Dr Robyn Tyler is a South African researcher calling for bilingual education to transform how children learn.
She leads a national project trialling bilingual learning materials in Cape Town schools and is a founding member of bua-lit, a collective advocating for multilingual education and rich literacies for South Africa’s children.
Her work shows how using both African languages and English in the classroom can strengthen identity and improve learning outcomes.
Beyond the debate around mother tongue education, what about bilingual education? How can bilingual education work to raise the status of African languages and break down race barriers in classrooms?
Dr. Tyler says: “Most South African children are multilingual. When schools use all their languages, children do better and feel seen. Both familiar African languages and English are important for our children’s learning. Both should be developed throughout schooling and beyond.”
