Literacy at a Distance in Multilingual Contexts: Issues and Challenges

dc.creator	Christine I. Ofulue
dc.date	2011-10-01T00:00:00Z
dc.date.accessioned	2015-07-20T22:14:33Z
dc.date.available	2015-07-20T22:14:33Z
dc.identifier	1492-3831
dc.identifier	https://doaj.org/article/d047cc7b3f174455bc1764d2456dd8cc
dc.identifier.uri	http://evidence.thinkportal.org/handle/123456789/16955
dc.description	Literacy is perhaps the most fundamental skill required for effective participation in education (formal and non-formal) for national development. At the same time, the choice of language for literacy is a complex issue in multilingual societies like Nigeria. This paper examines the issues involved, namely language policy, language and teacher development, and the role of distance education and information and communication technologies (ICTs), in making literacy accessible in as many languages as possible. Two distance learning literacy projects are presented as case studies and the lessons learned are discussed. The findings of this study suggest that although there is evidence of growing accessibility to ICTs like mobile phones, their use and success to increase access to literacy in the users’ languages are yet to be attained and maximised. The implication of the lessons learned should be relevant to other multilingual nations that seek the goal of increasing access to learning and promoting development so as to harvest economic benefits.
dc.language	English
dc.publisher	Athabasca University
dc.relation	http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/981/1957
dc.relation	https://doaj.org/toc/1492-3831
dc.rights	CC BY
dc.source	International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, Vol 12, Iss 6 (2011)
dc.subject	Literacy
dc.subject	multilingual societies
dc.subject	ICTs
dc.subject	case studies
dc.subject	development
dc.subject	Special aspects of education
dc.subject	LC8-6691
dc.subject	Education
dc.subject	L
dc.subject	DOAJ:Education
dc.subject	DOAJ:Social Sciences
dc.subject	Special aspects of education
dc.subject	LC8-6691
dc.subject	Education
dc.subject	L
dc.subject	DOAJ:Education
dc.subject	DOAJ:Social Sciences
dc.subject	Special aspects of education
dc.subject	LC8-6691
dc.subject	Education
dc.subject	L
dc.subject	Special aspects of education
dc.subject	LC8-6691
dc.subject	Education
dc.subject	L
dc.subject	Special aspects of education
dc.subject	LC8-6691
dc.subject	Education
dc.subject	L
dc.title	Literacy at a Distance in Multilingual Contexts: Issues and Challenges
dc.type	article