Pushing the Boundaries of Learning Materials in African Languages Instructions

Abstract

African language instruction, especially those that target foreign language learners, has mostly relied on language dictionaries as an important reference material. Despite the relevance of dictionaries to language learning, the design of dictionaries based on learners’ proficiency has not gained much attention in African language instruction. Focusing on Yorùbá language pedagogy, I draw on Robert Lew’s perspective of factoring the target users’ characteristics into the design of dictionaries (Lew, 2015, p. 2) to examine the methodic processes of harnessing organized vocabulary of Yoruba and the attendant pronunciation of the words to address the challenge around tones, and contextualized learning of Yoruba words. This paper deconstructs the idea of context, as conceived within the dictionary genre, to repurpose it for proficiency-based language learning. While dictionaries are important reference materials in foreign language learning, they should be developed to respond to learners’ proficiency needs using technological tools supported by the appropriate theories and methods of foreign language instruction.