Linguistic Diversity and Official Language Education in Cameroon

Abstract

This paper investigates the place of linguistic diversity, (through the integration of local languages) in official language instruction in multilingual Cameroon as it determines if it is encouraged by policy, censors English language instructors’ opinion towards its implementation, identifies challenges and explores prospects (methods). It is informed by the Critical Applied Linguistics (CAL) and Vygotskian sociocultural theories and uses a survey research design and collected data through a questionnaire administered to 68 English language instructors from three regions in Cameroon through a Google Form link. The findings indicates that majority of teachers do not integrate elements of linguistic diversity into their official language instructional material because they are not encouraged by policy to do so and as such have never received training on the concept. Majority of the target instructors are of the opinion that official languages should not be the only medium of instruction in official language classrooms, official textbooks should incorporate elements of the local languages and equally hold that language instructors have the responsibility to promote linguistic diversity since it provide opportunities for students to share their own linguistic backgrounds and experiences in the classroom, enhance learning and local language maintenance. Instructors are unanimous that incorporating plurilingualism during instruction is a daunting task. The study highlights the necessity for policymakers and educators (policy makers, textbook writers, material designers and official languages instructors) in Cameroon to adopt an integrated official language instruction that embraces linguistic/cultural diversity and give the local languages the pride of place in the educational circles through recommendations. This study is a novelty by focusing on secondary education and provides practical methods of integrating local culture into English and French official languages classes.