers’ accounts were consistent with these findings, attributing difficulties to word-for-word translation, limited vocabulary, low general English proficiency and unfamiliarity with English cultural references. The study tentatively concludes that students and teachers in this school regard limited knowledge of English source culture as one obstacle, alongside limited vocabulary and general proficiency, to idiom comprehension and translation; the causal role of cultural knowledge was not tested. It recommends culture-based idiom instruction, the use of Kinyarwanda equivalents, authentic audiovisual materials and the inclusion of cultural contexts in the syllabus.