LANGUAGE POLICY AND PLANNING FOR BASIC EDUCATION IN AFRICA
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Social coverage’ refers to what types of persons use a particular language, while demographic
coverage’ refers to the number of persons using the language. Technical evolution’ refers to the
extent to which a language has evolved through borrowings, adaptation to technological changes over time, development of written forms, etc..
Using these typologies, one can compare various languages to see the extent to which they are indigenous or foreign, their respective geographical, social and demographic coverage, and their level
of technical evolution. In Africa, the terms can be used to define the following groups:
a Non-indigenous languages: English, French, Portuguese, Arabic and Spanish B
all imposed by colonialism, but which have been domesticated within Africa, each one giving rise to distinct
African dialectal forms e.g Nigerian’ English,
Zairean’ French, etc. b Creoles and pidgins: A further degree in the domestication of non-indigenous languages, with
the more evolved Creole languages in use in Mauritius, Seychelles, and Sierra Leone, while the pidgins in places like Nigeria and Cameroon are at different levels of Creolization.
c Indigenous linguae firancae: The languages with the widest geographical andor social coverage and spreading beyond the
tribe’ - Kiswahili, Hausa, Bambara, Lingala, Wolof, etc. d Nationalized languages whose geographical boundaries coincide roughly with national
boundaries B
Somali, Malagasy, KirundiKiruwanda, etc. e Large languages, either spreading across national boundaries Hausa, Kanuri, Chichewa, Ewe,
MandinkaBambara, Kinkongo, Sesotho, Tswana, etc. or simply spoken by large numbers of people within the same nation Igbo, Gikuyu, Doluo, ZuluXhosa, etc..
f Small languages, spoken by minorities within larger communities or by smaller language communities, as is the case with a very large number of the languages of Africa.
g Language pockets, small migrant populations in large cities speaking a common language e.g. Malawian workers in South African coal mines and pockets of new settlers in urban centres.
If technical evolution’ is added as a criterion for grouping languages in Africa, the result will
be a continuum ranging from languages that have not been highly influenced by others and that have not yet been reduced to writing to those that have expanded by adaptations and borrowings and that
have a long tradition of being used in the written form:
1 2
3 4
5
Used exclusively by a small group. No
written form. Very little outside influence
Some contact with other lan- guages,
some outside influence, but still
largely unwritten Used in religious texts
e.g. Bible, cate- chisms, hymnals, in
basic literacy and no more.
Used in written form, with primers and
basic education Used in the media, in
schools, in public admi- nistration as
well as for creative, scientific and
technical writing
There seems thus to be a relationship between coverage and the degree of technical evolution of specific African languages. Certainly, languages in stage 5 of the evolution process are most likely
to belong to category a of the above groupings, while stage 4 could cover languages in categories b, c, d, e. The correspondence is, however, a very approximate one, as languages with the same
degree of coverage e.g. Kiswahili and Bambara can be at different levels of technical evolution.
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Language as the object of literacy and basic education
This refers to the choice of language for use in the promotion of literacy and basic education. The primary considerations in making educational decisions of this type are a the learner and b the
society. It is the learner who is to be educated for his or her own benefit and ultimately for the benefit of society. The choice of language for literacy and basic education should therefore, ideally, take the
following points into account:
A B
Concerning the individual learner S
agesexlevel of maturity S
occupationalsocial group S
interestsmotivation S
languages already known and used for specific purposes
Concerning the society S
existing policy issues concerning major literacy and basic education
S The extent of availability of resources
S language situation in various social sectors and
S geographical areas
In all programmes of education, these considerations must be combined in such a way as to meet personal and societal needs. For the purposes of this paper, however, we shall separate the conditions
for literacy from those required for formal and non-formal basic education. For basic literacy, the choice of language should be based on the psychological and pedagogical
considerations that an individual will normally be mature in his or her mother tongue or first language, and consequently that learning in that same language will be relatively easy. Sociological
considerations will, however, determine the extent to which the first language remains the language of basic literacy. If that language is also the lingua franca or
nationalized’ language, or major or dominant language of the immediate environment, then there is no problem. The choice of the
language is easy, because it is likely to receive wide acceptance. In cases where large pockets of users of specific languages exist within a larger politicalsocial unit or political entity, it might be feasible
to use such pocket languages for basic literacy programmes. Such a choice should, however, be governed by the extent to which the group concerned is prepared to accept its own language for such
purposes. Factors such as language pride and the desire for the preservation of cultural identity may lead a group to want to see its own language used in education. On the other hand, for purposes of
practical utility a group may opt for a language other than the mother tongue.
