Optimising Learning, Education and Publishing in Africa: the Language Factor
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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: [email protected]) or ADEA / African Development Bank, P.O. Box 323, 1002, Tunis Belvédère, Tunisia (e-mail: [email protected]). ISBN 978-92-820-1170-6 The choice and the presentation of the facts contained in this book and the opinions expressed herein are not necessarily those of UNESCO or ADEA and represent no commitment on the part of the Organisations. The designations employed and the presentation of materials throughout this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the UNESCO or ADEA concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area of its authorities, or the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. Graphic design and layout: Christiane Marwecki, cmgrafix Use of African scripts and typography inspired by Saki Mafundikwa (2007), Afrikan Alphabets: The Story of Writing in Afrika. Mark Batty Publisher, New York Printed in Germany by Mundschenk Druck- und Verlagsgesellschaft mbH, Soltau 2 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