Mother Tongue Education and the Acquisition of English Language as a Second Language by Akoose Speaking Pupils

Abstract

Cameroon is a very diversified linguistic entity with about 284 languages for a population of 15,803,220 inhabitants (Grimes 2002). This situation causes the nation to face quite some challenges with choices of languages utilized as media of instruction at various levels in schools. This article focuses on Early Education whereby, we investigate learning through the medium of the MT and its implication for a better proficiency of the L2 (English Language) by these learners. The endeavor requires the application of various strategies to accomplished the task of learning the L2. It is obvious that at the initial phase, there is bound to be interference of the first language into the second language (L2) with different outcomes. Its hypothesis stipulates that children will learn more when they are instructed in the language they master most and better rather than when they are taught in their L2 or L3. The sample for this study comprises 20 teachers and 460 pupils. In order to collect the relevant data, interviews, language test, participant observation and questionnaires were used. Therefore, the investigation engaged both quantitative and qualitative research methods. The theoretical framework used for this study is Krashen’s theory of Second Language Acquisition. The data was analyzed using both frequency and percentage tables and charts. The findings indicated among other things that the children understood, participated, performed and retained information much better when using mother tongue as medium of instruction than when they are taught solely in English language; that, children are more attentive in class when their mother tongue is used to them than when English is used at the initial phase of their educational exposure. Also, an amazing finding amongst others in this research endeavor is the fact that pilot school pupils who employed mother tongue in early learning as medium of instruction did not only perform better in all school curricular subjects but also in English language subject than their counterparts in the regular school system whose medium of instruction was English language.