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<h1 class="entry-title">Foreign Languages under the Spotlight</h1>
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<span class="gmail-td-post-date"><time class="entry-date gmail-updated gmail-td-module-date" datetime="2017-02-14T00:05:28+00:00">February 14, 2017</time></span> <div class="gmail-td-post-comments"><a href="https://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2017/02/14/foreign-languages-under-the-spotlight/#respond">0</a></div> <div class="gmail-td-post-views"><span class="gmail-td-nr-views-88334">887</span></div> </div>
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</div><p style="text-align:justify"><span id="gmail-m_-303087018564570851yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1486985115515_3010" lang="EN-GB">As the world celebrates Mother Tongues Day on February 21, <b id="gmail-m_-303087018564570851yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1486985115515_3011">Solomon Elusoji </b>writes that to deprive indigenes of the use of their language for education is like taking away their heritage</span><span id="gmail-m_-303087018564570851yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1486985115515_3012"></span></p>
<div id="gmail-m_-303087018564570851yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1486985115515_3013" style="text-align:justify"><span id="gmail-m_-303087018564570851yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1486985115515_3014" lang="EN-GB"> </span></div>
<div id="gmail-m_-303087018564570851yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1486985115515_3015" style="text-align:justify"><span id="gmail-m_-303087018564570851yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1486985115515_3016" lang="EN-GB">Inside
the classrooms of a Community Primary School on the outskirts of Lagos,
conversations between students are held in Yoruba and a smattering of
English phrases. The instructors, too, deliver their lessons with a
composite of the two languages. But while one is the standard for tests
and examinations and consequently revered, the instructors say, the
other, which is most of the student’s mother tongue (Yoruba), is
restricted to interpersonal communication.</span><span id="gmail-m_-303087018564570851yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1486985115515_3017"></span></div>
<div id="gmail-m_-303087018564570851yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1486985115515_3018" style="text-align:justify"><span id="gmail-m_-303087018564570851yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1486985115515_3019" lang="EN-GB"> </span><span id="gmail-m_-303087018564570851yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1486985115515_3020"></span></div>
<div id="gmail-m_-303087018564570851yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1486985115515_3021" style="text-align:justify"><span id="gmail-m_-303087018564570851yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1486985115515_3022" lang="EN-GB">“We
usually use both languages when we teach the students,” Taiwo Adegoke, a
Primary Two teacher says. “That’s because most of the students do not
speak English at home and we will be unable to communicate with them
without mixing it up.”</span><span id="gmail-m_-303087018564570851yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1486985115515_3023"></span></div>
<div id="gmail-m_-303087018564570851yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1486985115515_3024" style="text-align:justify"><span id="gmail-m_-303087018564570851yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1486985115515_3025" lang="EN-GB"> </span><span id="gmail-m_-303087018564570851yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1486985115515_3026"></span></div>
<div id="gmail-m_-303087018564570851yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1486985115515_3027" style="text-align:justify"><span id="gmail-m_-303087018564570851yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1486985115515_3028" lang="EN-GB">The
reason for this interesting phenomenon is not far-fetched. Western
education was imported by the white man and, naturally, gains expression
through his language. And decades after attaining independence, the
mode of expression continues to hold. But education itself is not a
function of language, which is simply a means through which information
is transmitted. The English language is not officially recognised in
some of the best universities in the world and the Japanese, the
Germans, excel educationally with languages local to their populations. </span><span id="gmail-m_-303087018564570851yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1486985115515_3029"></span></div>
<div id="gmail-m_-303087018564570851yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1486985115515_3030" style="text-align:justify"><span id="gmail-m_-303087018564570851yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1486985115515_3031" lang="EN-GB"> </span><span id="gmail-m_-303087018564570851yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1486985115515_3032"></span></div>
<div id="gmail-m_-303087018564570851yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1486985115515_3033" style="text-align:justify"><span id="gmail-m_-303087018564570851yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1486985115515_3034" lang="EN-GB">According
to Otunba Gani Adams, a cultural activist, “the secret of technology is
well hidden in language and that is why the world’s greatest economies
pride themselves in their language and tradition.” This makes it
impossible for outsiders to tap into the technology without getting
immersed in their local language.</span><span id="gmail-m_-303087018564570851yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1486985115515_3035"></span></div>
<div id="gmail-m_-303087018564570851yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1486985115515_3036" style="text-align:justify"><span id="gmail-m_-303087018564570851yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1486985115515_3037" lang="EN-GB"> </span><span id="gmail-m_-303087018564570851yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1486985115515_3038"></span></div>
