Teaching Social Studies to Primary II Pupils: The Place of Mother Tongue in Nigerian Schools (Published)
Language is human phenomenon that manifests itself in sounds and symbols. It is a basic factor in communication. The mother tongue is a language of the immediate environment where the child is born. It is the language of the child’s parents. Children learn their mother tongue from baby hood. It is part of the child as he or she grows up. The use of mother tongue in the lower primary school classes enhances the continuity in the child’s educational process. This paper seeks to examine the use of mother tongue as an option in the teaching of Social studies at this level, in contrast to what some teachers do, using English to teach the students especially in the cosmopolitan urban centers. The study revealed that Social studies taught using the mother tongue enhance pupils’ grades in examination. Suggestion and recommendations were made.
Keywords: Mother tongue, Pupils., Social Studies
Language of Instruction in Kenya: Focus On Lower Primary in Schools in Rural Areas (Published)
The use of mother tongue as a language of instruction debate has been ongoing in Kenya as well as in other African countries with no consensus from researchers and policy makers. This paper focuses on the use of mother tongue in lower primary in schools in rural areas in Kenya and the reasons for deviations from guidelines that recommend the use of language of the catchment area in classes 1-3. This paper maintains that the use of mother tongue in the early years of schooling provides basic literacy skills necessary for learning in other subjects. Despite the benefits of use of mother tongue as the language of instruction in lower primary in schools in the rural areas, many primary schools in Kenya hardly use it for instruction. Not only does this paper recommend the use of mother tongue in lower primary in schools in rural areas in Kenya but also proposes that teachers perform the crucial role of enabling parents and other stakeholders in the education sector understand how mother tongue benefits the learner in the teaching learning process.
Keywords: Language of Instruction, Literacy, Mother tongue, Quality of Education, cognitive development, learner participation
Language in Education: Barriers and Bridges (Published)
This article explores the implementation of Ghana’s local language in education policy; how it has been received and practiced in public basic schools, and the major challenges and implications. Through the study, the author highlights critical issues within local education practices that suggest a mismatch between education language policy and classroom practice. It is suggested that one of the primary reasons for the poor performance in schools lies in the oral orientation to classroom practices at the foundation stage at the expense of literate ways of thinking and reasoning and that an emphasis on literacy in the mother tongue at the foundation stage may help to shift the focus on student academic development where it belongs.
Keywords: English Language, Implementation, Language policy, Literacy, Mother tongue