ERIC Number: EJ1240670
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2019
Pages: 16
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1814-6627
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
English as a Medium of Teaching and Learning in a Resource-Poor Country: The Case of Malawi's New Language Policy
Africa Education Review, v16 n6 p37-52 2019
This article discusses the resource implications of Malawi's new language-in-education policy. Whilst previous publications on the English as a medium of teaching and learning policy, which was announced in Malawi in 2014, have sharply criticised and dismissed the new language policy from pedagogical and other educational grounds, the current article is the first to dwell exclusively on the resource implications of the new language policy. The qualitative study reported on, which utilised Barron's learning ecologies framework, was based on information drawn from one key informant; readers' comments extracted from a Malawian online newspaper; and some scholarly publications. The article argues that the available resources are too inadequate to lead to a successful implementation of English as a medium of teaching and learning in the non-English-dominant Malawi. The article recommends that Malawi should return to the previous language policy, which was UNESCO compliant, and that adequate and enabling resources be channelled to improving the teaching and learning of English as a subject. Resources should also be injected into the professional development of teachers in order to capacitate them to effectively handle English as a medium of teaching and learning from Grade 5 onwards.
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, English (Second Language), Second Language Learning, Language of Instruction, Second Language Instruction, Educational Policy, Educational Resources, Policy Analysis, Teaching Methods, Newspapers, Information Sources, Publications, African Languages, Faculty Development, Elementary School Students, Institutional Characteristics, Disadvantaged Schools, Catholic Schools, Comparative Analysis, Teacher Role, Human Resources, Family Environment, Community, Protestants, Churches
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: Elementary Secondary Education; Elementary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Malawi
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A