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Politics Of Language: The Struggle For Power In Schools In Mali And Burkina Faso, A’Ame Kone

International Education

Power can be equated to the possession of a particular language used to navigate the world. In Mali and Burkina Faso, two former colonies of France, language choice for instruction in mainstream primary schools remains a struggle between the powerful and the powerless. Fifty years after independence from France, both countries continue to recognize French as the official language and as the medium of instruction in primary schools. With low literacy rates and high dropout rates in both countries, attention must be given to the effects French language has on these two post-colonial societies. First-acquired language instruction has been shown …