ERIC Number: ED381769
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 1994-Jul
Pages: 18
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Problems and Prospects of the Whole Language Approach to Literacy Education in the Depressed Economies of the Third World: The Nigerian Experience.
Onukaogu, C. E.
Whole language has the potential to boost literacy in Third World countries like Nigeria, where the language curriculum has not been given the political and economic support it deserves. The economic depression in the Third World may not allow for a robust development of whole language. One effect of the decay of education in the Third World is the resurgence of illiteracy in all levels of the school system. A recent empirical study shows that a whole language approach to the teaching of reading comprehension facilitates literacy learning and teaching more than the "classical" method which currently informs the teaching of reading in most Third World Anglophone states. Some problems in the adoption of whole language in Nigeria are the paralysis in the growth and development of indigenous literature; the unavailability of books from overseas; and the lack of political and economic will to support whole language. The Ile-Ife branch of Teachers Applying Whole Language has embarked on a number of activities to acquaint literacy teachers with whole language. The Department of Teacher Education, University of Ibadan, has developed a Curriculum Recycling Theory which strives to transfer into school the zest and dynamism for learning that many Nigerian students demonstrate at home. The habits and attitudes of Third World learners, parents, and administrators need to be studied in order to understand why they do what they do. There is also a need to contextualize and domesticate whole language in Third World countries. (Contains 32 references.) (RS)
Publication Type: Speeches/Meeting Papers; Opinion Papers
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Nigeria
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A