Optimising Learning, Education and Publishing in Africa: The Language Factor

UIL and ADEA present the results of a comprehensive stocktaking research project that assesses the experiences of mother tongue and bilingual formal and non-formal education in 25 sub-Saharan African countries as well as the creation of multilingual literate environments.

The authors of the study highlight that improvements in educational quality and learning outcomes derive from strong multilingual language models and socio-culturally relevant curricula which use African languages as media of instruction for at least six years. Further, they make the case that locally-based multilingual publishing will support the education sector effectively and help to develop a literate environment. Both educational quality and publishing are instrumental in African nations’ social and economic development, and in the continent’s knowledge creation and scientific development.

Through this publication, policy-makers and others interested in how language use influences education and development obtain practice-based evidence and recommendations regarding policy, language education models, teaching, assessment and learning approaches and financing strategies adapted to the sub-Saharan African context.