Languages and Education in Africa

Languages and Education in Africa
Author: Birgit Brock-Utne
Publisher: Symposium Books Ltd
Total Pages: 362
Release: 2009-05-11
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1873927177

The theme of this book cuts across disciplines. Contributors to this volume are specialized in education and especially classroom research as well as in linguistics, most being transdisciplinary themselves. Around 65 sub-Saharan languages figure in this volume as research objects: as means of instruction, in connection with teacher training, language policy, lexical development, harmonization efforts, information technology, oral literature and deaf communities. The co-existence of these African languages with English, French and Arabic is examined as well. This wide range of languages and subjects builds on recent field work, giving new empirical evidence from 17 countries: Botswana, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe, as well as to transnational matters like the harmonization of African transborder languages. As the Editors – a Norwegian social scientist and a Norwegian linguist, both working in Africa – have wanted to give room for African voices, the majority of contributions to this volume come from Africa.

State-Building and Multilingual Education in Africa

State-Building and Multilingual Education in Africa
Author: Ericka A. Albaugh
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 337
Release: 2014-04-24
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1139916777

How do governments in Africa make decisions about language? What does language have to do with state-building, and what impact might it have on democracy? This manuscript provides a longue durée explanation for policies toward language in Africa, taking the reader through colonial, independence, and contemporary periods. It explains the growing trend toward the use of multiple languages in education as a result of new opportunities and incentives. The opportunities incorporate ideational relationships with former colonizers as well as the work of language NGOs on the ground. The incentives relate to the current requirements of democratic institutions, and the strategies leaders devise to win elections within these constraints. By contrasting the environment faced by African leaders with that faced by European state-builders, it explains the weakness of education and limited spread of standard languages on the continent. The work combines constructivist understanding about changing preferences with realist insights about the strategies leaders employ to maintain power.

Languages in Africa

Languages in Africa
Author: Elizabeth C. Zsiga
Publisher: Georgetown University Press
Total Pages: 220
Release: 2015-03-03
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 1626161534

People in many African communities live within a series of concentric circles when it comes to language. In a small group, a speaker uses an often unwritten and endangered mother tongue that is rarely used in school. A national indigenous language—written, widespread, sometimes used in school—surrounds it. An international language like French or English, a vestige of colonialism, carries prestige, is used in higher education, and promises mobility—and yet it will not be well known by its users. The essays in Languages in Africa explore the layers of African multilingualism as they affect language policy and education. Through case studies ranging across the continent, the contributors consider multilingualism in the classroom as well as in domains ranging from music and film to politics and figurative language. The contributors report on the widespread devaluing and even death of indigenous languages. They also investigate how poor teacher training leads to language-related failures in education. At the same time, they demonstrate that education in a mother tongue can work, linguists can use their expertise to provoke changes in language policies, and linguistic creativity thrives in these multilingual communities.

English Language Education Policy in the Middle East and North Africa

English Language Education Policy in the Middle East and North Africa
Author: Robert Kirkpatrick
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 302
Release: 2016-12-15
Genre: Education
ISBN: 3319467786

This volume offers insights on English language education policies in Middle Eastern and North African countries, through state-of-the-art reports giving clear assessments of current policies and future trends, each expertly drafted by a specialist. Each chapter contains a general description of English education polices in the respective countries, and then expands on how the local English education policies play out in practice in the education system at all levels, in the curriculum, in teaching, and in teacher training. Essays cover issues such as the balance between English and the acquisition of the national language or the Arabic language, as well as political, cultural, economic and technical elements that strengthen or weaken the learning of English. This volume is essential reading for researchers, policy makers, and teacher trainers for its invaluable insights in the role of each of the stakeholders in the implementation of policies.

Schooling and Education in Africa

Schooling and Education in Africa
Author: George Jerry Sefa Dei
Publisher: Africa World Press
Total Pages: 334
Release: 2004
Genre: Community and school
ISBN: 9781592210039

Using the Ghanian schooling experience as a case study, this book explores how research can contribute to the development of a body of knowledge for educational change in Africa. Education in Africa is often said to be in a crisis' caused in part by the colonial legacy, but also due to inappropriate and uncontextualised current educational policies in relation to local human conditions and African realities. This book offers a critical analysis of current educational reform strategies and the actual practice of reform in an African context.'

Bilingual Education

Bilingual Education
Author: Jim Cummins
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 356
Release: 2012-12-06
Genre: Education
ISBN: 9401145318

This volume provides a comprehensive account of the implementation of bilingual education programs in countries throughout the world. For academics, graduate students, and policymakers, this volume clearly outlines the social and educational goals that can be achieved through bilingual education. It highlights the need to take account of the complex political context of inter-group relationships within which bilingual programs are inevitably embedded.

An Introduction to African Languages

An Introduction to African Languages
Author: G. Tucker Childs
Publisher: John Benjamins Publishing
Total Pages: 287
Release: 2003-12-19
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 9027295883

This book introduces beginning students and non-specialists to the diversity and richness of African languages. In addition to providing a solid background to the study of African languages, the book presents linguistic phenomena not found in European languages. A goal of this book is to stimulate interest in African languages and address the question: What makes African languages so fascinating? The orientation adopted throughout the book is a descriptive one, which seeks to characterize African languages in a relatively succinct and neutral manner, and to make the facts accessible to a wide variety of readers. The author’s lengthy acquaintance with the continent and field experiences in western, eastern, and southern Africa allow for both a broad perspective and considerable depth in selected areas. The original examples are often the author’s own but also come from other sources and languages not often referenced in the literature. This text also includes a set of sound files illustrating the phenomena under discussion, be they the clicks of Khoisan, talking drums, or the ideophones (words like English lickety-split) found almost everywhere, which will make this book a valuable resource for teacher and student alike.

Evaluation in Foreign Language Education in the Middle East and North Africa

Evaluation in Foreign Language Education in the Middle East and North Africa
Author: Sahbi Hidri
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 346
Release: 2016-09-27
Genre: Education
ISBN: 3319432346

This book presents evaluation cases from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) context, investigating the various facets of evaluation in different parts of the MENA region and beyond. In 19 chapters, it explores cases from Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Sudan, Syria, the UAE, Turkey, Iran and Morocco. The book highlights the impact of evaluation on a range of stakeholders, arguing that it has repercussions at the individual, societal, economic, cultural and political levels, that it also has an ethical dimension, and that it is tailored to people’s needs, helping them to remain abreast of the effectiveness and efficiency of programs. Further, the book explores controversial issues concerning different evaluation themes, such as teacher and staff evaluation, assessment practices, text genre analysis evaluation, assessment of productive skills, textbook and ICT evaluation, evaluation of ELT certificates and programs, quality assurance, ESP needs analysis, assessment literacy, and dynamic assessment. It addresses key challenges, such as who the “right people” to implement evaluation are, and the appropriate use of evaluation results to avoid any misuse or harm to any stakeholder. In closing, the book calls for further research venues on the relevance of evaluation, testing and assessment in the MENA context and beyond.

The Transformative Power of Language

The Transformative Power of Language
Author: Russell H. Kaschula
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 395
Release: 2020-09-10
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 1108498825

A new study of the importance of language for sociocultural change in Africa, from postcolonial to globally competitive knowledge societies.