Across Africa, millions of children grow up speaking African languages at home but are later expected to learn through English, French or Portuguese at school. This transition can make learning difficult, particularly when learners are required to understand new concepts in a language they are still developing.
For example, in Namibia, learners switch from mother-tongue instruction to English in Grade 4 at the age of 9 or 10, a change that has been linked to poor reading comprehension and lower academic achievement (though national statistics are not available).
