Language and Citizenship Education in Postcolonial Mozambique

Purpose: Despite the formal political decolonization of much of the world, the colonial legacy continues to prevail around the globe, in particular in the Global South. This article explores the interface of language, education and citizenship in Mozambique, with special reference to the role of education and language ideologies in forging the ideal citizen in the postcolonial context. Method: Drawing on previous studies on education and citizenship in colonial and postcolonial contexts, I use the decolonial lenses of Linguistic Citizenship and other related frameworks to show how citi-zenship education in Mozambique has been inextricably bound up with political efforts towards the management of linguistic, cultural and political diversity. I argue that in spite of the progress made, there is still a mismatch between legislation and political discourses on language, education and citizen-ship education and actual practices of citizenship in Mozambique, which continue to be linguistically and politically constrained. Findings: This article may contribute to uncover language related social injustices, often associated with the persisting colonial matrix of power, and also to promote decolonial, more pluralist and inclusive forms of citizenship education in Mozambique and elsewhere

ERROS ORTOGRÁFICOS DE CONSOANTES OCLUSIVAS DO PORTUGUÊS DE ALUNOS MOÇAMBICANOS QUE TÊM O EMAKHUWA COMO LÍNGUA MATERNA

Resumo: No presente artigo apresenta-se e discute-se a forma como alunos moçambicanos da 6ª classe, que têm o Emakhuwa como língua materna, fazem o registo ortográfico das consoantes oclusivas do Português como língua segunda, tendo em conta que, diferentemente do Português, o Emakhuwa não apresenta, no seu sistema fonológico, os fonemas sonoros /b, d, g/, possuindo apenas os fonemas surdos /p, t, k/ (cf. Sitoe e Ngunga, 2000; Ngunga & Fakir, 2011). Pretende-se, especificamente, descrever o desempenho ortográfico de consoantes oclusivas do Português de alunos da 6 ª classe que têm o Emakhuwa como língua materna. Para auxiliar na compreensão, criou-se um grupo de controlo que tem Português como língua materna. No âmbito da recolha de dados configurou-se um teste para avaliar o desempenho ortográfico a partir do ditado de imagens. Dentre as conclusões destacou-se o facto de que os participantes que têm o Emakhuwa como língua materna e Português como língua segunda, tiveram dificuldades no registo ortográfico de fonemas oclusivos sonoros que são aqueles que não estão disponíveis no seu sistema fonológico. Outro especto saliente no âmbito das conclusões relaciona-se com o facto de os participantes do grupo experimental terem apresentado um desempenho inferior relativamente ao dos participantes do grupo de controlo no registo ortográfico das consoantes oclusivas.PALAVRAS-CHAVE: Ortografia; Língua segunda; Língua materna

Multilingual examinations: towards a schema of politicization of language in end of high school examinations in sub-Saharan Africa

In many countries of sub-Saharan Africa, the release of each year’s results for the end of high school examinations heralds an annual ritual of public commentary on the poor state of national education systems. However, the exoglossic/monolingual language regime for these examinations is infrequently acknowledged as contributing to the dismal performance of students. Even less attended to is the manner in which the language of examinations, through shaping students’ performances, may be exacerbating social inequalities. This article politicizes the language of examinations in the region in the hope of generating policy and research interest in what is arguably an insidious source of inequality. The article makes three arguments. Firstly, it is argued that current exoglossic/monolingual practices in these examinations constitute a set of sociolinguistic aberrations, with demonstrable negative effects on students’ performance. Secondly, it is argued that the gravity of these paradoxical sociolinguistic disarticulations is better appreciated when their social ramifications are viewed in terms of structural violence and social inequality. Thirdly, in considering how to evolve a more socially equitable examination language regime, it is argued that the notion of consequential validity in testing positions translanguaging as a more ecologically valid model of language use in examinations

The Purpose and Value of Bilingual Education: A Critical, Linguistic Ethnographic Study of Two Rural Primary Schools in Mozambique

