by Olumayowa Famakinwa

Created on: April 22, 2008

Since the Tower of Babel back in Genesis chapter 11, bringing people together using the same language has been difficult if not near impossible. So for the continent with well over a thousand different languages, this endeavor has been nothing less than challenging.

This article talks about the use of English in the African education system but much could be said for the other languages that are spoken throughout Africa such as French, Portuguese and even Arabic. Currently, there are 21 countries that use French as the official national language or as one of the national languages, 19 that use English, 12 that use Arabic and 6 that use Portuguese.

English came into Africa along with its colonial conquerors and imperialists and its use quickly became a tool for them to exercise and retain power over Africans. English became the language of government administration, business, politics and legal matters, thus it was the language of power in the countries that used it. For the African, English was the key to getting white-collar jobs, enjoying special privileges and understanding Western thoughts. This led to the desire of many Africans to learn and know English, both for their children and for themselves, which was really only possible through the formal education system. This became a very successful method, but as time has progressed, everything slowly started deteriorating.

The two main problems with English in the African education system today are the facts that English is being taught by non-native English speakers and that there is difficulty for African students to learn in a language that they have not yet mastered. The latter problem is derived from the former but both present challenges for the African student to be successful in school.

In the early days, English was taught to Africans by the colonists and by missionaries but since independence of almost all African countries, the colonists and their institutions have left or abandoned their roles in Africa. Also, as African governments and institutions started taking over the basic responsibilities of their citizens, whether through actions or plain rhetoric (and graft), missionaries' have had to redefine their own role and purposes in Africa. Many of these missionaries' roles have shifted to other services that are still being inadequately met, such as humanitarian aid delivery and medical treatment rather than teaching. Lastly, as English moved from being a privileged language to a national language,

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