Senegal Introduces English Education for Young Children

In Senegal, educators are starting to teach English to younger children in an effort to better prepare them to succeed in future educational and professional activities.

The preschool students also learn French – the country’s official language – as well as Arabic and the nation’s national languages, the French news agency AFP reports.

Senegalese children who attend preschool – also known as nursery school, are generally under five. Since mid-January, the education ministry has been testing a program that teaches English in more than 600 nursery and primary school classes. It is part of a plan to better connect Senegal with the rest of the world.

At one nursery school visited by AFP reporters near central Dakar, five-year-old students were heard singing, "Good morning, teacher!" The teacher, Absa Ndiaye, said, "They're interested in the lesson, and they start a conversation with 'How are you?'"

Senegal recently became an oil and gas producer and has seen large population growth. However, many young people have been leaving the country searching for opportunities elsewhere.

In Senegal, French is used in public schools and in government administration. Until recently, English was only taught in public high schools and universities, and sometimes in private nursery schools.

Aissatou Sarr Cisse is in charge of the education ministry's English program. She told AFP that even after some students had studied English for up to seven years, they “can barely communicate properly in English."

"We're starting from a younger age so that they can improve their language skills. The aim is to shape people who are open to the world,” Cisse said. She added that improving their English will give them access to more opportunities to cooperate “with Senegal’s partners.”

In March, President Bassirou Diomaye Faye was elected after running a nationalist campaign. After many years of strong ties with the former colonial power, he is trying to reset Senegal's relationship with France, without breaking away completely.

A desire to learn

In the schools testing the program, English is taught every Tuesday and Thursday. On both days, two 25-minute lessons are taught in nursery schools and two 30-minute lessons in primary schools. The subjects taught center on family, colors, everyday greetings, the environment and the weather.

In Dakar's working-class Medina neighborhood, teacher Mamadou Kama listens to a conversation in English between two 13-year-olds in his primary school class of around 60 students.

"I can see that the students are motivated. Some of them are asking for English lessons to be (taught) every day," said Kama, who has a degree in English.

The ministry has invested in teachers who have high English levels. However, most of them have not yet received the teaching materials the ministry aims to provide.

"We haven't had the time to create handbooks,” said the education ministry’s Cisse. “Computers have been ordered, and in the meantime, we have provided students with printed documents with fun pictures."

Change or be left behind

The project has been praised by Ousmane Sene, director of the Dakar-based West African Research Centre (WARC). WARC handles educational exchanges between the United States and west African universities.

"English is the most common language at an international level. And it's the most used language in diplomacy and international cooperation, so it's an additional asset," Sene told AFP.

Additionally, most scientific material worldwide is written in English, said Mathiam Thiam. He helped create the English program. Thiam added that if people in Senegal do not adapt and improve their English, they will run into many barriers.

But Sene noted that something needs to happen first: The project needs “… to train and equip the teachers well.”

Criticism of the program

Some critics of the program point to a lack of teachers. Samba Dioulde Thiam is a former member of parliament and retired teacher. In an opinion article, he wrote, "On these grounds alone, introducing English at nursery and primary school levels is a pipe dream. It's impossible."

He noted that intellectuals have been demanding the introduction of Senegal's national languages in education for many years. The program involving English could further delay that goal.

But one 13-year-old student, Aissatou Barry, seems far removed from such debates. She told AFP that she "can't wait to study English in sixth grade."