1

Does Language Policy Affect The Choice

Of The Language Of Instruction In Our
Schools? An Exploratory Study of New
Juabeng District.

ABSTRACT
Against the background of controversy over the language of instruction in Ghanaian schools, this

study attempts to describe the linguistic situation in some classrooms in the New Juabeng

Municipality of the Eastern Region and thus contribute to the language policy discourse in

Ghana. Using the purposive sampling technique, thirteen schools were selected from the

municipality, and the language of instruction in the kindergarten and lower primary classrooms

of these schools was observed. Interviews were also employed to ascertain the attitude of

teachers towards the language of instruction; the awareness of teachers about Ghana’s language

policy. It was observed that all private schools teach their pupils in English only and in the public

schools of the rural communities, English is mixed with Twi. Most of the public schools in the

urban centres teach their pupils in English. The study also found that the teachers do not know

exactly what the current language policy is nor are they bothered about it. The study therefore

concludes that the language of instruction in the lower primary classroom in New Juabeng is

determined by factors other than policy prescription.

Key terms: language policy, linguistic variation, cultural transmission

1.0 INTRODUCTION

An interesting characteristic of language is that it is both a driver and a passenger of culture.

Through language, we convey culture, but language by which culture is conveyed is also an
 2

essential part of the culture that is conveyed. Languages are acquired through cultural

transmission; linguistic variation, therefore, is very much tied to cultural variation, and the

psychosocial importance attached to a culture is invariably attached to the language of that

culture. In the face of multiplicity of languages, not only the individual, but also the state has to

make choices over which language or variety should be employed for which purposes. Language

policy is therefore a major manifestation of these choices.

In May 2002, a Cabinet directive announced a new language policy for Ghana’s education

system. The new policy prescribed English as the sole medium of instruction at all levels of the

education system with immediate effect, and this new policy replaced the old policy that allowed

teaching and learning in local languages at the lower primary level, (Daily Graphic May 2002).

Naturally, that cabinet directive generated a lot of controversy. On the one hand were those who

favoured the new policy; they argued that nobody was born with any particular language and that

language was a matter of social necessity. They contend that since English has become a

necessity in the Ghanaian context, children should be made to acquire the language from as early

as the beginning of formal education. This argument presupposed that teaching children at the

lower primary level in languages other than English denies the children the opportunity to

acquire the language early in life,and this, they argue is one of the causes of poor performance in

English language.

On the other hand were those who argued against the new policy, particularly on the use of

English only as a medium of instruction at the lower primary school. This school of thought was

led by professionals in academia, home and abroad, including educationists, cultural activists and

linguists (Gyasi, 1991; Okrah, 2003). This group contends that the new policy will limit teacher
 3

-pupil interaction, thus make the teaching-learning process unnecessarily difficult and frustrating,

and above all, promote cultural imperialism.

Notwithstanding the criticism and objections, the government, with support from public opinion,

proceeded with the new policy and demanded full compliance, (Ghanaian Times, August 16,

2002). Thus, teachers and pupils in Ghanaian schools were expected to teach and learn in

English, even at the lower primary level.

Two years later, the same government backtracked and, in a white paper, conceded that
Government accepts the recommendation that the children’s first home language
and Ghana’s official language, English, should be used as the medium of
instruction at the kindergarten and primary level. Government is aware of the
importance of children’s native language as an effective communication tool for
reaching learners at this level……Government further accepts the
recommendation of the committee that where teachers and learning materials are
available, and linguistic composition of classes is fairly uniform, the children’s
first language must be used as the dominant medium of instruction in kindergarten
and lower primary school, (Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, 2004).

It must however be mentioned that the controversy over the language of instruction in Ghanaian

schools predates the era indicated above. Earlier accounts include nationalist reactions in the

colonial era to the colonial policy of English as a medium of instruction; reactions to the

recommendations of the Phelps-Stokes Commission of 1922 on the matter, and the Accelerated

Development Plan (Anyidoho & Kropp-Dakubu, 2008).

In spite of the controversy that the subject generates every now and then, there is some evidence

to suggest that the language of instruction in Ghanaian classrooms may vary from one school to

another irrespective of the prescribed language policy at any particular time.

