This article deals with the comparison of the conventional training based on two day community workshops and farmer-to-farmer video used as methodologies for the dissemination of improved rice parboiling process in Benin. From November 2007 to May 2008, we interviewed 160 women and 17 women groups who had been exposed to both, one or other of the…

An analysis of authentic or genuine interactions among Cameroon English speakers reveals that conversational routines in this variety of English differ a good deal from those obtained in other varieties of English, non-native varieties of English inclusive, and more specifically in native varieties of English. This paper looks at "thanking…

English has always occupied the most privileged position in the South African economy, yet legislative and material provision emphasised bilingual or trilingual education prior to political change in 1994. Educational changes since this time have been accompanied by ambiguous stances towards languages other than English in the classroom. Whilst…

This study compares hope in street youth, former street youth, and school youth (aged 12-18) in Tanzania. Responding to Snyder's hope theory, the author argues that not only personal agency but also the stability of living context (street, shelter, home) shapes hopefulness. Employing qualitative and quantitative analyses, the author presents a…

This paper sets out to review 14 years of developments in language policy and practice in South Africa under its new, democratic Constitution. The paper begins with an overview of language policy developments since 1994, with particular reference to the role of English, of indigenous African languages and the learner in the classroom. It examines…

This dissertation investigates Wolof Sufi oral narrative structure and its relationship with the context of production of the narratives. The findings of this study indicate that the structure of these narratives is characterized by (1) the salience of the complicating action, (2) the presence a pre-story stage, which announces the general topic,…

The ongoing migration from the rural areas of South Africa to its cities is exerting strong influences on the language practices of the young, as they learn to cope with new living spaces where languages and cultures converge. Drawing on the theories of transcultural and transidiomatic practices (Jacquemet, 2005; Pennycook, 2007), this article…

A sample of Swahili-speaking probands with reading difficulties was identified from a large representative sample of 1,500 school children in the rural areas of Tanzania. Families of these probands (n = 88) were invited to participate in the study. The proband and his/her siblings received a battery of reading-related tasks and performance on…

This article reports on a reading intervention project undertaken in a high poverty primary school in Gauteng where reading levels in both the home language, Northern Sotho, and in English were very low. Some of the factors associated with school effectiveness (SE) are first examined and thereafter the nature of the reading intervention programme…

E-Learning involves using a variety of computer and networking technologies to access training materials. The United Nations report, quoted in one of the Nigerian dailies towards the end of year 2006, says that most of the minor languages in the world would be extinct by the year 2050. African languages are currently suffering from discard by…

Appropriate models for understanding the dynamics of language use in society are essential to effective language policy and planning. Particularly in African contexts, such models must speak to the unique features of multilingual environments, and they must account for the differences in prestige and value which occur between languages in these…

Osundare's writing is generally acknowledged as coterminous with the contentious issues of language, style and meaning in Anglophone modern African literature, and because he is seen as representing a generation of African writers, this study highlights and analyzes aspects of Osundare's creative processes of meaning for his thematic project.…

The evolution of Rwanda's language policies since 1996 has played and continues to play a critical role in social reconstruction following war and genocide. Rwanda's new English language policy aims to drop French and install English as the only language of instruction. The policy-makers frame the change as a major factor in the success of social…

Radio is one of the most affordable educational technologies available for the use in education and development in developing countries. This article explores the use of school radio broadcast to assist teachers and pupils to learn and improve English language both written and spoken in Kenyan primary schools. English language occupies a central…

In 2002 in a special issue of "Perspectives in Education" on multilingual education, we outlined the thinking underlying a proposed dual-medium degree (in Sesotho sa Leboa and English) at the then University of the North. This article theorises the experience of teaching and learning since 2003 when the degree, BA in Contemporary English…