Optimising learning, education and publishing in Africa

364 Pages·2011·1.08 MB·English

Optimising Learning,
Education and Publishing
in Africa:
The Language Factor
A Review and Analysis of Theory and Practice
in Mother-Tongue and Bilingual Education
in sub-Saharan Africa
Edited by Adama Ouane and Christine Glanz
3
Optimising Learning,
Education and Publishing
in Africa:
The Language Factor
A Review and Analysis of Theory and Practice
in Mother-Tongue and Bilingual Education
in sub-Saharan Africa
Edited by Adama Ouane and Christine Glanz
words on a journey learn from the past
Published jointly by the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning (UIL),
Feldbrunnenstrasse 58, 20148 Hamburg, Germany and the Association for the
Development of Education in Africa (ADEA) / African Development Bank,
P.O. Box 323, 1002, Tunis Belvédère, Tunisia
© June 2011 UIL/ADEA
All rights reserved.
Reproduction and dissemination of material from this information product
for educational or other non-commercial purposes are authorised without
any prior written permission from the copyright holders provided that the
source is fully acknowledged. Reproduction of material from this information
product for resale or other commercial purposes is prohibited without written
permission from the copyright holders. Applications for such permission should
be addressed to the Head of Publication, UIL, Feldbrunnenstrasse 58, D-20148
Hamburg, Germany (e-mail:
Table of contents
7 Glossary (Acronyms, abbreviations and definitions)
15 The authors
17 Preface
21 Structure of the study
23 Executive summary
24 Background and history – language politics and planning in Africa
27 Theory and practice – language education models in Africa: Research,
design, decision-making and outcomes
32 Teaching practices – teaching in a familiar language
35 Active students – learning through a language they master
37 Use of African languages for literacy: Conditions, factors and processes in
Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Mali, Tanzania and Zambia
40 Costing and financing mother-tongue-based bilingual education
43 Optimising publishing for mother-tongue-medium bilingual education
49 Chapter 1
Background and history – language politics and planning in Africa
Ekkehard Wolff
51 The language factor in education and development discourse
55 The complexity of the language question in Africa
57 The sensitivity of the language question in Africa
62 Multilingualism in Africa: Natural asset and resource
77 Language attitudes
90 Designing language-in-education policies for Africa
97 Cases: Multilingual primary education in Ethiopia, Niger, Uganda
and Zambia
100 Recommendations
Table of contents 3
105 Chapter 2
Theory and practice – language education models in Africa: research, de-
sign, decision-making and outcomes
Kathleen Heugh
107 Components of language education models
113 Clarifying terminology used to identify language models in Africa
117 Convergence towards early-exit transitional models in Africa
119 Summarising language learning/acquisition theory
125 What the models can offer students by the end of secondary school
135 So, why do the decision-makers invest in models which cannot work?
149 Successful prolonged use of African languages in education
154 Conclusion
155 Recommendations
159 Chapter 3
Teaching practices – teaching in a familiar language
Hassana Alidou and Birgit Brock-Utne
164 Language use and teaching practices in bi/multilingual education
programmes
177 Issues in bi/multilingual schools
184 Recommendations
187 Chapter 4
Active students – learning through a language they master
Birgit Brock-Utne and Hassana Alidou
190 A look into two secondary school classrooms in Tanzania – one taught in
Kiswahili – one taught in English
194 Other studies from Africa showing the quality of learning when a familiar
language is used as the language of instruction
199 Learning science and mathematics
205 Integrating education into African community life
209 The content of exams, assessment and the testing business
213 Monitoring exams: a positive example
214 When students are assessed through a language they do not master
214 Conclusion
215 Recommendations
4 Table of contents
217 Chapter 5
Use of African languages for literacy: conditions, factors and processes
in Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Mali, Tanzania and Zambia
Hassana Alidou
219 Post-independence language and literacy policies
227 The impact of the post-independence language policies on the use of
African languages and literacy
243 What has been learned from the review of literature on language policy
and the use of African languages and literacy?