Opoku-Tutu (2002) observes in his study of two public schools in Koforidua that teachers and

pupils, even in upper primary school, are compelled to code -switch between Twi and English

during teaching and learning. The researchers’ personal experiences as teachers in some rural

communities of the Asuogyaman district of the Eastern Region of Ghana between 1991 and 1996
 4

reveal that switching between the local languages and English during teaching and learning was

not only normal, but appeared to be a necessity even at the junior secondary school level. These

observations were made at a time when the medium of instruction prescribed by the language

policy for upper primary junior high school levels was English.

In sharp contrast to the example above, a recent visit to two private basic schools in Koforidua

revealed that linguistic change during teaching and learning is neither in vogue nor necessary,

and that even at the lower primary level, English remains the sole medium of teaching. More

interesting is the observation made at some pre- school facilities in the Koforidua municipality.

In these facilities, teaching is conducted in English, even in the case of toddlers and infants.

1.1 PURPOSE OF THE STUDY

It has been a decade since the last round of emotion-laden arguments and counter arguments

filled the airwaves, newspapers, social and other media about the language of instruction in

Ghanaian lower primary classrooms and it will be worthwhile to find out what the language

situation is in the lower primary classroom today, especially at a time when the matter is not a

subject of intense debate in the media. It is however clear that whatever factors may have

accounted for the language situation at the lower primary, it appears that the language in which

the Ghanaian lower primary pupil is taught is not determined by a mere policy directive.
The purpose of this research therefore is not to subscribe to either side of the language policy

debate in Ghana, but instead, attempt to inform the debate with data from the field about what

informs the language of instruction in the lower primary classroom in the New Juabeng

Municipality in the Eastern Region of Ghana.

1.2 OBJECTIVES
 5

The primary quest of this research is to gather data on the linguistic situation in the lower

primary level during teaching and learning within the target population by
 Identifying the language(s) of instruction in kindergarten and lower primary classrooms

of the selected schools

 Establishing the factors that dictate the language of instruction
 Observing the attitudes of the teachers towards the language of instruction
 Ascertaining the awareness of the teachers about Ghana’s language policy.

1.3 RESEARCH QUESTIONS

The major questions the study attempts to answer are as follows:
 Which language is the medium of instruction at the lower primary schools in the study

area?
 What informs the language of instruction in the selected schools?
 Are teachers aware of Ghana’s language policy on education at the primary level?
 What is the attitude of the teachers towards the language of instruction?

2.0 PREVIOUS STUDIES

There heavy lexical borrowing from the English language
Most of the pupils that come to the primary level (especially with the private schools) are more

proficient in English than in the mother tongue

Even where they are proficient in the mother tongue, the context of proficiency is conversational

rather than educational (so in academic terms they cannot be described as proficient). In the

countries where the research was carried out, the context of the native languages involved is not

just conversational, but also educational. Thus, those languages like Spanish, German, etc, are

well developed languages that can match the English language in all aspects. However, in the

case of Ghanaian native languages, most of them have not been developed beyond the

conversational context
Bilingualism, Language Proficiency, and Language Policy
An important feature of bilingualism, language proficiency, and language policy is the process of

second language acquisition among bilingual and multilingual children and its relationship to the

level of their mother tongue proficiency. As recent studies in bilingualism conclude, children that
 6

learn a second language or L2 while maintaining their native language (L1) show more cognitive

and academic success than children that stop learning their L1 after they begin learning the L2

(Hamers and Blanc 2003). This makes bilingual education and mother tongue support an

important part of the educational process for bilingual children.

2. People often cite failure of bilingual education—but their lukewarm attitude towards

implementation and poor execution are actually the cause eg. Nkrumah’s policy in Ghana and the

California case.
Overview of Ghana’s Educational Policy
Contrary to expectation, political independence in 1957 did not end the controversy, but rather

set in motion a new phase of back-and-forth movements in language policy discourse. For

instance when Kwame Nkrumah, the first president of Ghana, took over as Prime Minister of

Ghana in 1957, the policy was reversed to English with the reason that students’ English

language proficiency has fallen below the adopted threshold (Andoh-Kumi, 1994). This move by

Nkrumah to reverse the medium of instruction at the lower primary level is surprising because

the use of a Ghanaian language at that level was supposed to lead to an improved proficiency in

the English language.

Since then, the use of a Ghanaian language as the medium of instruction at the lower primary

level has been inconsistent. From 1925 to 1951, a Ghanaian language was used as medium of

instruction for the first three years. Between 1951 and 1956, it was used only for the first year.