This is a qualitative, interpretive study of discourse on bilingual education in two rural primary schools in Mozambique. My aim was to explore how different views about the purpose and value of bilingual education were manifested in classroom discourse practices and how these views related to historical and socio-political processes. I combined linguistic ethnography and critical, interpretive approaches to bilingualism and bilingual education. Data was collected using different techniques, mainly observation, audio recording, note taking, and interviewing. The study showed that the main official purpose of using local languages in education in Mozambique had been to facilitate pupils’ learning. There were three sets of values associated with bilingual education in the sites in this study: pedagogical, socio-cultural and socio-economic. The use of local languages in the classrooms had been creating spaces for pupil participation and learning. I also found that the beneficiaries in the local communities focussed more on the socio-cultural value of bilingual education, which they saw as prompting the development and upgrading of their languages and associated cultural practices. The study also revealed that, with the introduction of bilingual education, participants had begun to consider the potential capital value of local languages in formal linguistic markets. The general conclusion is that bilingual education is playing a role in social and cultural transformation in the sites in this study, though its potential has yet to be fully explored

O uso da L1 dos alunos como recurso no processo de ensino e aprendizagem de/em Português/L2: o contexto de Ensino Bilingue em Moçambique

Combining discourse analysis and ethnographic methods, I explore language practices in the classroom and bilingual education teachers’ beliefs and attitudes toward the use of pupils’ first language in the teaching and learning process in/of Portuguese as a second language. The data analysed in this study come from my classroom observations and from my interactions with bilingual education teachers in my research and evaluation missions of this form of education in Mozambique. Drawing on earlier studies on codeswitching, the analytical approach adopted in this study is that classroom discursive practices and teachers’ positions and attitudes toward languages are shaped by specific sociopolitical and educational conditions in which they occur, hence the need to interpret those language practices, beliefs and attitudes within these contexts. The analysis also takes an interdisciplinary perspective, making use of knowledge and results from studies of sociolinguistic, psycholinguistic and pedagogic nature. My key argument is that, in the learning and teaching process, codeswitching is a communicative and pedagogic strategy that, once optimally used, can enhance classroom communication as well as pupils’ learning in/of the Portuguese language, especially considering that this is a second language for the majority of Mozambican children. Neste artigo, combinamos o método etnográfico e a análise de discurso para explorar as práticas linguísticas na sala de aula, crenças e atitudes de professores do ensino bilingue em relação ao uso da língua materna dos alunos no ensino/aprendizagem de/em Português como língua segunda. Os dados de análise são resultado da nossa observação de aulas e interacção com professores do ensino bilingue, em missões de investigação e avaliação desta modalidade de ensino em Moçambique. Tendo como base estudos anteriores sobre alternância de códigos (‘codeswitching’), a perspectiva analítica adoptada neste estudo localiza as práticas discursivas na sala de aula bem como as posições e as atitudes linguísticas dos professores nos contextos sociopolítico e educacional em que se manifestam. A análise adopta também uma perspectiva interdisciplinar, fazendo uso de conhecimentos e resultados de estudos de natureza sociolinguística, psicolinguística e pedagógica. O nosso argumento de base é que a alternância de códigos no processo de ensino/aprendizagem é uma estratégia comunicativa e pedagógica que, uma vez usada de forma óptima, pode melhorar a comunicação na sala de aula e os resultados da aprendizagem de/em Português, em particular considerando que esta é uma língua segunda para a maior parte das crianças moçambicanas

The Socio-Material Value of Language Choices in Mozambique and Finland

This chapter explores parental choice of language programs from a socio-material standpoint. It uses a DeleuzoGuattarian framework of smooth and striated spaces to understand how parents in Mozambique and Finland position themselves when making choices concerning their children’s language education. We analyzed interviews from Finland and focus groups and policy documents from Mozambique to understand the materialities and social discourses that constitute parental choice. We found that in Finland, materiality as a physical space (e.g., school location) factored into caregivers’ decision making when selecting schools for their children. In Mozambique, in turn, materiality as socioeconomic stability or advancement was a recurring theme. In the Mozambican context income and educational outcome (associated with Portuguese) were important factors for school/language choice, whereas in Finland social distinction was key. Based on our analysis, we draw conclusions about the nature of choice, arguing that a socio-material approach and the concept of assemblage are well-suited to understand the complexity of it.Peer reviewe