<div id="gmail-m_-303087018564570851yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1486985115515_3039" style="text-align:justify"><span id="gmail-m_-303087018564570851yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1486985115515_3040" lang="EN-GB">Truly,
language is deeply connected to notions of culture and identity, but,
according to UNESCO, as much as 40 per cent of the global population
does not have access to education in a language they speak or
understand. A large chunk of that number are in sub-Saharan Africa and
Nigeria is a prime victim. In some quarters, it is believed that the
lack of knowledge transmission in local languages is the reason for
student’s mass failure in nationally conducted examinations like WAEC
and NECO, since it is difficult to attain understanding (especially
subjects like mathematics and physics which are riddled with complex and
abstract notions) in a language which you have not sufficiently been
immersed in; and understanding<i id="gmail-m_-303087018564570851yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1486985115515_3041"> </i>is crucial to the success of any form of education.</span><span id="gmail-m_-303087018564570851yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1486985115515_3042"></span></div>
<div id="gmail-m_-303087018564570851yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1486985115515_3043" style="text-align:justify"><span id="gmail-m_-303087018564570851yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1486985115515_3044" lang="EN-GB"> </span><span id="gmail-m_-303087018564570851yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1486985115515_3045"></span></div>
<div id="gmail-m_-303087018564570851yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1486985115515_3046" style="text-align:justify"><span id="gmail-m_-303087018564570851yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1486985115515_3047" lang="EN-GB">This
problem is prominent enough to have attracted the attention of the
Minister of Science and Technology, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu. In January, while
addressing pupils of Ekulu Primary School in Enugu, the minister said
that the federal government is in the process of ensuring that primary
school pupils are taught Mathematics and Science subjects in their
mother-tongue.</span><span id="gmail-m_-303087018564570851yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1486985115515_3048"></span></div>
<div id="gmail-m_-303087018564570851yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1486985115515_3049" style="text-align:justify"><span id="gmail-m_-303087018564570851yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1486985115515_3050" lang="EN-GB"> </span><span id="gmail-m_-303087018564570851yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1486985115515_3051"></span></div>
<div id="gmail-m_-303087018564570851yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1486985115515_3052" style="text-align:justify"><span id="gmail-m_-303087018564570851yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1486985115515_3053" lang="EN-GB"> “The
Ministry of Science and Technology is worried over the low interest in
mathematics and the science subjects, so, we are working on plans to
teach mathematics and sciences in indigenous languages in primary
schools,” he said.</span><span id="gmail-m_-303087018564570851yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1486985115515_3054"></span></div>
<div id="gmail-m_-303087018564570851yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1486985115515_3055" style="text-align:justify"><span id="gmail-m_-303087018564570851yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1486985115515_3056"> </span><span id="gmail-m_-303087018564570851yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1486985115515_3057"></span></div>
<div id="gmail-m_-303087018564570851yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1486985115515_3058" style="text-align:justify"><span id="gmail-m_-303087018564570851yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1486985115515_3059" lang="EN-GB">“These
pupils grow up with their indigenous languages at home before they
start going to school, where they are now taught in foreign languages.
So, we have observed that there is a challenge to understand the foreign
languages first before they could even start understanding what they
are being taught.</span><span id="gmail-m_-303087018564570851yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1486985115515_3060"></span></div>
<div id="gmail-m_-303087018564570851yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1486985115515_3061" style="text-align:justify"><span id="gmail-m_-303087018564570851yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1486985115515_3062"> </span><span id="gmail-m_-303087018564570851yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1486985115515_3063"></span></div>
<div id="gmail-m_-303087018564570851yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1486985115515_3064" style="text-align:justify"><span id="gmail-m_-303087018564570851yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1486985115515_3065" lang="EN-GB">“We
believe that this plan will help our students to understand mathematics
and science subjects, and also promote the application of science and
technology for national development.”</span><span id="gmail-m_-303087018564570851yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1486985115515_3066"></span></div>
<div id="gmail-m_-303087018564570851yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1486985115515_3067" style="text-align:justify"><span id="gmail-m_-303087018564570851yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1486985115515_3068" lang="EN-GB"> </span><span id="gmail-m_-303087018564570851yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1486985115515_3069"></span></div>
