FYI, this item from the Kenya Times makes some important points re the role of higher education ... DZO
Universities accused of killing African languages http://www.timesnews.co.ke/22may06/schtimes/sch2.html By Stephen Korir UNIVERSITIES' obsession with foreign languagess, as well as inadequate reference materials on African mother tongues has undermined the development of African languages. The investment, use and promotion of international languages in tertiary institutions as well as the universities has been overemphasised at the expense of Africa's diverse mother tongues. Schools, middle level training colleges and universities , particularly in East and Central Africa, have also contributed to the dismal performance by students in languages during examinations. The practice has also limited a large proportion of learners to a few international languages by failing to mount courses in a wider scope of foreign languages. These sentiments were expressed at a regional conference on language policy and education held recently at a city hotel. Many publishers are said to shy away from printing mother tongue publications due to perceived limited readership, an issue that is compounded by urban societies averseness to their children speaking their first languages. Universities and tertiary institutions, it was noted, have failed to pioneer centres for teaching and promotion of the use of Africa's multiple languages in the international fora. Maseno University which recently launched a faculty of African language studies was hailed as the only one attempting to inculcate a culture of promoting african languages. Participants at the Regional conference were consistent in their calls for the need to strengthen teaching of first languages' long neglected history hence joining the books of the least developed or rather less used in the process rendering them useless for many professionals. The participants further stressed the need for nurturing more courses on foreign languages such as Italian, Chinese, Japanese and Spanish among other widely spoken languages of the developed countries to enable local people compete with their counterparts at the same level for the various opportunities in this era of globalization. Mother tongue was seen as the appropriate medium of communication by the children at early stages of development and lower primary classes in particular as it was the only language they may express themselves in freely since thinking as a process is expressed through language and the more the communication skills, the more likely that the child will be empowered to think and express opinions and experiences. Use of mother tongue not only enables the children to start embracing their culture and values, but also facilitates smooth transition from home to school environment ensuring that child develops a sense of self confidence to participate freely in all activities Local languages should also no longer be seen as useless as they are also are also becoming resourceful owing to the outside world's growing interests in the fields of theology, history, singing and literature of the particular communities as explained by one of the speakers. Those proficient in spoken and written versions of these languages can land jobs as translators, writers and even mass communications industry especially in this advent of vernacular stations. The increasing rural to urban migration too provides another opportunity for those who have mastered first or mother tongue languages to utilise them for gain by way of tuition to the children whose parents feel they risk losing touch with their communities a programme pioneered by some parents in the city. According to Education PS Prof. Karega Mutahi, the government is focused more on development of these languages through the production of quality learning materials. According to the PS all mother tongues are recognised as unique and with roles to play in the development and the adult life of the children. He regretted that teachers handling mother tongue classes (1-3) did not benefit from any formal training in the teaching of such languages during their training adding that the situation was compounded the poor reading culture amongst pupils in upper primary classes, secondary and even teachers apathy to literature in mother tongue. As a way forward, the conference resolved that publishing of reference materials on all the languages be encouraged and self study reading culture be promoted amongst all learners was further felt that there is need for a regional language policy on Kiswahili as one of the widely spoken languages in East and Central Africa. . Kenya's language policy on education stipulates that the particular catchment language be used as the medium of instruction at the Early Childhood Development Centre and the lower primary level . It is also recommended that English be taught during a pupil's formative stages so as to lay a sound foundation for pursuing future prospects in various spheres of life. Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AfricanLanguages/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
