Wengshi Bo: Ghana primary and secondary schools is no longer used in English, then?
2015/10/30
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Ghana implementation of the new education policy: From now on public elementary and secondary education is no longer taught in English. This picture taken are all authors, are also available.
Ghana can be said to be the star of the West African country, several of the foreign media has been selected as the most development potential of African countries in the top five, the rate of economic growth or even all of Africa's fastest. The degree of progress in political, economic, cultural, educational, significantly ahead of neighboring countries, and even the national soccer team is the strongest team in West Africa, several times on behalf of the African World Cup campaign, is still the envy of the other poor, struggling with corruption countries.
One Tree Ghana in West African countries of a cell, its official language is English, is surrounded by around Ivory Coast, Togo, Benin, Mali, Niger, Nigeria in several French-speaking countries, the economic and civilization development index but stand out, it is no wonder the people of West Africa often self quipped: "is the result of British colonial French colonial seems to be even better than, I knew we had to go to the British colonial, now would not be so far behind."
Recently, the Ghana government threw an avant-garde education policy is shocked other countries in West Africa. Ghana incumbent education minister Ms. Jane Naana Opoku Agyemang developed a plan: from now on public elementary and secondary education is no longer taught in English.
We heard the news first reaction is: "That what language to use in class Asante language??" Explained the Minister of Education: on the class in the local dialect, there is no uniform language. Ghana Asante language although the most common dialect, but the use of the population accounted for only 16% of the total population, not the common language will be used in every region of Ghana, other dialects calculate more than eighty kinds.
This is the biggest obstacle to the implementation of African languages, dialects too much, every province, every village, every nation has its own language, and each other's voice and grammar are not quite the same, often next door to the village dialects simply belong entirely to another language. There are more than sixty kinds of dialects such as Burkina Faso, Nigeria has more than 120 kinds. So the locals say: "We do not know in which country the Tower of Babel, but it is certain that it must be in West Africa."
In West Africa, high fertility, the population of each ethnic group are still being increased, there is no crisis too urgent language disappears. In the country, not every child has the opportunity to go to school, followed by grandparents or parents are speaking in their mother tongue; even go to school, the teacher is talking about in the countryside dialect class. Language scholars exclaim many dialects of Africa is a living fossil, the ancient language has been around for so long, but still use a large number of the population.
Even if there are large numbers of people are using, there are still many local dialects Promotion Association, aims to "purify" dialect vocabulary not to be invasive language. West Africa has been ruled out of Europe over six years, but in Europe and America led globalization theater, foreign languages such as English, French, Spanish or Portuguese vocabulary everywhere. "Red, green, blue," said the children come to the village dialect, but if it is pointed on their clothes, "yellow, gray, purple," then they would just say come in English or French; about half of the young people can speak their own dialect, "Monday through Sunday", but "January to December" dialect names would ask the village elders.
In order to preserve the pure dialect is Ghana decided to implement the use of dialect teaching purpose? Not really, the motivation behind the decision that perhaps more ambitious. Ghana's Minister of Education to see is one of decolonization, the country's progress towards the broad road. She declared: "This policy is about to change the future of this country." She gave the example of South Korea, by removing the Chinese, develop their own language, gradually creating an economic power. She also wanted to follow the example of East Africa, Tanzania, in February this year announced the total abolition of primary and secondary schools teach in English, opened the African countries to remove the colonial language of the first shot in an attempt to stand their roles in the head in the waves of globalization.
African countries from colonial rule in the past after five or six years, to master the powerful national political and economic leaders, and both are students who come back to visit United States and Europe, creating an internal "speaks English, French people are educated elite "of cognition. Students return home with an old friend of dialogue, dialect must also interspersed from time to time with the British, French vocabulary, perhaps forgetting dialect words, but more likely to show their well-educated image. English, French language in Africa is noble, and not because it is the language of the colonists are the people hate.
