Language of Instruction: Aligning Policy and the Classroom

This paper serves as a case study of the intersection of pedagogy and policy. Language of instruction (LOI) is central to education policy, influencing learning outcomes, teacher recruitment and deployment, and school... [ view full abstract ]

This paper serves as a case study of the intersection of pedagogy and policy. Language of instruction (LOI) is central to education policy, influencing learning outcomes, teacher recruitment and deployment, and school enrollment and retention. Language represents culture but also power and influence. Thus, LOI decisions may serve as a(n) (dis)equalizing force among the affected population. Ghana is committed to a multilingual education, where 11 languages are designated as official LOIs out of over 80 languages nationwide.

USAID/Ghana’s Learning activity aims to improve the reading skills of 1.1 million KG2-P2 pupils in 100 of Ghana’s 214 districts. Preliminary data show that both teachers and pupils speak the LOI in half the schools, and up to 40% of pupils are learning in a language they do not speak. Learning explicitly provides a channel to work from the policy level to the classroom and, using research and monitoring from the classroom, to cycle back into the policy discussion. Phase-1 of Learning accompanied the government to develop the Ghana Reading Action Plan and to revise the Language Policy for Education. Phase-2 of Learning will work with the government to implement a reading program in each of the 11 LOIs. Learning undertook a series of studies, qualitative and quantitative, to understand the sociolinguistic environment of schools – how teachers and pupils use and interact with their LOI, what other languages they use, and what techniques they employ when some members of the classroom community are not proficient in the LOI. Results of the studies were then used to inform the design of materials and trainings. Through ongoing monitoring, we will learn to what extent these materials and methods are meeting teachers’ and pupils’ needs and what else must be done at the classroom or the policy level so that all pupils can learn to read.