Getting the Basics Right: Multilingual Foundational Learning in Africa
Professor Kwame Akyeampong, Co-Chair of the Global Education Evidence Advisory Panel (GEEAP), delivered opening remarks on getting the basics right at the Yidan Prize Conference.
Professor Akyeampong highlighted evidence showing that children learn more effectively when they begin their education in familiar languages, helping them build stronger literacy and numeracy foundations, participate confidently, and develop the skills needed to learn additional languages.
He emphasized that effective multilingual foundational learning combines strong reading instruction with practical implementation, including well-prepared teachers, quality learning materials, supportive curricula and assessment systems, and sustained political leadership.
With evidence and examples from across Africa demonstrating what works, Professor Akyeampong stressed that the challenge now is to scale these approaches and make multilingual foundational learning the norm rather than the exception.