Abstract
Research has proven beyond a reasonable doubt that children can acquire knowledge better in their mother tongue (MT) or language of immediate environment (LIE) rather than in the second language (L2), which is often a colonial master’s language, but also the recognized official language in the country. The present paper explores the functions of both the Indigenous language or mother tongue (e.g., Yoruba) and the official language (English) in the dissemination of education, particularly in the primary schools in Nigeria. It also discusses the policy statements on the two languages and their social realities or practices in the educational set‐ups operating in the country. Using six private and public primary schools as a case study in Southwestern Nigeria, we found that codeswitching between English (L2) and Yoruba (MT) could be more effective than either of the languages alone, and that the MT or LIE should never be jettisoned in the education of the child, especially in teaching subjects other than English, such as Integrated Science.
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