There has been a rapid global expansion of English instruction in the early grades in public school curricula. Particularly in so-called developing countries, the increase of and its shift from exclusively private to public education is linked to the idea that acquiring English promotes personal, social, and economic development. The author takes…

Views Nigeria as a valid, representative "African laboratory" for the development of English as a second language. Nigeria has vigorously embarked on national development and modernization programs centered on English and, therefore, is capable of contributing greatly to a valid theory of English as a second language as a branch of…

The place of the English language in contemporary Africa is changing. English has spread rapidly, but, at the same time, the indigenous languages have remained and have grown in strength because of an increase in population and an awakening of national consciousness. A developing country must have a national language, whether English or native, to…