When children in English medium schools whose mother tongue is not English are able to read in their own language as well as in English, it makes a significant difference to how positively they view the concept of reading for pleasure (and the way they feel about themselves and their culture).
The ability to read in their own language also opens up the possibility of using parallel language textbooks for learning conceptually difficult subjects like mathematics and science.
We currently only have enough books in four indigenous languages to implement our strategy of reading 2-books-a-week (1 in English and 1 in the home language) in all of our 5 schools.
We are also trying to build up leverage with publishers to show that there is a need to publish books in all African languages and not just the chosen few.
|