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Paving a Linguistic Path forward in Mozambique

Tue, April 16, 5:00 to 6:30pm, Hyatt Regency, Floor: Atrium (Level 2), Waterfront C

Proposal

Language surrounds us every day, but who chooses which languages will be used for instruction in schools?
In Mozambique, there are over 40 languages spoken. Of these, 19 have gained official recognition and are seeing more frequent daily use in both social media and national media channels such as radio and TV. Along with these communications channels, schools that participate in the national bilingual education program are leveraging multiple languages to support student learning in the early grades. Sixteen languages are currently used in the national bilingual education strategy, with plans for expansion as more languages receive official recognition and support for standardization. However, the decision to use local language for bilingual education (reading, math and physical education) in Grade 1 through Grade 3 is left to the local community. Moreover, curricular materials and teacher training have not been fully developed and institutionalized to support classroom instruction. This has created an unwieldy mosaic of bilingual education approaches that have not thus far resulted in improved reading scores and justify both the commitment to and resources for bilingual education.
The Ministry of Education (MINEDH) is exploring how to rollout and scale-up Mozambique’s national bilingual education program. Under the USAID Vamos Ler! program, MINEDH has mandated bilingual education in all (~2,800) schools in the 21 districts targeted by the program in three local languages in the Nampula and Zambezia provinces. This is an unprecedented approach allowing for a standardized approach to a large proportion of government schools. To further generate dialogue, research and action on bilingual education, the government has spearheaded several national symposia, e.g., the National Forum for Bilingual Education, and the Seminar on the Standardization of the Orthographies of Mozambican languages in collaboration with both MINEDH and the Universidade Eduardo Mondlane (UEM). The Directorate of Basic Education is now leading efforts to develop a National Strategy for Bilingual Education that will standardize curricula, training and materials nationwide, and set the stage for national scale-up.
Presenters will examine the following:
• MINEDH efforts to solidify and scale-up approaches to bilingual education.
• the process and difficulties they face, including resourcing, stakeholder support for local language education, and data and assessment development to ground decision-making.
• the challenges associated with systems strengthening efforts in an environment that has not yet fully embraced bilingual education.

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