247 Perspectives
249 Recommendations
255 Chapter 6
Cost implications of the provision of mother-tongue and strong bilingual
models of education in Africa
Kathleen Heugh
257 Continued investment in programmes designed to fail
258 The cost implications
277 Simulated cost-benefit calculations for education of students
281 Smart cost-reduction strategies for resourcing African languages in
education
287 Conclusion
288 Recommendations
291 Chapter 7
Publications in African languages and the development of bilingual
education
Yaya Satina Diallo
293 Contributions by this sector to the creation of a literate environment
301 The role of politics in promoting languages
302 On a national book policy
305 Production of school textbooks in African languages: economic problems
and stakes
307 Conclusion and recommendations
Table of contents 5
311 Chapter 8
Promise and pitfalls – A commercial view of publishing in African
languages
Peter Reiner
312 The history of African-language publishing in Namibia
314 African languages’ potential to contribute to development
318 The practicalities of publishing in African languages
339 Conclusion
341 Final thoughts
345 Appendix
Mother-tongue and bilingual education programmes in Africa
349 References
6 Table of contents
Glossary
Acronyms, institutions, organisations, initiatives, projects
ACALAN - African Academy of Languages
ADALEST - Association for the Development of African Languages in Education,
Science and Technology
ADEA - Association for the Development of Education in Africa
AEPJLN - Association of Editors and Publishers in National Languages
ANC - African National Congress (South Africa)
APNET - African Publishers’ Network
ARED - Associates in Research and Education for Development
ASTEP - Assistance to Teacher Education Project
AU - African Union
BMZ - Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development
BPEP - Basic and Primary Education Programme (Nepal)
CDD - Comité Diocésain de Développement (Cameroon)
CIDA - Canadian International Development Agency
CIES - Comparative and International Education Society
COBET - Complementary Basic Education in Tanzania Programme
CONFEMEN -Conference of the Ministers of Education of francophone Africa
CONFINTEA VI – Sixth International Conference on Adult Education
CORD - Center for Occupational Research and Development (USA)
DANIDA - Danish International Development Agency
DET - Department of Education and Training (South Africa)
DFID - Department for International Development (United Kingdom)
DNAFLA - National Directorate of Functional Literacy and Applied Linguistics
(Mali)
DoE – Department of Education
ECD - Education Centers for Development (Mali)
EFA – the global initiative Education for All
FONAENF - Fonds pour l’Alphabétisation et l’Education Non Formelle
(Burkina Faso)
GPNAL - Grand Prix National des Arts et des Lettres
Glossary 7
GIZ - Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (formerly GTZ,
Germany)
GTZ - Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (now GIZ,
Germany)
HEDCO - Higher Education For Development Cooperation of ADEA
HIPCI - Highly Indebted Poor Country Initiative
ICBAE - Integrated Community-Based Adult Education
IDRC - International Development Research Center
IEA - International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement
IFOMA Innovation, Training, Educational Materials (UNESCO project)
IIZ/DVV (now: dvv international) – German adult education development
cooperation NGO
IMF – International Monetary Fund
InWEnt - Internationale Weiterbildung und Entwicklung GmbH, Capacity
Building International (now GIZ, Germany)
IQE - Improvement of the Quality of Education Project
ISESCO - Islamic Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
LOITASA - Language of Instruction in Tanzania and South Africa project
MAPE - Mandinguo-Fulfulde Promotion Project (Mali)
MEBA - Ministère de l’Enseignement de Base et de l’Alphabétisation
MEC/NIED - Ministry of Education and Culture/National Institute of
Educational Development (Namibia)
NACALCO - National Association of Cameroonian Language Committees
NEPAD - New Partnership for Africa's Development
NEPI - National Education Policy Investigation (South Africa)
NGOs – non-governmental organisations
NLP - National Literacy Programme (Cameroon)
NORAD - Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation
OAU - Organization of African Unity
OECD - Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
OIF - Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie
OSEO – Swiss Workers’ Relief Agency (Oeuvre Suisse d’Entraide Ouvrière)
PRAESA - Project for the Study of Alternative Education in South Africa
PROPELCA - Programme for Language Education in Cameroon
PRP - Primary Reading Programme (Zambia)
SACMEQ II - Southern [and Eastern] Africa Consortium for Monitoring
Educational Quality
SADC - Southern African Development Community
SIDA - Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency
SIL - Summer Institute of Linguistics
8 Glossary
SNNPR - Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples’ Region (Ethiopia)
SNV - Netherlands Development Organisation
SWAPO - South West Africa People's Organization
SYPP - Six-Year Primary Project (Nigeria)
TIMSS - Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study
UIE - UNESCO Institute for Education (now UIL)
UIL – UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning (formerly UIE)
UNDP - United Nations Development Programme
UNESCO - United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
UNICEF - United Nations Children's Fund
UNIN - United Nations Institute for Namibia
UPE - Universal Primary Education
USAID - U.S. Agency for International Development
WGSE -Working Group on School Examinations (of ADEA)
WILA - Wimbum Literacy Association (Cameroon)
WLP - World Literacy Programme
ZAL - Zambian Alliance for Literacy
Abbreviations: technical terms
AL African language
BLE or BE bilingual education
EFL English as a Foreign Language
ESL English as a Second Language
FL foreign language
FLT foreign language teaching
FSL French as Second Language
GER2 secondary school gross enrolment ratio
HLT human language technology
ICT information and communication technologies
ILWC international language of wider communication
L1 first language or “mother tongue”, also called “home language” or
“language of the home”
L2 second language
LoI language of instruction (also referred to as: MoI/MoE)
LOLT language of learning and teaching (used especially in South Africa
for MoI/LoI)
Glossary 9