Senegal – which uses French in its public schools – has been testing a new programme of teaching English to nursery and primary pupils, in a push to better connect with the wider world.
The country, a former French colony, uses French in its public schools, with children also learning Arabic. Wolof is the most spoken language however, the first spoken of six national languages, and increasingly used in schools.
Until recently, English was only taught in public high schools and universities, although it is sometimes taught from nursery school onwards in the private sector.
President Bassirou Diomaye Faye, who was elected last March on a nationalist ticket, is trying to recalibrate Senegal's relationship with its former colonial power, from whom it proclaimed independence in 1960.
Senegal will remain "the steadfast and reliable ally" of all its foreign partners, Faye announced, while also emphasising his desire to widen Senegal's prospects. The developing country, which has seen a massive youth boom but also an exodus of young people searching for a better life abroad, has recently become an oil and gas producer.
'Open to the world'
Despite seven years of teaching at the high school level, "students can barely communicate properly in English," said Aissatou Sarr Cisse, who is in charge of the Education Ministry's English programme.
"We're starting from a younger age so that they can improve their language skills. The aim is to shape people who are open to the world. Mastering English will give them access to opportunities and facilitate better collaboration with Senegal's partners," she said.
In the pilot schools, English is taught every Tuesday and Thursday – two lessons of 25 minutes each in nursery and two 30-minute lessons in primary schools.
Vocabulary covered includes family relationships, colours, greetings, the environment and the weather.
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Mamadou Kama is teaching a class of around 60 pupils at a primary school in Dakar's working-class Medina neighbourhood.
"I can see that the students are motivated. Some of them are asking for English lessons to be every day," Kama, who has a degree in English, said.
Most teachers have not yet received the digital teaching materials the Ministry has pledged to provide, but Kama has at his disposal tablets, video projectors and USB sticks from the school's management.
"We haven't had the time to create handbooks. Computers have been ordered, and in the meantime, we have provided students with printed documents with fun pictures," Cisse explained.
The Ministry has "invested in teachers who are proficient in English," she added.
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Teacher shortage
The initiative has been praised by Ousmane Sene, director of the Dakar-based West African Research Centre, which handles academic exchanges between American and West African universities.
"English is the most common language at an international level and it's the most used language in diplomacy and international cooperation, so it's an additional asset," Sene told French news agency AFP.
"[Most] global scientific output is written in English. If Senegal doesn't adapt to this way of accessing knowledge, there will be a [barrier]," said his colleague Mathiam Thiam, who was involved in creating the English programme.
But, Sene added, there was a prerequisite for the success of the lessons: "To train and equip the teachers well."
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Opponents of the scheme have criticised a shortfall in teachers.
"On these grounds alone, introducing English at nursery and primary school levels is a pipe dream, it's impossible," former MP and retired teacher Samba Dioulde Thiam wrote in an opinion column.
He continued: "Is the aim to compete with French? Is the aim to flatter the Anglo-Saxons who dominate this planet and get them to give us resources?"
(with AFP)
