Multilingualism as a resource for literacy acquisition and development in primary schools in Uganda

Abstract

This study explores the notion of Linguistic Citizenship (LC) in multilingual contexts of Uganda, where 65 indigenous languages are spoken, and English is used as the main language of education. The core objective of the study was to find out the level of literacy among Primary school learners in Uganda and thereafter establish how multilingualism can be harnessed as a resource for literacy development at the primary school level in Uganda. Through a document analysis of three survey reports, the study identifies three critical issues that stakeholders must address to improve literacy levels in Uganda. These three issues are: (i) Uganda still has many people with no formal education at all, (ii) literacy rates in Uganda are below 50%, and (iii) teaching and learning of local languages can greatly improve literacy in Uganda. Thus, for literacy rates of the country to improve, education policies should shift from a monoglot mentality to a multilingual one. We conclude that multilingualism is a big resource that can be harnessed for literacy development in Uganda.