O.2 Children Learn Best in the Language They Understand

14 | Quality Early Learning

BOX O.2

Children Learn Best in the Language They Understand

Children learn more and are more likely to stay in school if they are first taught in a language that they speak and understand. Yet an estimated 37 percent of students in low- and middle-income countries are required to learn in a different language, putting them at a significant disadvantage throughout their school life and limiting their learning potential. Children affected by language policies are often disadvantaged in other ways—for example, they tend to be in the bottom 40 percent of the socioeconomic scale and live in more remote areas. Of the 20 countries with the highest rates of learning poverty globally, 12 use instructional languages that few of their students understand when they start primary school, indicating that language of instruction is one of the most important reasons many countries have very low learning levels.

When children are first taught in a language that they speak and understand, they learn more, are better prepared to learn other languages, are able to learn other subjects such as math and science, are more likely to stay in school, and enjoy a school experience appropriate to their culture and local circumstances. Moreover, learning in the first language lays the strongest foundation for learning in a second language later on in school. Effective language-of-instruction policies are a cost-effective way to boost children’s learning and school progression so that public funds can be allocated to other strategies to improve access and quality.

The World Bank policy approach to language of instruction is guided by five principles: 1. Teach children in their first language starting with early childhood education services through at least the first six years of primary schooling. 2. Use a student’s first language for instruction in academic subjects beyond reading and writing. 3. If students are to learn a second language in primary school, introduce it as a foreign language with an initial focus on oral language skills. 4. Continue first language instruction even after a second language becomes the principal language of instruction. 5. Continuously plan, develop, adapt, and improve the implementation of language-of-instruction policies, in line with country contexts and educational goals.

Source: Crawford and Marin 2021.