Teaching ESL in a Multilingual Context: a Case Study of Cameroonian Students at High School Level

The merits of cultural and linguistic diversity are often praised across the world. This setting is very present in Africa in general and in Cameroon in particular, a country with 285 local languages two official languages, English and French, and several lingua francas that are experiencing a rapid rise. While the governmental and scientific effort in setting up what we call a triangular language education system (mother tongue + L2 + L3) is to be commended, it is worth looking at their distribution and use in everyday life to see whether they benefit academics, and whether the results are in line with the expectations of policy makers. This research looks at the health of the teaching of English as a second language in Cameroon's multilingual education system and tries to identify factors that may constrain its implementation. The questionnaire administered to 53 ESL teachers from a variety of backgrounds allowed us to conclude that learning ESL in Cameroon is easier when one has some mastery of one's L1 (local language). The absence of a single national language is a hindrance to linguistic development in schools, but if standardized, the CPE could be a solution.