EdData II: Data for Education Research and Programming (derp) in Africa

Create a strong foundation in L1/familiar languages.
Teachers need to build 
children’s oral fluency in their L1 as well as teach them to read and write in it. Evidence 
from a variety of contexts suggests that at least six years of instruction in a familiar 
language, followed by transition to 
learning in an L2, can succeed under very 
specific and well-resourced conditions. 
However, the exact amount of time 
children will need to spend learning an L1 
and L2 will vary depending on the context 
(teacher training, whether the L2 is spoken 
outside the classroom, etc.); characteristics of the languages being learned; and other 
factors. Therefore, initial plans to provide instruction in one or more languages should be 
rigorously evaluated to assess whether children are obtaining sufficient levels of 
literacy—as well as academic knowledge—after a designated period of time, or whether 
they need additional years of L1-based reading and curricular instruction before 
proceeding to more advanced academic content and instruction in another language.
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Build a bridge to teaching in the L2 or foreign language.
Transition of instruction to 
an L2 or foreign language must be gradual and well planned. Requiring children to 
transition too abruptly or too soon to instruction in a new language can have negative 
consequences for the learning process—children neither become fluent nor learn 
academic content well in either language. (For example, recent research conducted in 
India under USAID’s All Children Reading Grand Challenge for Development identified 
certain levels of reading development children needed to obtain in a specific L1 or 
familiar language in order to be likely to succeed in learning English; see Nakamura, 
2014.) Pupils need to be supported to use what they know about reading and writing in a 
familiar language before they bridge to reading and writing in L2 (a process known as 
transfer;
see text box below), and they must have sufficient time to learn the L2 or 
foreign language prior to transition. In particular, they must have the required academic 
language to learn subject matter in a new language. Children and teachers should remain 
focused at the primary level on gaining a strong foundation in the L1 and learning the 
Long-term success in developing literacy 
skills in an L2 is strongly associated with 
learning to read and write in one’s L1.

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L2/Lx well as a subject, which allows them to focus on teaching L1 literacy skills and 
curricular content.
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