The following opinion piece from the Mauritian paper, L'Express, was seen on lgpolicy-list.
Article publié le Mardi 23 octobre 2007. MAILBOX Kreol morisien matters http://www.lexpress.mu/display_article_sup.php?news_id=96266 English language is the official medium of instruction at primary school level. Students who have an average understanding of the medium have to develop "survival skills". They struggle to memorise words and concepts, repeat what the teacher says and keep quiet. Those who cannot cope end up as low achievers and resent schooling. Such is the plight of the majority of our students. Even if the 'bridging the gap' initiative is laudable, yet the following comments from constructivist curriculum developers might be enlightening for our local situation: Attempting to make the curriculum relevant through pedagogies that connect classroom learning with the 'real world' may well provide a bridge that motivates all students to engage with the learning process, a motivation that is often missing when the curriculum is divorced from the lives of students. Many students who struggle with the mores and social practices of schooling-that is, have trouble 'doing school'-need to see that schooling has some meaning for them. It tends to be middle-class students who best handle decontextualised school knowledge. This means that classroom practices should re-cognize and value students' background experiences while connecting with their worlds beyond the classroom. Students with the cultural capital to 'do school well' may be able to do work of high intellectual quality in the absence of connectedness, but a schooling system that serves the whole community should seek to ensure that all students are able to demonstrate connectedness between the classroom and the world beyond it. (Haynes, D., Mills, M., Christie, P., & Lingard, B. 2006). In the absence of a pedagogical programme which could account for the life experience and home language of our kids, teachers on their part have to grapple with Creole, French and English in classroom situations. Statistical figures indicate that 70.1% of Mauritians use Creole as their home language. Whilst national educational policies fail to recognize this crucial aspect for teaching and learning in our schools, which could otherwise help our children gain independence and knowledge. As a result, this would have been more likely to help the majority of Mauritian students, and not just the 'privileged few' to achieve higher potential learning. In the meantime, it costs a lot to the country. It is estimated that out of 19,437 joining the primary schools, 12,149 will be SC holders and only 5,686 will complete secondary education with a Higher School Certificate. Other estimates ( D.Virahsawmy, 2006, in www.boukiebanane) figure some 15,000 school leavers who do not have basic literacy and only some 1,500 who achieve creative literacy which is the highest level of literacy. An attempt to curb school failures There is a strong correlation between language, culture and literacy. If the ZEP initiative, for example, is an attempt amongst others to curb school failures and to increase the level of literacy, not much has been achieved during these past few years, except in the case of Jean Eon RCA ( a ZEP school) where remarkable progress has been noted. A range of research (Bernstein 1971a, 1971b; Anyon 1981; Council et al.1982) has demonstrated that in schools serving disadvantaged communities, the pedagogy is sometimes socially supportive but not 'intellectually demanding'. It has been observed that good social outcomes are more likely to be achieved by classroom practices that are intellectually demanding, connected to the students' worlds beyond schools and, not socially supportive classrooms alone. This is not to downplay the importance of social support for all students-rather to suggest that social outcomes may be more effectively achieved when social support is connected and works with and values differences. If we go as far back as the 1940's, we find that two Reports during the British Colonisation of Mauritius highlighted that our linguistic policy and practices in schools were already considered as major obstacles to an efficient educational system. Ward (1944: 11) considers that the linguistic aspect is the main preoccupation of our teachers. Ward stated: 'I now come to the work the teachers are called on to do. The first and greatest problem here is the medium of instruction'. For J.E.Meade (1967: 208), the linguistic issue is the 'greatest handicap to successful education in Mauritius'. For the post-independence period six official reports were published amongst which two of them (Richard's report, 1979; and Ramdoyal, 1990) refer directly to the teaching of languages in schools. Glover's report (1973) laid particular emphasis on the importance of undertaking research in this field to inform national policies. More recently, the ADEA (Association for the Development of Education in Africa, Draft Report, 2005) depicted the real situation. It gives us insight into the contemporary aspects of the linguistic issue with reference to Kreol Morisien. At para.156, it states: a central detrimental aspect of the primary school curriculum is that it is taught in English- a foreign language for the majority of Mauritians. It is the key element in reproducing social inequality. English is the language of the privileged few. French is the language of prestige and culture. Creole is the everyday communication language of over 90% of all Mauritians. International research over the past decade has demonstrated in numeraous countries that teaching numeracy and literacy in a child's mother tongue increases academic achievement substantially. It is easier for children to master secondary languages in the later grades once basic competencies have been established in their mother tongue. It is ironic that the Ministry expends considerable resources on offering ancestral languages-Asian and Arabic- while the national language is ignored[ ] In the context of the existing linguistic biodiversity (viz. English, French, Arabic and Asian languages) in our schools, it is high time for the State to work out the modalities for the introduction of Kreol Morisien in our schools on the basis of equity, social justice and meaningful learning. Through language people acquire, understand and shape the knowledge and values of culture. It helps people to achieve a sense of self and to participate effectively in society. The State must see to it that No Mauritian Child is Left Behind. Post-modern schools will be learning communities in which difference and group identities are positively recognized and developed within a collaborative and supportive classroom community. Transition from family to school On a purely pedagogical level, it is interesting to note that the Mauritius Research Council published in 2001 a research document entitled 'The acquisition of languages in Mauritius: Dynamics of learning and external factors' by Dr Rada Tirvassen. There were four recommendations which could be taken up for further consideration. They were (i) The study of the understanding of the impact of a L1 over a L2 can allow the setting up of language training adapted to the way children build up their grammar system; (ii) The simultaneous development of the psychomotor aptitudes in French and English should be stopped. For the time being, such a loss of means can be explained by the fact that the start of writing is done simultaneously in languages that are not mother tongues (iii) It is obvious that the planning of language teaching has to take into account the role of Creole namely when it means to ensure the transition of the child from the family setup to the school environment. (iv) The process of deconstruction of fixed perceptions of teachers that lead them to classify pupils in biased categories with Pygmalion effects. Indeed we can say that Kreol Morisien matters! Jimmy HARMON **************************** Disclaimer ****************************** Copyright: In accordance with Title 17, United States Code Section 107, this material is distributed without profit for research and educational purposes. If you wish to use copyrighted material posted to this list for purposes that go beyond "fair use," you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. Content: The sender does not vouch for the veracity nor the accuracy of the contents of this message, which are the sole responsibility of the copyright owner. Also, the sender does not necessarily agree or disagree with any opinions that are expressed in this message. ********************************************************************** Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AfricanLanguages/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AfricanLanguages/join (Yahoo! 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