Understanding 'understanding': Towards supporting understanding in the classroom through the understanding of curricula studies – an upcoming project

A prerequisite for learning is that instructions and other activities take place in a language you understand. This may seem self-evident, but the fact remains that a majority of learners in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) are taught in a European second language (L2) that they are unfamiliar with. Frequently, the role of the home languages in supporting learning in the classrooms has been totally removed – so called subtractive transitions – resulting in failures and early drop-outs. According to the World Bank, inadequate language of instruction policies is a major factor contributing to learning poverty in SSA. The project described in this article addresses this problem by furthering knowledge of additive multilingual education (MLE), i.e. models where the use of the L1 is maintained to support learning after the L2 is introduced as the language of learning and teaching. More specifically, the project seeks to gain a better and systematic understanding of the guiding principles behind language-in-education policies, and how steering documents and curricula in various L2 MoI transition systems in SSA acknowledge (or not) the realities and challenges involved in learning and teaching through a second language. Through interviews and observations, the project also explores how language-in-education policy directives and recommendations translate into practice in the field. Four transition systems are explored under the project: immersion, early transition, mid-transition and late transition.