Basic literacy is simply the first step in a sustained process; post-literacy is the next. At this early stage, the same language should be used: where the basics of reading, writing, arithmetic and perhaps
graphicacy have been inculcated in the first language, it is desirable to consolidate the acquisition of these skills in the same one. There would be too much cognitive dissonance if there were a sudden
shift from a first language to a second. However, it might be necessary in further literacy programmes to introduce a second language and to switch to it as the language of instruction. This is because in
most societies in Africa the pull of the official second language is often strong. It is true that most Africans are strongly attached first to their native dialect which they tend to classify as a distinct
language and only then to the language of which their native dialect is a variety. At the same time, except where the mother tongue is a strong official language, individuals will often want to become
more widely literate by learning in a second language with a stronger pull.
Literacy can therefore be seen as involving at least three phases:
-124- basic the inculcation of basic learning, and reading and writing;
post-literacy the consolidation of basic skills, through life activities designed to make literacy permanent and socially useful; and
further and permanent literacy in the language with the greatest pull in the community.
To illustrate the situation more clearly, let us consider the cases of basic literacy classes conducted in Bambara Mali, Wolof Senegal, Hausa Nigeria, Lingala Democratic Republic of
the Congo, Chichewa Zambia, Creole Mauritius and Sierra Leone, and Bamiléké Cameroon. To consolidate this basic literacy, post-literacy classes should, in each case, be in the same language.
At a later level, however, there should be initiation into English, in the case of Nigeria, Zambia, Sierra Leone and Mauritius, and into French in that of Mali, Senegal, the Democratic Republic of the Congo
and Cameroon. This is because the mass media, the most widely circulating books and official circles all use these two languages of
greater pull’. There has been a great deal of controversy about the desirability of literacy in the mother tongue,
or even in the largest or most widely-spoken African languages. The point often made against it is that literacy should lead to some form of upward social mobility and that further up the social ladder
of most African societies indigenous languages have no place.
No one will deny the psychological fact that people feel more at home in their mother tongue. There is also no denying the sociological fact that social interaction is best carried on in shared,
common languages. The pedagogical fact that learning is easiest in the language one knows best is also undeniable, but the socio-economic fact is that in Africa the banks, the insurance companies,
parliamentarians and government officials work in English, French or Portuguese.
This is one reason why Senegal, for example, once suggested a programme of literacy in national languages for government officials. When ordinary persons who had become literate in Pulaar,
Wolof, Dioula Serrer, etc., tried to tap the benefits of literacy by writing to their local prefect in their own languages, they received, at best, a reply in French. This did not encourage those persons who
had laboured so hard to become literate.
We take the view that post-literacy and further literacy’ can be enriched by the appropriate
selection of activities to meet the demands of non-formal basic education. In basic formal education, existing African practices can be summarized as follows:
- At the policy level, most countries accept that the mother tongue should be the language of
instruction in the early years of primary education. -
In practice, there is still controversy in a number of places over the desirability of such policy, but practicing teachers seem to know how to bridge the gap by using a mixture of the first and
second languages.
- The language with the
greater pull’ English, French, Portuguese is, in principle, expected to be taught from the early years of schooling
- Some countries e.g., Guinea attempted to extend the use of the first language, i.e., selected
community languages, as the language of instruction in the early years of secondary education, but the experiment did not last.
- A few countries e.g., the United Republic of Tanzania have acquired long and rich experience
in the use of a national lingua franca for education up to the end of primary education.
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- A country such as Nigeria uses the first language for the first three years of primary education,
while English is supposed to take over’ from the fourth year. In the junior secondary school, a
second Nigerian language is introduced. -
Everywhere in Africa, there have been experiments and pilot projects on the use of the mother tongue for basic education, but the movement from piloting to full scale implementation has not
been smooth.
In summary, it would seem that for basic formal education, the problem does not lie in the choice, but in implementing what has been chosen as the first language of instruction. It appears that
the greatest hurdle is not as is always claimed the lack of appropriate languages, nor is it the shortage of teachers, nor of appropriate materials, and it is not the shortage of technical vocabulary
in African languages. The reason seems to be the strong pull of the languages of colonization.
However, in a country such as Ethiopia, where the language of the short period of colonization was Italian, there has been no urge to teach Italian in schools. This is mainly because of the relatively
weak pull of Italian, as very few persons use the language outside Italy. The implication of the strong language pull syndrome is that language policies in basic education
should emphasize the need for the first or community language to be taught and learned properly during the early years of schooling. At the same time, English, French or Portuguese should also be
emphasized.
