{"id":66549,"date":"2015-09-04T15:34:20","date_gmt":"2015-09-04T13:34:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.sorosoro.org\/?p=66549"},"modified":"2025-10-21T22:02:10","modified_gmt":"2025-10-21T20:02:10","slug":"education-in-mother-tongue","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sorosoro.org\/en\/2015\/09\/education-in-mother-tongue\/","title":{"rendered":"Education in mother tongue"},"content":{"rendered":"

Posted by Rozenn Milin on October 24, 2010<\/span>
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\"Rozenn_Milin\"

Rozenn Milin, Directrice du programme Sorosoro<\/p><\/div><\/p>\n

Let us set the basis of the present debate: studies conducted across the world by various organizations have proved that providing literacy to a child in their native language generally shows excellent results,<\/strong> whereas imposing instruction in national language or in a foreign language right from the start often leads to failure.<\/p>\n

The World Bank itself claims the case in the Sourcebook for Poverty Reduction Strategies (2001), following a 1999 UNICEF report: (\u2026) there is ample research showing that students are quicker to learn to read and acquire other academic skills when first taught in their mother tongue.<\/strong> They also learn a second language more quickly than those initially taught to read in an unfamiliar language.<\/p>\n

Linguists Thomas and Collier (1997) have led extensive research on the subject, and come up even more precise: they\u2019ve observed that children from linguistic minorities having received most of their primary school education in mother tongue also had the best results \u2026 <\/strong>in national language, on the national standardized tests led in highschools.<\/p>\n

These results are very clear, and one could even argue they\u2019re only a question of common sense, although some still find it hard to admit. It\u2019s a shame these facts and figures aren\u2019t taken into better account, considering that success at school conditions all possible chances to improve the living standards of millions of children\u2019s: successful literacy stands yet as the best asset to avoid globalization casualties.<\/p>\n