Sunday, February 4, 2018

Debating Namibia's Language Policy

After Namibia gained independence from South Africa in 1990, English was adopted as the official language of the country and of school instruction instead of the Dutch-based Afrikaans. This decision was seen as a "break with the colonial past and a means of unifying the country" even though only a small minority spoke English. Almost 30 languages are spoken in Namibia today, with only 8% of the population comprising English-speakers. 

The problem with the language policy include both teacher abilities and the difficulties associated with subtractive multilingualism. Subtractive multilingualism occurs when learning a language impedes ability to speak the first language. This detracts from education efforts in subjects behind language if all classes are taught in English.
Macmillan Education Namibia classroom

In Namibia, the lack of adequate training for teachers contributes to a lack of preparation for teaching English, and results in poor competency scores in English for Namibian teachers. Leaked information about past national test results indicated 98% were deemed "not proficient" and many teachers did not even fill out the basic biographic information at the beginning of the test. The government responded by calling the results "misrepresented."

The Urban Trust of Namibia is a non-governmental organization that advocates changing the language policy at least for primary school students. The relative success of schools in Botswana and Namibia compared to in Namibia supports the concept of teaching in native languages.

Macmillan Education Namibia classroom














English can be useful for higher education, employment, and international interactions, and many people contend it should be taught as a separate class rather than in all classes. Encouraging multilingualism by building school curriculum in multiple languages could also help to promote diversity, multicultralism, and  in Namibian society.

Sources:
https://www.theguardian.com/education/2012/jan/10/namibia-english-crisis
https://www.namibian.com.na/index.php?id=140414&page=archive-read

- Hayden Payne


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4 comments:

  1. AnonymousFebruary 4, 2018 at 10:50 PM

    I'm curious what a school curriculum in multiple languages might look like. Do kids who go to the same school tend to speak the same language? Would lessons have subtitles? -Mini

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  2. Stanford in NamibiaFebruary 4, 2018 at 11:58 PM

    What is the dominant language of the country? Should we expect to see most things in English? How important is it to learn German for Namibian residents?
    -Michelle H, 2/4

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  3. Stanford in NamibiaFebruary 7, 2018 at 8:22 PM

    Interesting balance you point out, where teaching in English is good for jobs in the long run, but teaching in native languages promotes diversity and multiculturalism. -- Romain Screve

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  4. UnknownFebruary 28, 2018 at 9:56 PM

    In Switzerland, there are four official languages, and they do a good job of offering multiple other languages (including often requiring English), which would be a great model for Namibia if possible I think. But even in Switzerland they lose a bit of the natural dialects as soon as they start school and learn High German. I personally love the idea of Namibia having multilingual, regionally specific schools, which would definitely require a lot of locally-sourced teachers.

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