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

Concerns and challenges 
Responses and approaches 
costs. Resources can be formatted in a way that allows for multiple 
languages (i.e., teachers’ guides with information in multiple 
languages). 
•
The cost of smaller print runs will decrease if demand for language-
specific materials increases from the education sector, parents, and 
others. Collaboration across regions and countries that share the 
same languages can further reduce costs over time.
•
Implementing an effective plan for language use in education can be 
accomplished. The advantages of taking a long-term approach to 
planning outweigh the cost of maintaining the status quo. 
As many education researchers and practitioners are increasingly noting, failure to provide 
instruction in languages children understand accounts for high levels of wastage in the education 
system—failure to learn to read and high repetition and dropout rates—and inefficiencies in 
many school systems in Africa (as well as in high-income countries). Thoughtful and long-term 
planning for language use in education, with a focus on providing education in L1 or another 
familiar language used for communication in the community, can dramatically increase the 
proportion of children entering school who leave literate, with modest initial increases in the 
primary education budget that decline over time. To achieve the goal of all children reading—
and therefore able to learn well across the curriculum—more and sustained efforts must be 
focused on planning for effective use of language in education. The following section outlines 
key factors to consider when doing so.
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Key factors to consider when planning for 
language use in education
Developing a coherent, effective plan for appropriate language use in the classroom to provide a 
quality education includes understanding and planning for the following core issues:
•
Identifying goals of language acquisition and selecting languages to be used in 
classrooms, and for what purpose; 
•
Identifying effective pedagogical methodologies for teaching languages and curricular 
materials, and selecting languages to include in instruction; 
•
Developing teaching, learning, and assessment materials in the appropriate languages; 
•
Aligning teacher recruitment, training, and placement with the pedagogical approach to 
using language; and
•
Cultivating support from and involving stakeholders—from policy makers to parents—in 
language plan development and implementation. 
To make informed, effective decisions regarding each of these, a number of factors need to be 
considered. These include research and best practices regarding language development and 
learning; the goals of the education system; the country’s sociolinguistic context, a country’s 
current education context, resources available, and feasibility of implementation; and stakeholder 

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engagement and other considerations. Each of these factors is discussed in the subsections 
below, which include lists of questions that stakeholders can use to guide their planning with 
regard to language use in education. A diagram at the end of