From 1957 to 1966 a Ghanaian language was not used at all, from 1967 to 1969 it was used only

for the first year, and between 1970 and 1974 a Ghanaian language was used for the first three

years and where possible beyond (to the sixth year). From 1974 to 2002 a Ghanaian language

was used for the first three years, (Owu-Ewie, 2006).

 7

Successive governments have over the years had to make decisions on the language of

instruction in Ghanaian schools and the recurring debate has been whether English or the native

languages should be the medium of instruction, especially at the early stages of formal education.

Although the radical nationalist quest in favour of only ‘native languages’ declined over the

years, the argument about which language is most appropriate for teaching at the lower primary

in Ghanaian schools has remained, and there is no indication that the debate will be over anytime

soon, (Bamgbose, 2008).

Lack of motivation for the use of local languages

The political factor
Teachers are not literate in reading and writing
Lack of practice opportunity for use of English (transition problem).

3.0 LOCATION, DATA COLLECTION AND METHODOLOGY

The study is located in the New Juaben Municipality, Koforidua, capital of the Eastern Region of

Ghana. Like the typical Ghanaian municipality, Koforidua is cosmopolitan and multilingual. It is

populated not only by the native Akan, but also public servants, industrial workers, artisans,

settler farmers, and other economic migrants from different tribes and language groups across

Ghana, and possibly beyond. It is a multilingual community. With a dominant Akan language of

the indigenes, English as the official national language and languages of economic migrants from

various ethnic groups, this community can be described as one in which majority of the people

are bilingual (Opoku-Tutu, 2002).

According to the Municipal Directorate of Ghana Education Service, there are 131 primary

schools in the Koforidua municipality. Out of this number, 66 are public schools and 65 are

private schools. Most of the schools – public and private -- are located in urban communities.

The rural communities on the periphery of the municipality are served mainly by public schools.
 8

Indeed, only two of the private basic schools can be located in a rural community. Even so, it

was observed that most of the pupils of the two private schools in the rural communities are

bused from different parts of the municipality.

Using the purposive sampling method, thirteen (13) schools were selected for the study.

Geographical, social and linguistic factors were considered in selecting the sample schools:

urban, rural, public and private. This was to ensure that different categories of schools are

captured to represent the various linguistic sub-communities in the municipality.

Below is a table showing the categories of schools selected for the study.

PUBLIC PRIVATE
Trinity Presbyterian Model School Wesley International School
URBAN St. Dominic R.C. Basic School St. Mary’s School
Maadi Islamic Primary, Zongo Pentecost School
Riis Presbyterian Basic School Ghateco Preparatory School

Suhyen SDA Basic School Morning Glory International School

RURAL Trom-Nyerede M/A Primary Christ Ambassadors International School
Agavenya M/A Basic School

Data for this study was collected over a four-week period in January, 2014, and the instruments

used were observation and interview. Teaching/learning activities were observed in one

kindergarten class and two lower primary classrooms of each selected school. In all, 39 classes

were observed and a minimum of 65 minutes was spent on the observation in each classroom.

The teachers of these classes (and in some cases, the head-teachers) were interviewed to

determine their awareness about Ghana’s language policy on education and their attitudes

towards the language(s) of instruction.

4.0 FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION

 9

In this section, the researchers discuss the findings from the study. These border on the medium

of instruction at the lower primary schools in the study area, the teachers’ awareness about

Ghana’s language policy on education at this level, what informs the language of instruction in

the selected schools, and the attitude of the teachers towards the language of instruction.

4.1 Medium of Instruction

Below is a table that captures data on observation about the medium of instruction in the schools.

The schools are categorized according to the following criteria – public/private, urban/rural

PUBLIC PRIVATE

URBAN Trinity Presby. Model English only Wesley International English only
St. Dominic English only St. Mary International English only
Riis Presby. Model English only Pentecost Prep. School English only
Maadi Islamic Twi & English Ghateco International English only

RURAL Suhyen SDA Basic Twi & English Morning Glory Int. English only
Asikesu M/A Basic Twi & English Christ Ambassadors Int. English only
Agavenya M/A Basic Twi & English

Two languages were identified as the languages of instruction in the schools observed. These are

Twi and English. Two major linguistic situations were revealed: the pupils were taught in either

English only, or a combination of English and Twi. In other words, whereas only English is used

to teach in some schools, a mixed code of English and Twi is used in others.

The researchers also observed that the medium of instruction in each school is uniform. In other

words, in each school, the language of instruction used in the kindergarten is the language used

in lower primary as well.

