Closer to home: How to help schools in low and
middle-income countries respond to children’s language
needs
This is the third and final report in a three year project that
CfBT conducted with Save the Children. The report examines ways in
which language can be prevented from being a barrier to effective
learning. This is particularly pertinent in today’s world
where an estimated 221 million children across the globe are
speakers of local languages not used for teaching.
As a celebration of the conclusion of the project, a special
edition of all three reports is also now available on a CD.
Language and education: the missing link: How
the language used in schools threatens the achievement of Education
For All
This report was written by Save the Children and considers the
extent to which the language used for teaching and learning can be
a key barrier or enabler in achieving national and international
education committments. In the foreword to the report Dr
Rigoberta Menchú, Nobel Peace Laureate and UNESCO Goodwill
Ambassador for Culture of Peace, writes: “Many people know what it
is like to struggle in school. Others know what it is like to be
forced to drop out. For many children, this deep frustration and
disappointment is not caused by physical or monetary barriers, but
by the decision to teach in a language which they do not
understand… Language is the channel through which people’s cultures
are transmitted. Only by ensuring its use and development at all
levels can the tragedy of the disappearance of languages, which
ultimately means the impoverishment of humanity, be
prevented”.
The report presents recommendations for international collaboration
to produce more strategic action to remove the language barriers
that keep many children from progressing through their
education.
Reflecting language diversity in children’s
schooling: moving from ‘Why multilingual education’ to
‘How?
This second report by Save the Children focuses on multi lingual
mother tongue education. By talking to NGO staff, teachers and
academics researchers found that the main recurring theme for
parents, school leaders and government was the fear that by
reducing the second language in schools young people would become
less skilled in languages. The study recommends that the
MTBMLE pre-school programme consider ways to support activity-based
learning and the use of the mother tongue in primary school.
The first report is available here.