<div id="gmail-m_-303087018564570851yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1486985115515_3070" style="text-align:justify"><span id="gmail-m_-303087018564570851yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1486985115515_3071" lang="EN-GB">The
words of the minister are sweet to the ears, but the question of
whether they can leave the domain of speeches and become implemented is a
matter best left to posterity. The argument for local languages to
become the de-facto mode for instruction in Nigerian schools is one that
is almost as old as the nation’s independence. In 1969, a six year
experiment tagged the ‘Ife Primary Education Research Project’, was
initiated in South-west Nigeria. The project used Yoruba as the medium
of instruction for the six years of primary education. Evaluations of
the project found that students who switched to English after six years
of mother tongue instruction performed better in English and in other
subjects compared with those who did so after only three years.</span><span id="gmail-m_-303087018564570851yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1486985115515_3072"></span></div>
<div id="gmail-m_-303087018564570851yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1486985115515_3073" style="text-align:justify"><span id="gmail-m_-303087018564570851yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1486985115515_3074" lang="EN-GB"> </span><span id="gmail-m_-303087018564570851yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1486985115515_3075"></span></div>
<div id="gmail-m_-303087018564570851yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1486985115515_3076" style="text-align:justify"><span id="gmail-m_-303087018564570851yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1486985115515_3077" lang="EN-GB"> “There
are many ideas that you want to pass across in Chemistry, in Physics,
in Biology, etc that you can probably do more efficiently if you teach
them in their local language,” Kola Tubosun, a linguist and teacher,
says, in an interview with the Huffington Post. “What you’re trying to
do is to raise people who are competent, and who are knowledgeable in a
particular field. Education is about empowering people to be able to do
things, so it really doesn’t matter whether it is done in English or
it’s not. The people you’re teaching, if they can understand what you’re
saying, and you understand the concept of what you’re trying to preach
or to work on, then you can use that to solve a problem. So if that is
done, I believe that we’re going to unleash a generation of really smart
and innovative Nigerians.”</span><span id="gmail-m_-303087018564570851yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1486985115515_3078"></span></div>
<div id="gmail-m_-303087018564570851yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1486985115515_3079" style="text-align:justify"><span id="gmail-m_-303087018564570851yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1486985115515_3080" lang="EN-GB"> </span><span id="gmail-m_-303087018564570851yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1486985115515_3081"></span></div>
<div id="gmail-m_-303087018564570851yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1486985115515_3082" style="text-align:justify"><span id="gmail-m_-303087018564570851yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1486985115515_3083" lang="EN-GB">To
buttress Tubosun’s point, a multitude of research point to the
superiority of instructing students in their mother tongues, especially
in the early stages, instead of in a second language, like English is to
millions of Nigerian students. A UNICEF Policy Paper, ‘If You Don’t
Understand, How Can You Learn’, notes that “speaking a language that is
not spoken in the classroom frequently holds back a child’s learning,
especially for those living in poverty” and that “at least six years of
mother tongue instruction is needed to reduce learning gaps for minority
language speakers.”</span><span id="gmail-m_-303087018564570851yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1486985115515_3084"></span></div>
<div id="gmail-m_-303087018564570851yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1486985115515_3085" style="text-align:justify"><span id="gmail-m_-303087018564570851yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1486985115515_3086" lang="EN-GB"> </span><span id="gmail-m_-303087018564570851yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1486985115515_3087"></span></div>
<div id="gmail-m_-303087018564570851yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1486985115515_3088" style="text-align:justify"><span id="gmail-m_-303087018564570851yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1486985115515_3089" lang="EN-GB">However,
despite the obvious benefits of local languages over second languages,
the Nigerian government, regardless of Onu’s words, is not particularly
keen on investing in that direction. The popular reasons are the
complexity of such a language policy in a country with hundreds of
languages spread across its geography, and the massive funds that will
be required to train language instructors and re-write entire
curriculums. But some countries in sub-Saharan Africa are taking the
giant leap. In 2015, Ghana announced a bold plan to eliminate English as
the medium of instruction in its schools; and countries like Tanzania
and Zimbabwe are on similar paths.</span><span id="gmail-m_-303087018564570851yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1486985115515_3090"></span></div>
<div id="gmail-m_-303087018564570851yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1486985115515_3091" style="text-align:justify"><span id="gmail-m_-303087018564570851yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1486985115515_3092" lang="EN-GB"> </span><span id="gmail-m_-303087018564570851yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1486985115515_3093"></span></div>
<div id="gmail-m_-303087018564570851yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1486985115515_3094" style="text-align:justify"><span id="gmail-m_-303087018564570851yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1486985115515_3095" lang="EN-GB">According
