Reading in Two Languages at Year Five in African Primary Schools

This paper investigates how the language in which formal education is conducted affects learners' reading ability Malawi and Zambia offer a suitable context for such an investigation in that in Malawi, Chichewa is the medium of instruction for years 1 to 4, with English a taught subject, whereas in Zambia, English is the medium of instruction from year 1, with one of seven local languages as a taught subject An English language reading test, and a local language reading test (Chichewa in Malawi, and the almost identical Nyanja in Zambia) were administered to the same year 5 learners from 6 schools in each country The results indicate there is no significant difference in English language reading ability between learners in each country, but large differences in favour of Malawi in local language reading ability These results are consistent with research on minority groups suggesting that instruction in L1 reading leads to improved results in L1 with no retardation in L2 reading in both countries, however, reading ability in English is unlikely to be at a level to allow learning through the medium of English for most pupils This is related to pedagogic practices which give insufficient attention to meaning The role of English in these countries is largely driven by political perceptions of effective strategies for unification and modernization However, its dominance in the education system may work against the individual primary school child's cognitive development in general, and their reading proficiency in particular