Mother-Tongue Support Helps Children Learn English More Easily in Namibia
A study conducted in Namibia has found that using students’ home languages in English lessons improves their reading comprehension, classroom participation, and confidence in learning.
Across many African countries, children speak local languages at home but are expected to learn through English, French, or Portuguese at school. Learning new concepts in a language they have not yet fully mastered can create significant difficulties in reading comprehension and academic achievement. In Namibia, students transition from mother-tongue instruction to English-medium education in Grade 4, when they are approximately nine or ten years old. This sudden change has been associated with difficulties in understanding texts and weaker academic performance.
The qualitative study, conducted with five Grade 4 teachers in Namibia’s Oshikoto Region, examined how teachers used students’ home languages during English reading lessons. Classroom observations, teacher interviews, and lesson-plan analyses showed that using multiple languages together supported student learning.
Teachers used local languages to explain new English vocabulary, discuss ideas in texts, and help students make sense of what they were reading. This approach enabled students to engage more meaningfully with English texts, participate more actively in classroom discussions, and develop greater confidence in their reading abilities.
The study highlights the use of “translanguaging,” an approach in which teachers and students draw on more than one language for learning purposes. The findings suggest that students should not view their home languages as barriers to learning English. Instead, they can serve as valuable educational resources that help students understand new information and strengthen their literacy skills.