Mother tongue-based multilingual education | 49
Lessons and recommendations for South Sudan and new nations
South Sudan, the youngest African nation, and other countries not yet sufficiently advanced on the route to the implementation of an MT-MLE policy, have a unique
opportunity to benefit from the rich experience of many African countries that have made some significant strides in the enterprise of language planning for national
development in general and language-in education policy in particular. Other countries in various stages of the implementation of the MT-MLE can benefit from
the mutualisation of experiences from Africa, South America and South East Asia.
Based essentially on Cameroon’s experience, the following recommendations are offered to obviate the need to spend time re-inventing the wheel, although it is
understood that ultimately, each linguistic situation is unique and requires decisions and actions specifically adapted to its needs. Recommendations here are offered
merely as guidelines complementing those of the African Conference of Ministers of Education ACME 2010.
1. Undertake measures to evolve a comprehensive language policy for the nation that provides for the use of one of the nation’s languages in administration,
in education and development with the country’s chosen official language English, or French, etc. as a partner language, in accordance with the African
Union’s Language Plan of Action for Africa African Union 2006, Chumbow 2010a. In this respect, it is important to keep in mind the adage which underscores the
importance of planning in all human endeavours: ‘If you fail to plan, then you plan to fail’.
2. Ensure that the language policy is established in a legal framework such
as a language law or charter duly passed by parliament as required by LAPA, title 1.7 of AU 2006 Chumbow 2012c.
Given the importance of language issues for national integration, and social and economic transformation in the enterprise of national development, the
requirement that language policies be supported by a legal instrument is intended to give language policy provisions the constraining power required for effective
implementation. See Chumbow op.cit. 2012c for a framework for language laws or language charters.
3. Clearly articulate and elaborate texts for the implementation of the language-in-education policy see above.
4. Establish a central co-ordination authority for language planning activities.
This can be a National Language Board, a National Language Centre or National Language Institute, conceived with various Directorates for a research and
innovation, b teaching and teacher training, c language materials development and publishing. For sample terms of reference, see Chumbow 2012c. This
institution could be created early and charged with developing a strategy for the implementation of a language policy as well as co-ordinating all initiatives
in this regard from government and the private sector.
50 | Mother tongue-based multilingual education
Recommendations for mother tongue-based multilingual education
1. Undertake an inventory of relevant controlled experiments in the use of MT in education.
Results of experiments such as those conducted in Mexico, Philippines, Nigeria the Ife project and Cameroon PROPELCA project, etc. which show positive
results for MT-MLE, need to be documented. A compendium of such case studies will be useful with policy makers, to bring them on board and for the edification of
practitioners in need of inspiration.
2. Take measures to sensitise all citizens on the value of the MT and MT- MLE as well as the need for individual personal action and responsibility in the
intergenerational transmission of the MT and contribution to the development and use of the MT in the formal and informal education systems.
3. Make an inventory of research findings on the actual use of MT-MLE models in different multilingual situations such as those in Ethiopia, South Africa,
Nigeria, Burkina Faso etc. for inspiration to undertake action research in the teaching of the officialnational language and other languages over a background
of mother tongue first education.
4. Undertake experimentation with a small number of languages to determine appropriate, workable MT-MLE strategies adapted to the National Language-in-
Education policy LiEP.
5. Encourage the constitution of Language Planning Committees LPCs for
