Wednesday, January 3, 2018

Africa_Literacy

Proposal for adult literacy in Africa with international signs


The use of international signs for adult literacy in African languages could follow these guidelines:


The international signs could be used into already existing teaching methods as well as into newly developed ones.


An already existing teaching method for literacy in any African language can include a selected amount of international signs together with their corresponding gestures.
They should represent the main ideas underlying the texts that are being learned.
The focus would be on the development of multilingual abilities together with an initial proficiency in mother tongue writing and reading skills.


The development of new  methods for adult literacy using international tools from the beginning as a teaching and learning resource should consider a broader perspective of multilingual literacy as an asset for the development in Africa.
International signs will be used in this proposal in several ways:
-Empowering teachers as well as learners with a common communicating strategy in multilingual classrooms
-Providing a learning tool to enhance and to share key concepts between learners of different African languages.
-Empowering the adult learners with an international communicative resource which could be used in situations of language contact.
-Building multilingual networks and learning communities where the common signs act as one of the linking elements.
-Strengthening the learner´s perception of being part of a Pan-african community whose development and well-being should rely on its diversity.


This proposal is based on the assumption that the development of African people and communities should be based on the recognition of diversity as a strength.

Africa is essentially diverse and multilingual, and our proposal tries to provide a means to enhance this fact to foster adult literacy.




These four vectors are based on principles of UNESCO:
– OUR CULTURES – Cultural Heritage
– MY RIGHTS – Human Rights
– PEACE IN EQUALITY – Culture of Peace
– GROW WITH RESPECT – Sustainable Development