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English has been the official language of the Republic of Ghana throughout its history as an independent nation since March 1957 and, prior to that date, as the British Gold Coast. In this talk, I give a brief history of the linguistic situation, including contacts with European languages. I will focus on language as a medium of instruction. For a century or more, there have been two types of language debates: whether or not to develop one or more Ghanaian languages as national languages, and, given the de facto entrenchment of English, the manner in which this language is best introduced in primary and secondary education. In both cases, politics and populism sometimes overshadow rational debate - something I demonstrate by looking at online media and online comments.
2015 •
International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science
The Language of Instruction Dilemma in Ghana: Making a Case for the Various Ghanaian Languages2021 •
Based on interviews conducted in ten Catholic churches of the Ghanaian capital, Accra, the paper o ers a pro le of English use in Ghana and reports on the attitudes of Ghanaians toward English as the o cial language of their country. e results reveal the in uential role English plays in the di erent settings of Ghanaian communication as well as the high esteem a orded to the English lan- guage by the majority of Ghanaian respondents. Most of them cited the numer- ous bene ts that English, as a language of wider communication, brings to the individual speaker and the country. Keywords: Ghanaian English, language of wider communication (LWC), mentalist perspective, linguistic attitude, Accra Catholic churches, interethnic communication, multilingual, linguistic ecology
Language plays a significant role in the development of every nation. It mirrors the culture of every society and also reflects the social realities of every nation. It is not surprising, therefore, that every nation goes extra miles in an attempt to keep their languages from sinking. Every nation that gives her culture a priority would therefore put in every effort to develop their native languages. However, there appears to a higher level of reluctance concerning the efforts by concerned stakeholders to promote the indigenous languages of Ghana. This reluctance could be attributed to the prestigiousness attached to the study and use of the English language in the Ghanaian educational system. In light of this, the Ghanaian languages have been despised by many. The common rationale for this despicable attitude towards the local languages is that it has been misconstrued by many stakeholders as unfit for promoting academic excellence. In this paper, however, it is argued, based on research findings, that instruction in the various Ghanaian languages must be given the necessary consideration to accelerate the academic performance of students. To achieve this, the paper recommends that teachers must make complementary use of both English and the Ghanaian languages to facilitate learning at the Junior High Level.
RUDN Journal of Psychology and Pedagogics
The question of school language in multilingual societies: the example of GhanaThe language used in school represents a crucial and polemic question in multilingual societies. Sub-Saharan Africa represents a world region with a significant linguistic diversity. Until recently, most of these countries were European colonies. During colonial times, the colonizer language generally dominated in schools. After their independence, many countries have continued using that language as the instructional language. It is observed that quite often, children are schooled in a second language, and teachers must teach in a foreign language. This situation results in potentially negative consequences affecting school learning. The specific example of Ghana is examined. It is pointed out that in Ghana during recent years frequent changes have been introduced in school language. Commonly, English is used as the primary school language. Because this association between language and school learning, speaking English provides not only significant social prestige, but also results...
languageinindia.com
ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN GHANA2016 •
The teaching and learning of the English language in Ghana and Anglophone countries in Africa for that matter has been a subject of unflinching debate in quite recent times. Many opinions point to the assertion that the teaching and learning of the English language is centered on reading comprehension, summary, grammar, spelling and writing skills and other such related areas to the disregard of oral communication skills. Many researchers have found the neglect of oral communication skills in the school curriculum as the major problem in the leaning of the English language. A survey of trends in the teaching and learning of the English language however reveals that the contention is much on the teaching of the English language as compared to its learning as most teachers of English are unqualified to teach English. Drawing from his experiences as a leaner and a teacher of the English language, the research explores in detail the problems and implications in the teaching and learning of the English language. The origin of the English language and its encounter with the diverse languages in Ghana are examined vis a vis its role in diverse facets in the Ghanaian society and new measures proposed for possible adjustments.
Legon Journal of the Humanities
Language, education and linguistic human rights in Ghana2017 •
The use of the familiar language of learners as medium of instruction (MoI) promotes quality education. However, sixty years after independence, Ghana is still grappling with the issue of which language to use in education. Currently, the language policy of education in Ghana mandates the use of the child’s first language as MoI only up to Primary Three. This paper uses both primary and secondary sources to argue that the current language policy violates the Linguistic Human Rights (LHR) of the Ghanaian child. To end this violation, the paper argues for the addition of more L1s as MoI, the cultivation of a positive attitude towards the use of L1 as MoI, the constitutional provision on the obligatory use of L1 as MoI, the establishment of structures to monitor the implementation of the language policy and a sociolinguistic study of language representation in the lower primary classroom.
2023 •
দৈনিক দেশ রূপান্তর
‘সময়’ ও রবীন্দ্র-সাহিত্যের প্রধান সম্পদ, দৈনিক দেশ রূপান্তর, 8/5/20238 •
المجلة العملیة التجارة والتمویل
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