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

1 
Rationale for more effective language planning in 
education 
1.1 
Context and benefits 
There is growing awareness of the critical role that languages play in facilitating—or 
hindering—children’s access to schooling, as well as their ability to learn when they are in the 
classroom. The use of official, often exogenous (foreign) languages as languages of instruction 
has long privileged a minority of learners, while preventing the vast majority from meaningful 
interaction with their teachers. Evidence-based, strategic planning regarding the use of students’ 
own languages, and the learning of additional languages, is critical to ensuring that all children 
are offered the highest possible quality of education, and that they all leave school with the 
necessary knowledge and skills for contributing to their communities’ and their country’s well-
being and growth.
The benefits of using children’s first languages (L1) or familiar languages to provide instruction 
in the education sector has long been established in terms of its effectiveness in facilitating 
language acquisition, reading development, and academic learning, as well as its merits in terms 
of human rights, language and cultural preservation, and, in recent years, feasibility and cost. 
Other well-established benefits to children, their parents, teachers, and communities when 
children are able to learn in a familiar language are summarized below (see 
Annex A 
for a more 
in-depth discussion and references):
•
Increased education access. 
Children who understand the language of instruction are 
more likely to enter school on time, attend school regularly, and drop out less frequently.
•
Improved learning outcomes.
Being able to read and understand the language used in 
the classroom in turn facilitates the learning of academic content. 
•