to Dr. Charles Mubita, a Doctor of International Relations from the
University of Sourthern California: “The central message from these
countries is that the time has come for Africans to change our mindset
so that our education is administered in our local languages.</span><span id="gmail-m_-303087018564570851yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1486985115515_3096"></span></div>
<div id="gmail-m_-303087018564570851yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1486985115515_3097" style="text-align:justify"><span id="gmail-m_-303087018564570851yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1486985115515_3098" lang="EN-GB"> </span><span id="gmail-m_-303087018564570851yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1486985115515_3099"></span></div>
<div id="gmail-m_-303087018564570851yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1486985115515_3100" style="text-align:justify"><span id="gmail-m_-303087018564570851yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1486985115515_3101" lang="EN-GB">“</span><span id="gmail-m_-303087018564570851yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1486985115515_3102" lang="EN-GB">Many
have questioned the wisdom of removing colonial languages as media of
instruction in schools or as official languages. They argue that African
languages do not have terms such as algorithms, trigonometry, convex
geometry, quantum mechanics and other tongue twisters and jaw-breakers.</span><span id="gmail-m_-303087018564570851yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1486985115515_3103"></span></div>
<div id="gmail-m_-303087018564570851yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1486985115515_3104" style="text-align:justify"><span id="gmail-m_-303087018564570851yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1486985115515_3105" lang="EN-GB"> </span><span id="gmail-m_-303087018564570851yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1486985115515_3106"></span></div>
<div id="gmail-m_-303087018564570851yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1486985115515_3107" style="text-align:justify"><span id="gmail-m_-303087018564570851yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1486985115515_3108" lang="EN-GB">“The
critics fear that these sophistries will be lost in translation thereby
lowering the standard of education. For them, English is the definition
of education sophistry, the height of sophistication, and epitome of
civilisation.</span><span id="gmail-m_-303087018564570851yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1486985115515_3109"></span></div>
<div id="gmail-m_-303087018564570851yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1486985115515_3110" style="text-align:justify"><span id="gmail-m_-303087018564570851yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1486985115515_3111" lang="EN-GB"> </span><span id="gmail-m_-303087018564570851yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1486985115515_3112"></span></div>
<div id="gmail-m_-303087018564570851yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1486985115515_3113" style="text-align:justify"><span id="gmail-m_-303087018564570851yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1486985115515_3114" lang="EN-GB">“This
negative reaction is informed by an erroneous assumption that English
is the be-all and end-all of education – a false assumption that some
successful non-Anglophones such as Russia, Germany, Japan, China,
France, Finland, India, and many others will scoff at. Unfortunately,
this debate only demonstrates how far we are from breaking out of the
shell of imperialism and mental slavery.”</span><span id="gmail-m_-303087018564570851yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1486985115515_3115"></span></div>
<div id="gmail-m_-303087018564570851yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1486985115515_3116" style="text-align:justify"><span id="gmail-m_-303087018564570851yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1486985115515_3117" lang="EN-GB"> </span><span id="gmail-m_-303087018564570851yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1486985115515_3118"></span></div>
<div id="gmail-m_-303087018564570851yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1486985115515_3119" style="text-align:justify"><span id="gmail-m_-303087018564570851yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1486985115515_3120" lang="EN-GB">On
February 21, the world will observe the International Mother Language
Day, to promote the awareness of linguistic and cultural diversity and
multilingual education, with the theme ‘Towards Sustainable Futures
Through Multilingual Education’. So, it is time for those in power to
wake up to the fractitious impacts of colonial languages and embrace the
freedom inherent in local languages. Because, in the words of Nigerian
educationist, scholar and former Minister of Education, late Professor
Babs Fafunwa, “to deprive the indigenous speaker of the use of his
language for education is like removing his soul.”<br><br></span></div><a href="https://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2017/02/14/foreign-languages-under-the-spotlight/">https://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2017/02/14/foreign-languages-under-the-spotlight/</a><br clear="all"><br>-- <br><div class="gmail_signature">**************************************<br>N.b.: Listing on the lgpolicy-list is merely intended as a service to its members<br>and implies neither approval, confirmation nor agreement by the owner or sponsor of the list as to the veracity of a message's contents. Members who disagree with a message are encouraged to post a rebuttal, and to write directly to the original sender of any offensive message. A copy of this may be forwarded to this list as well. (H. Schiffman, Moderator)<br><br>For more information about the lgpolicy-list, go to <a href="https://groups.sas.upenn.edu/mailman/" target="_blank">https://groups.sas.upenn.edu/mailman/</a><br>listinfo/lgpolicy-list<br>*******************************************</div>
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