Thanks for this item. What is amazing is how long it has taken to realize this point. I've related the story before, I'm sure, of a former schoolteacher and principal from Mali who noted that young children who were mastering counting to the point of being able to make change properly (when sent on an errand) lost that skill when thrust into the French-only schooling system. Last year a teachers' union in Zambia asked the government to institute instruction of math and science in Zambian languages because of their observations of the difficulties of children in mastering concepts taught in a second or third language (see message 390). This is not a problem of African children - it's the same anywhere in the world - but only in the African continent is basic education mostly, or entirely in a second (third) language.
Basically primary education that relies on a second language only handicaps children (I think there's a lot of research to back this up). I'm sure this a much larger factor in Africa's struggle for education and development than is generally acknowledged. Don Osborn --- In [email protected], "polyglute" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > One of the important practical aspect of the promotion of African > Languages is the creation of scientific dictionary using terms in > African languages to provide the ability to use those languages for > education and in professional settings. > > > From http://www.capeargus.co.za/index.php?fSectionId=49&fArticleId=3335246 > > Xhosa dictionaries unravel maths puzzle > > July 12, 2006 > > By Candes Keating > > Learning maths and science in a second or third language has resulted > in a large number of black pupils failing or dropping these school > subjects, said researchers at the Project for the Study of Alternative > Education in South Africa yesterday. > > The researchers have compiled the first Xhosa dictionaries to focus on > chemistry, biology, mathematics and technology terms. > > "Mathematics is difficult when you are not learning it in your mother > tongue," said researcher Keith Welman. "Hexagon, pentagon are big > words. Some of these terms are even difficult for English-speaking pupils. > > "This is why black children drop maths and why others perform below par." > With the introduction of the dictionaries as a resource in maths and > science classrooms, teachers will now also be able to explain terms in > Xhosa. > > Researcher Zola Wababa said that although there were some Xhosa maths > and science terms used by teachers and pupils, they were never > standardised. > > Wababa said they had to coin most of the terms and standardised the > ones being used. > > Compiling the dictionaries took almost three years. The natural > science dictionary, which focuses on chemistry, biology and > technology, consists of more than 3 500 terms. > > > The researchers said English terms were broken down, carefully > studied, translated into Xhosa and explained. > > The dictionaries were trilingual, they said, with terms explained in > Xhosa, English and Afrikaans. > > Xhosa must be used as a language of teaching and assessment in order > to improve maths and science results at black schools, said Wababa. > > "Some teachers say language is not an issue because maths and science > focus on symbols. But you need language to explain symbols," he said. > > Wababa said they tested the dictionaries on a group of teachers, who > used it as a teaching tool in their lessons, and "had a good response". > > The natural science dictionary is currently being printed. > > Wababa said the researchers hoped the dictionaries would be > implemented at schools next year but were still negotiating with the > Western Cape Education Department. > > "This project is complimentary for mother-tongue-based bilingual > education," said Wababa. > > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Great things are happening at Yahoo! Groups. See the new email design. http://us.click.yahoo.com/TISQkA/hOaOAA/yQLSAA/TpIolB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AfricanLanguages/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
