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Momodou
Denmark
11835 Posts |
 Posted - 27 Jul 2006 : 16:07:50
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SOS FAYE ON LOCAL LANGUAGE INSTRUCTIONS IN SCHOOLS
By Abdoulie Dibba
Responding to a question raised by Sidia Jatta the National Assembly Member for Wuli West, regarding the Governments Policy on the teaching of local languages in Schools.
It has been scientifically proven that a child learns a second language more quickly and with much ease after he/ she has been formally ground in his/ her mother’s tongue; considering the general declined of standards in the school in which English language is the first casualty. SOS Fatou Lamin Faye indicated that the Department of state for Education has taken cognisance of research finding, indicating that a child learns a second language more quickly and with much ease after formal grounding in the mother tongue. In view of this, SOS Faye said that one policy objective is to introduce the teaching of the five most commonly used languages- Wollof, Pulaar, Mandinka, Jola and Sarahule at the basic, senior secondary, tertiary and higher education levels as subjects. She said it would be immensely difficult to teach every child in his/her mother tongue. She said the education policy states that during the first three years of basic Education (grade1-3), the medium of instruction will be in the dominant Language of the area in which the child lives.
English she said will be taught as subjects from grade 4 SOS Fatou Lamin Faye Pointed out that she is pleased to report “the implementations of these policy pronouncements have already began. She said the Department of state for Education has over the past years developed primers and readers for four national language; namely Mandinka Pularr Wollof and Jola. She said the materials have been piloted in all the educational regions and selected teachers have been trained in the pilot school”. SOS Faye went further to say that plans are now afoot to finalise the draft materials and train all teachers in the use of National Languages as medium of instruction in the early years of schooling.
Source: Foroyaa Newspaper Burning Issue
Issue No. 57/2006, 26- 27 July, 2006
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Sister Omega
United Kingdom
2085 Posts |
Posted - 17 Aug 2006 : 13:46:05
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This is a positive development as members of the forum may remember that we had robust debates at the turn of last year about this topic. It will be very interesting to see how this policy will be monitored and evaluated to deliver local languages in schools.
Peace
Sister Omega |
Peace
Sister Omega |
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jojo
United Kingdom
40 Posts |
Posted - 18 Aug 2006 : 09:56:21
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| Yes I am really pleased at that too. I would like to see children being able to talk their local language without fear at nursery level too.Denying them a means of expression is very damaging. No reason why they can't learn English at the same time. But Momodou - where do you get all these news items? I can't find them online - the All Africa site didn't have anything about the flooding either. |
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Jack
Belgium
384 Posts |
Posted - 18 Aug 2006 : 11:56:24
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Yes Momodou,
where do you get the informatian of FOROYAA. Untill a few months ago there was a link to a site. Since then I couldn't find it neither.
ci jamaa |
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Momodou
Denmark
11835 Posts |
Posted - 18 Aug 2006 : 12:11:27
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| From Foroyaa by mail! What is the name of the site you couldn't find? |
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jojo
United Kingdom
40 Posts |
Posted - 05 Sep 2006 : 09:16:29
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| Sorry Momodou - I can't find the Forayya site either. But this article bothers me. It has tremendous implications for the Nursery Schools. If the medium of instruction is going to be the predominant local language, then the nursery schools will not need to concentrate so much on the acquisition of English, but how many schools know of this plan? Has it been widely publicised? What is in the flipping White Paper on Early Years Education that the Department of Education talks about? |
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jambo
3300 Posts |
Posted - 05 Sep 2006 : 10:21:35
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i am interested to know when this becomes law. i am sure some nursery schools will not practice it. I agree that the schools could practice both, but does it mean that the learning materials will be printed in both languages. for children who go to nursery school they have an advantage over children who enter the main scool stream at 6, they already speak english.
For some schools a requirement to speak english and know the alphabet is essential.
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ranga
USA
149 Posts |
Posted - 09 Sep 2006 : 09:39:31
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Is the implication that English will not be taught in grades 1, 2 and 3? What is the current state of affairs?
A number of peoples around the world (French included) worry about English wiping out their languages. So, it may not be a bad thing to emphasize teaching Gambian languages. But I suppose there is no need to handicap Gambian children by not teaching them English in the first 3 grades.
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T.K. "Ranga" Rengarajan
Founder, Geoseed Project
http://www.geoseedproject.com
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