In Africa, however, this trend is changing, the Ghana Minister of Education announced a new policy of the moment, the presence of officials and dignitaries applauded warmly, they began to take pride in their own mother tongue. The Minister said: "According to the study, children learn their mother tongue, in addition to strengthening cognitive skills, promote learning ability, can stimulate nationalist identity." Africa nation continue to reflect: in pursuit of Westernization, blindly copying western development process, whether lost self, lost their roots and character? Dialect teaching policy was discussed for many years in Ghana, government officials make specific action is only a matter of time.
Several other West African countries, Ghana's new education policy heard, have expressed envy, envy them the courage to take this step, it is a big one with a lot of symbolic significance. Even the nation-state of the awakening of consciousness, to make such a decision is not easy to remove the English, French for African countries not only shouting slogans, follow from the language transplant project, a test of determination and unity of promoters people.
After the excitement of the new policy, followed by a public outcry, and people talking. First, you must decide which language to use in class. Ideally, local conditions, with the local dialect, which is the "mother language" to teach children the knowledge, there is no limit language. But standing in the middle section will angle to manage from dozens to hundreds of local dialects of teaching, almost impossible, still have to find the common denominator, focused on several domestic relatively common dialect. Asante language certainly will be selected, and that others do? Should choose several languages? Is some controversy.
This has been a vexing problem, many African countries in the development of official language when he experienced this dilemma, everyone is difficult to find common divisor, judge what language is important, can represent the nation; and what language is not so important because there are a lot of important criteria or not, population size used is not necessarily the objective, Africa's most populous dialect use is Swahili language of East Africa, it has been proposed as a representative of the African Union, the language, of course, was not adopted. So many countries simply will simply use English or French as the only official language, a dialect not everyone is the official language, but peaceful country. Of course there are countries tied dialect is the official language, such as South Africa, as many as 11 kinds.
Secondly, the current English textbooks must be completely accessible, change your dialect written in the local language teaching scholars, including mathematics, physics, chemistry, history, geography. Just this one job, Ghana government estimates it takes more than a decade to complete. Codification of its high degree of difficulty, so that the project's goal to become netizens ridicule, "Does anyone can explain the periodic table of African dialect?" Elementary curriculum in general may be able to talk in dialect, once in high school more specialized subjects, Many use the dialect elaborate abstract concepts, but also to scholars in various fields headache, proper nouns also need to go through well-researched.
Text dialect of the time it is difficult to estimate. Many African dialects only oral language, there is no text, although many official and non-governmental organizations are committed to the development of dialect words, dialect publishing books, dictionaries, and even a newspaper, but a complete text from the language still has some not a small gap, such as spelling and no uniform, a few years ago began to implement the Civil Service dialect written signs, how finance bureau wording is not the same in every city? See signs, even native speakers have stopped a long time, the mouth repeatedly whisper read several times, only to avoid strong knowing come here is the original social insurance bureau.
Third, after the use of dialect implement basic education, higher education and practice how to do? Ghana preliminary planning stage to remove the primary to secondary school taught in English, but high school or college course, impossible to continue to use the dialect, because more specialized courses, and students from around the country. For the use of dialect study that students who enter high school or university's competitiveness and ability to adapt will soon put to the test, if they did not understand English, can not read English textbooks, it is bound not accept more advanced education, but unable to communicate with the world. standards. If they need to strengthen English education, and that this policy is a full circle back to the origin.
Based on a variety of concerns, also a lot of opposition. Think African countries have split enough not use dialect differentiation around each ethnic group. At present, there is a common language, to maintain the people's daily life communication, information, communication and work, there is no need to spend a lot of thought will eradicate it. There is more need to focus on education issues, such as the quality of teachers in remote rural schools in Africa, and so on hardware construction, the central government does not need to spend so much public resources to make a big fuss in the language.
These rational speculation, government officials are not not listen, but Tanzania still opened the first example, Ghana and then the second one, will continue to appear after the third, fourth ...... Why so African countries want to promote the use of dialect teaching it? Because they have their own language, should be the six decades since independence, has been trying to achieve a simple dream of it.
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