According to the Medical Council of Malawi, one of the conditions for a licence to be granted to an individual who wants to practise medicine in Malawi is the practitioner's ability to speak and write English fluently. This means that the expatriate medical practitioner is not required by law to demonstrate fluency in Chichewa (the national…

The theme of this book cuts across disciplines. Contributors to this volume are specialized in education and especially classroom research as well as in linguistics, most being transdisciplinary themselves. Around 65 sub-Saharan languages figure in this volume as research objects: as means of instruction, in connection with teacher training,…

Demonstrates how the language policy in Malawi has entrenched the hegemony of English over Chichewa and other indigenous languages, especially as it pertains to the official domains of national life. Shows that exclusive use of English in the Malawi legislature, the judiciary, and the mass media, among other domains, alienates the majority of…

Examines opinions of Malawian legislators with respect to the efficacy of introducing local languages into the Malawi National Assembly. Using data collected through questionnaires, interviews, participant observation, and document analysis, argues for the need to introduce Chichewa, the national lingua franca, into the Malawi National Assembly as…

The role and status of English instruction in Malawi is outlined. The role of English in Malawi as a whole, English instruction within the educational system, language teacher supply and training, and British support for English instruction in Malawi are reported. English is taught as a subject in primary school and is the language of instruction…

Investigates how the language in which formal education is conducted affects learners' reading ability in the context of Malawi and Zambia. Administration of English- and local-language reading tests reveals that no significant difference exists in English-language reading ability between learners in each country, but large differences in favor of…

This collection of articles includes: "Introducing Applied Linguistics in Africa" (Sinfree Makoni and Ulrike H. Meinhof); "Language Ideology and Politics: A Critical Appraisal of French as Second Official Language in Nigeria" (Tope Omoniyi); "The Democratisation of Indigenous Languages: The Case of Malawi" (Themba…

This edited volume covers the language situation in Malawi, Mozambique, and the Philippines, explaining the linguistic diversity, the historical and political contexts, and language-in-education planning, the role of the media, the role of religion, and the roles of non-indigenous languages. The book is divided into four chapters: "The…

A survey of the status of language usage in Malawi begins with an overview of the distribution and usage of English (the official language) and the native Bantu languages: Chichewa or Nyanja (Chinyanja), the language used by half the population; and three other Bantu languages also used there--Lomwe, Yao, and Tumbuka. The social situation favoring…