4.1.1 Medium of instruction in private schools

As indicated earlier, all the private schools use English only and it does not matter whether the

school is in a rural community or an urban one. Indeed, it is only during the Ghanaian Language
 10

and Culture period that Twi is used in some of these private schools. Some of these private

schools however do not teach Ghanaian Language and Culture at the kindergarten and lower

primary levels so there is no use of any indigenous Ghanaian language in teaching and learning

in such schools.

4.1.2 Medium of instruction in public schools

Four of the selected public schools are in the urban areas and three are in rural areas.
 Rural public schools
In the rural public schools, a mixed code of English and Twi is used although in some of the

schools the mother tongue of all the children is not Twi, but rather Dangbe and Kyerepon

(Guan).
 Urban public Schools
In three of the four urban public schools, the medium of instruction is English only. In the fourth

one, however, there is code switching between English and Twi.

4.2 Factors Affecting the Choice of Medium of Instruction

From the data gathered, there are a number of factors that influence the choice of a medium of

instruction in the study area:

4.2.1 First, there is the English only situation where only English is used as a medium of

instruction at both the Kindergarten and the lower primary levels. This is mainly the situation in

all the private schools, whether they are in the urban areas or rural areas.

 One reason the teachers gave for this situation is that the teachers do not speak Twi or are

not proficient in it. It was also found out that even the Akan teachers are not proficient in

the writing of their mother tongue. It must however be noted that a precondition of the

early-exit transition model, where a first language is used as medium of instruction from

grade1to 3 and English from grade 4 on, is that the teachers be proficient in the pupils’

L1. This is because the level of proficiency in L1 has a direct influence on the
 11

development of proficiency in L2 and that a disruption in the L1 development will most

likely inhibit L2 proficiency.

 Another reason for the use of English only in the private schools is that the pupils already

speak English. In fact, most of the parents of these wards in private schools are proficient

in English and do not think the mother tongue has any educational or social value. They

therefore encourage the use of English at home and so these children come to school

appreciably proficient in English. Such parents therefore expect their wards to be taught

in English.

 The next reason the teachers gave for the English only situation is that the pupils are

expected to write exams in English. This is an interesting phenomenon in that in the New

Juabeng District, pupils from pre-school and Kindergarten (KG) 2 (two) transiting to KG

1 (one) and primary 1 (one) respectively are examined and interviewed in English. If this

is the situation, what is the motivation to teach primary 1(one) to 3 (three) pupils in their

local language when these same pupils were taught in English from pre-school to primary

1 (one)?

 The last, but not least reason given to explain the English only situation is that parents

expect their wards to be taught in English. In fact, this confirms the study by Andoh-

Kumi (1999) that most parents support Early English Medium with some of the reasons

including, it is generally assumed that the MI contributes to competence in the language

used as MI; children by their participation in the local community have adequate

exposure to the local language but this is not necessarily the case where English is

concerned; it is assumed that competence in English contributes to learning and good

 12

education, and good education enhances status; while the local language may not be

spoken outside the area, English is a language of wider communication, as well as the

official language. Most parents therefore the use of local language as medium of

instruction as a waste of time.

4.2.2 English and L1 situation

Apart from the English only situation, there is also the use of a mixed code of English and Twi as

a medium of instruction. This is the situation in all the rural public schools and some of the urban

public schools. Reasons given for this situation are as follows:

 First, the teachers interviewed explained that the use of the pupils’ L1 is necessary

because that is the only way to make lessons meaningful to the pupils, especially, those

that come from homes where contact with the English language is rare, especially, those

in the public rural schools. Therefore the combination of English and L1 is the only way

to make the children to understand what is taught. The use of a mixed code of English

and Twi therefore enhances interaction as the pupils’ are able to participate more actively

in class.
 Second, some of the teachers do not speak the pupils’ L1 fluently so the use of a mixed

code of English and Twi affords them the opportunity to express themselves better in

class.

4.3 Teachers’ Awareness about Ghana’s Language Policy on Education

Next, the teachers of the schools in the study area were asked about their awareness of

government policy on the language of instruction at the basic level, about most of the

respondents said they were not sure about the current status of the policy. This seems to suggest

that when government brings out a policy on the language of instruction, it does not even educate

the implementers of the policy as to what the policy is and why it is necessary. It is also evident
 13

from the data that there is no monitoring to ensure that the policy is carried out. If this were the

case, there would be uniformity in terms of the language of instruction in the schools studied.

