Paper short abstract:

Analysis of the use of vernacular languages as the vehicular language of teaching within The Gambia Education system. The paper explores the use of indigenous languages in the formal educational context and investigates the impact on the development of students’ second languages acquisition skills.

Paper long abstract:

Taking into consideration the National Education Policy (2004-15) that encourages the respect and preservation of indigenous languages of The Gambia and emphasizes the need to use vernacular languages during the first stages of formal education, this paper presents the results from observing the languages used to teach within the Gambian classrooms.

The investigation in the field focuses on finding and understanding the reasons that lead educators to choose either the vernacular language or the colonial language. The fieldwork is mainly conducted in lower basic schools in The Gambia, because it is the critical period when learners develop languages skills and will impact on the future acquirement of other foreign languages. Furthermore, the paper presents and explains briefly the situation within the whole education system from lower basic to tertiary education.

Finally it presents the goals that the Global African Language Center, inaugurated in January 2013, seeks to achieve in the coming years and its impact on the linguistic education policy of the country.