Translanguaging in science education: towards a new approach to mother tongue education in Africa

Despite studies showing the effectiveness of Mother Tongue Education (MTE) across Africa (e.g., UNESCO 1978; Bamgbose 1983; Ouane and Glanz 2010), most sub-Saharan African governments seem reluctant to invest in MTE initiatives. Also, the MTE literature has focused primarily on the role of governments in MTE, overlooking how individuals can participate in MTE pedagogical interventions. The question, then, is: How can individuals facilitate MTE within the official pedagogical frame in Africa? To address this question, I present a case study of the 'Science in Yoruba' (SiY) project that demonstrates how individuals can implement an MTE-enabling translanguaging pedagogy designed to navigate local obstacles, within the limits of officially sanctioned pedagogies. Results from this project suggest three key takeaways: (i) translanguaging pedagogies are more feasible for individuals to implement in African classrooms than unilingual MTE models, (ii) in African contexts where institutional policies are monoglossic, planned translanguaging pedagogies (Ou and Gu 2024) are more practical for individuals to implement than spontaneous translanguaging pedagogies, and (iii) rather than focusing on the impacts of private short-term translanguaging interventions on assessment grades, the focus should be on qualitative outcomes such as students' willingness to participate in discussions, increased interest in lesson topics, and enhanced self-esteem.