Improved learning using the first languages, coupled with a sound foundation in the second, was the philosophy of the Ife Six Year Primary Project in Nigeria. The project provided evidence that the
use of the mother tongue for instruction improved teacher-pupil interaction, increased pupil participation in classroom activity, achieved better learning outcomes and facilitated transfer from
one language situation to another.
Language as the subject of literacy and basic education
If there have been problems in executing language policies in literacy and basic education, the cause is not simply a question of not making the right choice of languages. There is also a problem with
the language curriculum. This concerns mainly the issues of what we teach in language courses, how we teach it and the materials with which we teach language.
Mainly because literacy tends to be equated with the ability to read, we all tend to rush into reading at the very beginning of literacy programmes. The learners major motivation is to read and
the teacher is only trying to satisfy a legitimate urge by beginning with reading. There is, however, a need to develop more participatory approaches that emphasize the use of
the learners accumulated experience. Since most literacy classes are dominated by persons who have already mastered their first language, discussion groups that focus on specific issues concerning the
lives of learners can be a good way of building team spirit and of taking general education alone, with literacy. When reading instruction actually starts, the discussion sessions that have already taken
place can form specific topics for reading. We do not need uniformly artificial primers for learners, to repeat sentences which bear no relation to real life situations.
There have been experiments all over Africa with learners in literacy classes writing for other learners. The University of Ibadan Adult Education Department showed in a 1991 report how new
literates in rural areas had created reading materials for literacy classes.
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A common mistake in literacy programmes is for learning and teaching to become progressively formalized. There is an urge in people who have missed schooling to want to behave like pupils, but
care ought to be taken to avoid the rigidity of formal teaching-learning situations. Non-formal situations provide better opportunities for linking education with real life by supplementing literacy
primers with other forms of material, possibly of a non-verbal nature, such as charts, pictures and diagrams, as well as holding structured discussions. The advantage is that language can be taken in
its totality: listening, speaking, reading and writing, using all the basic language skills in real-life situations.
In the formal system of basic education, the major problem with the African language curriculum is again its near-complete divorce from reality. All over Africa, indigenous languages are evolving
rapidly. New terms are being created by people such as musicians, and radio and television presenters. Language is being used for such social interactions as ceremonies, religious worship,
political meetings and resolution of inter-personal conflicts, but in the classroom outdated books for English and French are used. Usually, a
comprehension’ passage is read, questions are answered on the passage, transformation exercises singularplural, presentpast are done, and sometimes some
guided written composition ends it all. At the later stages of first-language teaching, we still tend to stick to story reading. There is a need to pay more attention to creative writing, to debates on
topical subjects, and to writing and reading on technical issues the economy, science and technology, etc.. This will show that indigenous African languages are also languages for life, that they can cope
with the linguistic demands of modem life and that they are worth learning at all levels of education.
Conclusions
This chapter has attempted an overview of only a few of the main issues concerning language for its own sake, and language as a tool in the process of literacy and basic education, particularly as regards
choice of languages and their use, hence the discussion of both the sociolinguistic and the educational aspects of the subject.
Perhaps the main point worth stressing once more is that choice of languages should be based on the needs of both the learner and the society. In this connection, the first language should, as much
as possible, be the language of basic literacy and post-literacy. There is, however, a need to take into account the strong pull of the languages of colonization, as public perception of the literate person
is not simply that of someone literate only in an indigenous language. In
further literacy’, therefore, English, French or Portuguese can be taught.
In the formal system of basic education, a solid foundation in the first language and its use as a medium of instruction, at least in the early years, is pedagogically sound. At the same time, the
second language has to be firmly entrenched so that the individual does not feel that his future development is blocked because of a lack of competence in English, French or Portuguese. The paper
has also called for a re-examination of language as the subject of literacy and basic education, where we should avoid the rigidity of formal learning situations and capitalize on individual and societal
resources for executing languages programmes.
Decisions concerning education are, however, hardly ever taken by educationists; politics and economics will be the more likely deciders. Thus, it is possible for a
pocket’ or a small’ language
to be given the status of a lingua franca, if its original users are politically powerful. Economic considerations will always come into play. Questions will usually be raised about cost-effectiveness,
resource allocation, and systematic programming.
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In discussing the issues raised in this chapter, we should try to give a good deal of attention to strictly linguistic issues and to matters of educational psychology, and adequate attention to political
and economic issues, and to take them all into consideration. To ensure that scientific i.e., linguistically and educationally sound policy is not upset by
political and economic considerations, political and economic fac tors should be involved in every stage of the development of literacy and basic education.
References
Obanya, P. A. 1. 1985. Litero-Numeracy Skills in the NCE English Programme. Journal of English Studies, No. 2, pp. 110-17.