Good day to you esteemed reader and Happy International Literacy Day 2019!
Thanks for joining me as I share my thoughts on the value which using indigenous languages give to enhancing mass literacy. As a Nigerian, I know how our educational system and indeed the ‘official’ settings frown at the use of what they term ‘vernacular’ which may explain why Africa (and especially Nigeria, the giants of the continent) failed to meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). This article, however, will attempt to change your perspective about using your native language especially in the learning community.
At the 14th session of the General Conference of UNESCO in October 1966, September 8th was proclaimed as International Literacy Day (ILD) as a way of reminding the public of the value of literacy in enhancing dignity and building a more sustainable society. Each year’s celebration is backed with a theme which expresses the particular area of focus. Coincidentally, this year is tagged the International Year of Indigenous Languages by the United Nations (UN) in order to raise awareness of these languages for the benefit of the language speakers and others alike as a way of celebrating our world’s rich cultural diversity. This year is also the Silver Anniversary of the World Conference on Special Needs Education, at which the Salamanca Statement on Inclusive Education was adopted. It is to this end that the theme of this year’s celebration is ‘Literacy and Multilingualism’. UNESCO believes that “embracing linguistic diversity in education and literacy development is central to addressing these literacy challenges and to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)”. We equally should!
Literacy is defined by Merriam-Webster Dictionary in two ways: “the ability to read a short simple passage and write / answer questions about it” and “knowledge that relates to a specified subject”. Methinks these definitions talk about literacy in a wholesome manner. This is because in this age, formal education as may be associated with the ability to read and write does not account for complete literacy. For one to be truly literate, he must possess other soft and hard skills like proficiency and knowledge of certain disciplines. Literacy and education go hand in hand even by definition as education is defined by Merriam-Webster Dictionary as “the act or process of providing with knowledge, skill, competence, or usually desirable qualities of behavior so provided especially by a formal course of study, instruction, or training”.
In 2015, all UN Member States accepted the “universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity by 2030” (UNDP) by coming up with 17 SDGs. The fourth goal being ‘Quality Education’ has among other goals, the need to “ensure that all youth and a substantial proportion of adults, both men and women, achieve literacy and numeracy”. For this goal to be met, it must cut across the board and include the rural dwellers and communities with languages other than English language.
Albert Einstein is quoted as having said: “everyone is a genius but if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole live believing that it is stupid”. This is absolutely true! As much as we want to operate a unitary education curriculum, we ought to be sensitive to the rustic population who may not be compliant to certain methods of instruction like language, pace and learning materials. It is when you consider the uniqueness of human populations that you will understand that sometimes what is good for the goose may be poisonous for the gander. If you ask me, I will say that man should be allowed the inalienable right to be himself and grow according to his abilities and strengths. One of these strengths may be his language with which he is fluent – the language he thinks with; the language he speaks with and does not make mistakes and cannot be corrected in; the language that is truly his.
My country and continent continues to uphold the colonial mindset that English language is the ‘standard’ language. This is the height of mental slavery that can exist – denial of self-worth and the blind desire to be like someone else. We, Nigerians, brag that our English language is the most fluent among other African countries but we fail to see the underlying effect that is having on our own indigenous languages. English language remains our L2 not our L1 and this arrangement should be adopted across the board. A country so rich in diverse cultures and languages brags about advancing the language of another culture. The fact that all aspects of culture are integrated – ignoring one affects others – is even more worrisome because one way or another, anglicising our cultures really does alter their value over time. There may be a need for me to write about this in another article so as not to digress.
Indigenization of the learning systems comes at a price which governments with the political will can pay with appropriate policy frameworks. I’ll outline some of these. The first on my list is the number of available teachers who can code mix sufficiently. To inculcate local languages in teaching is to have instructors who have the proficiency in the local language as well as knowledge of the subjects. It is not enough to have only one of these – this is largely where we are presently. These teachers also need to have passion to do the job. To further assist the teachers is the availability of textbooks and subject materials in those languages. Just like many international books like the Bible and other literary works are translated to local languages, it is important that the textbooks used in schools be tailor-suited for the intended audience.
After learning using a certain indigenous language, another challenge may pop up. This is the challenge of adapting to a new language of instruction for the same subject at higher levels or in a different location. This, however, may not be insurmountable because already, students are required to take language tests to prove their proficiency in the language of instruction (and sometimes, take a year of remedial in their culture). At best, there should be a system to incorporate students who are new to the culture and language of the host community irrespective of the educational level.
All these being said, there is bound to be a real challenge of coming up with a unified curriculum which works and incorporate the national values as well as retaining and promoting the culture and language of the host communities. While doing this it is important to note that this may further highlight the lines of ethnicity that divides us. Hence, caution must be taken without removing the essential aspects of the cultures.
I intentionally left the gains for the last so as to keep the momentum towards action high. Focus on use of a language that is close to the learner has a way of fostering interests from the indigenes especially when it comes to adult education and semi-formal education. This equally encourages localized and culture-specific illustrations and approaches to the concepts of the subjects.
Since this language of instruction is theirs, it creates a sense of pride for the ethnic group as well as for the learner. It also preserves the culture, values and language of the host communities as well as serve as a means of promoting same to the learners (and visitors) who come in contact with them. Non-indigene learners come to learn about the history and culture of the host communities and this is a great way of fostering unity.
It may be easy for us to dismiss this idea due to perceived difficulty in implementation but some countries have already taken the initiative. In Indonesia, BASAbali Wiki, a multilingual dictionary and virtual library intends to revitalize endangered local languages by creating a sense of ownership. They are now trying to expand this to include creating multilingual books featuring a teen environmental superhero imagined by the children of Bali. Somewhere else in Algeria, the National Office of Literacy and Education for Adults (ONAEA) launched a strategy including an 18-month literacy course for adults in both of the official languages, emphasizing the importance of starting to learn in a mother language to acquire further languages and become a lifelong learner. With this initiative, Tamazight speakers can access programmes specific to them as well as Arabic speakers.
Our beloved country has in time past set the pace for many things especially in Africa. We can do this. It only takes an act of will.
I’ll conclude with the words of Gde Nala Antara, “Give a lasting gift: read to a child in a local language!”
Till next time, keep fit!
P.S: I only initiated the discussion, please drop a comment below and let’s hear what you think about this.
Valuable resources I made reference to are below:
1. https://en.unesco.org/news/programme-indonesia-promoting-linguistic-diversity-wins-unesco-literacy-prize
2. https://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/sustainable-development-goals/goal-4-quality-education.html
3. https://en.iyil2019.org/
4. https://www.calendarlabs.com/holidays/international/international-literacy-day.php
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