Acquisition of foundational skills through the local language in a rural preschool in Kenya

• In Event: Highlighted session: Literacy, language and foundational skills in Africa: learning in unexpected places

Proposal

The early years in a child’s life are fundamental to intellectual, social, emotional, and physical development (Mwalongo, 2016). These years lay the foundation for the child’s future learning opportunities, especially in language and literacy skills (Greenwood et. al, 2016). An important component is the relationship between education and the use of the child’s mother tongue (MT), or first language, to acquire the necessary knowledge and skills for learning (Abidogun and Adebule, 2014). Use of the MT has been found to support the development of the first and the second language (Noormohamadi, 2008). The transfer of literacy skills across languages (Cummins, 2001) leads to a stronger preparation for foundational skills development, including the development of language skills that are crucial to lifelong learning. In this way, use of the MT as medium of instruction promotes the sustainability of quality education for all children.

In Kenya, national language policy mandates MT-medium instruction for lower primary grades. However, there is a serious mismatch between policy and implementation (UNICEF 2016). Most schools teach predominantly in English or Kiswahili, the national languages of Kenya, since it is believed that students will be disadvantaged if taught in the MT. The result is poorer literacy learning, along with other learning gaps including second-language learning (Mose 2016).

This paper describes a program that bridges this learning gap in a Kenyan preschool context, with a language-inclusive curriculum consisting of 1) a Total Physical Response (TPR) approach to English language learning through MT-medium, and 2) MT-medium audiobooks for developing children’s emergent literacy skills. Assessment of the program found the TPR approach, mediated by the use of the MT as medium of instruction, to be highly effective in teaching the children oral English. The audiobook technology was also found to be an effective means of teaching emergent literacy and language skills. In addition, teachers’ perceptions of the language of instruction changed as they came to see using the MT as a way to help, not hinder, children’s ability to learn.

The results of this study highlight the effectiveness of MT-medium learning for development of foundational skills such as literacy, first and second language acquisition, digital literacy, creativity, self-regulation, communication, and social skills. The strong positive response of teachers and parents to the learning that took place in the classroom also indicates that effective learning matters more to these stakeholders than the choice of English or Swahili as medium of instruction.

Although certain logistical and technical aspects of the program should be dealt with more thoroughly if the program is to be scalable, the implementation of these methods is replicable and could be easily adapted in other settings. Given the prevalent use of foreign languages of instruction in classrooms around the world (Malone, 2008), these methods could have equally broad application. The findings of this study are thus highly relevant to the challenges of literacy and language that hinder skills acquisition across the globe.

Author

• Angela BECKER, SIL Africa