SIL International Media Release
Research Seminar on Language and Education in East Africa
(FEBRUARY 2006) Sixteen Kenyan academics and
development specialists displayed their strong interest in the research of the
languages and education in East Africa by participating in a one-day seminar
held on 2 February in Nairobi, Kenya. The event was sponsored by the Center for
Literacy and Language Development, a Kenyan nongovernmental organization and
SIL Africa Area staff.
The participants included researchers and scholars in applied linguistics, African languages and education from four of the most prestigious universities in Kenya, representatives of the Kenyan government’s Department of Adult Education, UNESCO personnel, and representatives of other nongovernmental organizations working in fields related to language and education in Kenya.
The seminar provided a
forum for these education scholars and researchers to engage in an exchange of
experiences and research findings regarding language issues in Kenya.
Plenary speaker Professor Bonny Norton, of the University of British Columbia, presented research on literacy practices and health in Uganda. Each seminar participant also had the opportunity to present his or her own current research interests and publications.
A significant degree of agreement was expressed among the participants in support of the use of the
mother tongue in formal and non-formal education contexts in Kenya. The participants also expressed concern about the profound difficulties that rural Kenyan children experience in primary school, related to their inability to understand
the languages of schooling: English or Swahili.
An important long-term result of this meeting was the decision to maintain and expand the professional network which was begun at the seminar, and to improve the sharing of relevant information among African researchers in language and education.