Percepção de contrastes oclusivos do Português de alunos moçambicanos que têm o Emakhuwa como língua materna

ABSTRACT In this article we present and discuss the way in which 6th grade Mozambican students, who have Emakhuwa as their mother tongue, perceive the phonological contrasts of occlusive consonants of Portuguese as a second language, taking into account that, unlike Portuguese, Emakhuwa does not present, in their phonological system, the sound phonemes / b, d, g /, having only the deaf phonemes / p, t, k / (cf. SITOE & NGUNGA, 2000; NGUNGA & FAKIR, 2011). We specifically intend to describe the perceptual-auditory performance of occlusive consonants in Portuguese for 6th grade students who have Emakhuwa as their mother tongue. To help understanding, we created a control group that uses Portuguese as their mother tongue. In the scope of data collection, a test was set up to assess the perceptual and auditory performance of the participants from the identification activity, also known as forced choice task, and involves phonological contrasts of Portuguese in the syllabic Onset position. Among our conclusions, we highlight the fact that participants who have Emakhuwa as their mother tongue and Portuguese as a second language, had difficulties in identifying phonological contrasts that involve sound phonemes when confusing them with the deaf consonants that are available in their system phonological. Another noteworthy aspect in the scope of the conclusions is related to the fact that the participants in the experimental group performed numerically lower than the participants in the control group.  KEYWORDS Speech perception; Phonological contrasts; Second languageNo presente artigo apresentamos e discutimos a forma como alunos moçambicanos da 6ª classe, que têm o Emakhuwa[1] como língua materna, percebem os contrastes fonológicos das consoantes oclusivas do Português como língua segunda, tendo em conta que, diferentemente do Português, o Emakhuwa não apresenta, no seu sistema fonológico, os fonemas sonoros /b, d, g/, possuindo apenas os fonemas surdos /p, t, k/ (cf. SITOE & NGUNGA, 2000; NGUNGA & FAKIR, 2011). Pretendemos, especificamente, descrever o desempenho percetual-auditivo de consoantes oclusivas do Português de alunos da 6 ª classe que têm o Emakhuwa como língua materna. Para auxiliar na compreensão, criamos um grupo de controlo que tem Português como língua materna. No âmbito da recolha de dados foi configurado um teste para avaliar o desempenho percetual e auditivo dos participantes a partir da actividade de identificação, também conhecida como tarefa de escolha forçada, e envolve contrastes fonológicos do Português na posição de Onset silábico. Dentre as nossas conclusões destacamos o facto de que os participantes que têm o Emakhuwa como língua materna e Português como lingua segunda, tiveram dificuldades na identificação de contrastes fonológicos que envolvem fonemas sonoros ao confundi-las com as consoantes surdas que são aquelas disponíveis no seu sistema fonológico. Outro aspeto destacável no âmbito das conclusões relaciona-se com o facto de os participantes do grupo experimental terem apresentado um desempenho numericamente inferior relativamente ao dos participantes do grupo de controlo.      &nbsp

Primary schooling, human capital, and COVID-19: A multidimensional evaluation: Upcoming evidence from Mozambique

This evaluation encompasses two related investigations. The first is a randomized controlled trial evaluating the impacts of school meals and literacy programs that will launch when Mozambican primary schools reopen from COVID-19 closures; the evaluation will measure the effects of the interventions on early-grade student outcomes, including nutrition, reading, and school attainment. The second analyzes the effects of school closures due to COVID-19 on schooling attainment, well-being, and mental health among young adolescents in the same schools, particularly adolescent girls.Non-PRIFPRI1; CRP2; 2 Promoting Healthy Diets and Nutrition for all; DCAPHND; PIMCGIAR Research Program on Policies, Institutions, and Markets (PIM