The government will also be able to identify the challenges to the policy and address them.

It could also be that these teachers are aware of the policy, but because they want to do their own

thing, they pretend they are not aware of the existing policy. This is possible because first, there

have not been any official sensitization programme on government’s policy on the language of

instruction, and two, there has not been any monitoring to ensure that the policy is being

implemented.

4.4 Teachers’ Attitude towards the Language of Instruction.

In order to ascertain the attitude of teachers in the study area towards the language of instruction

in their schools, the teachers were asked to indicate the language in which they would prefer to

teach the pupils; English, L1 or mixed code.

Interestingly, all the teachers (including those in the rural public schools) interviewed said they

prefer English to any of the local languages. Some of the reasons they gave are that the pupils are

from different linguistic backgrounds and English therefore becomes a common language; they

feel most comfortable with the English language since they themselves were educated in English.

They therefore find the English language more expressive. This could be attributed to the fact

that the pull and attractiveness are immense (Schneider, 2007). This may be a reason why some

parents expect their wards to be taught in English, especially in the private schools where the

type of education given is market driven.

5.0 CONCLUSIONS
 In all the private schools sampled for the study, English is the medium of instruction. It is

the same for most of the public schools in the urban areas of the municipality. Indeed, in

the public schools located in all the middle class residential areas, English is the medium
 14

of instruction. In the rural public schools however, the medium of instruction is a mixed

code of Twi as the base language with heavy lexical borrowing from English.

 All the teachers interviewed ( including those who do not use English only) indicated

English only as their preference for a medium of instruction and the common reason for

their preference is that ultimately, the pupils will be examined in English.

 The study concluded that none of the teachers of kindergarten and lower primary schools

in the New Juabeng Municipality are aware of the prevailing language policy on the

medium of instruction in lower primary and kindergarten although many of them said

they have heard some controversy about it some years ago.

 The language policy in Ghana is not what informs the language of instruction in schools

in the New Juabeng municipality. Instead, it can be said that whether a child in this

municipality will be taught in English, Twi, or a mixed code, depends on factors other

than the existing language policy.

 Factors that determine the language of instruction (English only, Twi only, or a mixed

code of Twi and English) depend on the diverse linguistic background of the Pupils,

expectation of parents, pupils taking examinations in English (especially, external

examinations),

6.0 RECOMMENDATIONS
The following are recommendations from the study.
 Considering the fact that code switching is used in one of the urban schools, it will be

necessary to investigate the possibility of some correlation between language of

instruction and any other social factors beyond the public/private and urban/rural

paradigms.
 15

REFERENCES
Anyidoho, A. & Kropp-Dakubu, M. E. (2008). Language, Nationalism and National Identity in
Ghana.In Simpson, A. (Ed.). Language and national identity in Africa. Oxford: Oxford
University Press.
Bamgbose, A. (2008). A recurring decimal: English in language policy and planning. In Kachru
B. B., Kachru, Y., & Nelson, C. L. (Eds) The Handbook of World Englishes. Oxford:
Blackwell.
Ministry of Education (2002). Report of the President’s Committee on Review of
Education Reforms in Ghana (Anamuah-Mensah Report). Accra: Ministry of
Education.
Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, Ghana. (2004). White Paper on the Report of
Education Reform Review Committee.
Okrah, K. A. (2003). Language Education and Culture – The Dilemma of Ghanaian Schools.
The African Symposium (23) 4.
Opoku-Tutu, E. (2002) Linguistic change in the classroom during teaching: A case
study of two upper primary classes at Koforidua. A dissertation presented to the
Department of English, University of Ghana.
Owu-Ewie, C. (2006). The Language Policy of Education in Ghana: A Critical Look at the
English-Only Language Policy of Education. In Selected Proceedings of the 35th Annual
Conference on African Linguistics, ed. John Mugane et al., 76-85. Somerville, MA:
Cascadilla Proceedings Project.
Quarcoo, E. (1994). The English language as a modern Ghanaian artefact. Journal of Black
Studies. Vol. 24 No. 3 329 – 343
Saah, K.K. (1986). Language use and attitudes in Ghana. Anthropological Linguistics (Fall
Edition).
Shneider, E.W. (2007). Post-Colonial English: Varieties around the World. Cambridge:

University Press.
Wardhaugh, R. (1992). An introduction to sociolinguistics. Oxford: Blackwell.