Language and children’s learning throughout Eastern and Southern Africa

Cover Photo © UNICEF
More than 80 per cent of the region’s 400+ languages are used regularly in their speech communities and passed on to the children of those communities.

(August 2016) “The language environment in the Eastern and Southern Region of Africa is rich and dynamic. More than 400 African languages are spoken as mother tongues by millions of African citizens. Some also serve as regional and national languages. Layered over this richly diverse linguistic environment are a handful of international languages, introduced to the continent as colonial languages and now more or less integrated into the language ecology of the continent,” states Dr. Barbara Trudell, Director of Research and Advocacy, SIL Africa.

Trudell was commissioned by UNICEF to author the recently launched review, entitled The impact of language policy and practice on children’s learning: Evidence from Eastern and Southern Africa. This comprehensive review is available as: a full report, country profiles and case studies. The report reviews the language policy in 21 African countries, supporting the global evidence that mother tongue education is a critical aspect of quality education.
Speaking from more than 30 years of research and practice in the area of language and education, in both Africa and Latin America, Trudell notes that:

The attitudes of Eastern and Southern Africa’s citizens towards their own local languages are generally positive. More than 80 per cent of the region’s 400+ languages are used regularly in their speech communities and passed on to the children of those communities. Even the prestigious international languages have not replaced African mother tongues in the lives of the great majority of citizens of the region.

However international languages have gained a strong foothold in the formal education systems of Eastern and Southern Africa. The influence of globalization on curriculum, pedagogy and learning outcomes has heightened the role and prestige of international languages (particularly English) in education. Accurately or not, these languages are now seen as the gateway to global citizenship, economic progress and enhanced social standing.

The last decade has seen a significant rise in the number of children attending primary school in Eastern and Southern Africa. However for the most part, the quality of education has not risen to anywhere near the same degree. One of the major reasons for this discrepancy between school attendance and education quality is the use of international languages as languages of instruction, as early as grade 1 and even in preschool. For the millions of kids who don’t speak these languages, they are unfit to serve as a medium for learning.

In this context, issues of language and education are hotly debated. An entire spectrum of opinion exists on language-of-instruction policy and practice, with “evidence” being cited to support widely divergent choices. Policy shifts on language of instruction are common, as government authorities try to find solutions that will be both pedagogically effective and acceptable to education stakeholders.


Photos © UNICEF (Click Image to Enlarge)

For UNICEF, quality education is of critical importance for enhancing the lives and the futures of the region’s children. This UNICEF-commissioned review of language policy and education quality in the 21 countries of its Eastern and Southern Africa Region aims to provide an in-depth, up-to-date perspective on language use in the region’s formal education environments, and its impact on learning outcomes. In addition to individual country studies, the review examines regional data on language and learning outcomes. Recommendations are also included for enhancing the quality of education in the region, through support for the use of local languages of instruction in the primary classroom.

SIL has been an official NGO partner with UNESCO since 1993, and has had special consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) since 1997. SIL is also a founding member of Maaya, the World Network for Linguistic Diversity.
 

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