English Immersion in Ethiopia

The question of language of instruction in the primary schools of African countries is a hotly debated issue. Language education scholars advocate instruction in the first language of the child. However, parents who send their children to fee paying primary schools demand early instruction in one of the European languages like English, with the belief that the students will benefit socially, academically, and economically. This part of the problem does not seem to attract the attention of language policy makers and language education researchers. This book, which is intended to fill this gap, assesses the English-medium program of the private primary schools of Addis Ababa using eight core features of a prototypical immersion program and ten variable features developed by Swain and Johnson. The findings of the assessment, the conclusions reached at, and the recommendations made should help to shed additional light on issues of bilingual education in general and English language education in particular. Language policy makers, language education professionals and parents will likely find the book helpful in more ways than one.

Autorentext

Adeda Haileselassie Mehari, MA: Studied TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) at Addis Ababa University. She is currently a lecturer in the Department of Foreign Languages, at Mekelle University, Ethiopia.