INDRAP maternal language texts AIP

The project, which will promote rural literacy by minimizing student adjustments to school and increasing the relevance of the material learned, will be implemented by Niger"s National Institute of Pedalogical and Applied Research (INDRAP). To carry out this largely experimental project, 21 four-member, oral tradition collection/transcription teams, composed of primary school teachers and supervised by area school superintendents, will record and transcribe material in the 21 major dialects of Niger"s 5 maternal languages (Hausa, Kanuri, Tamasheg, Fulfulde, and Zarma-Sonrai). Part of this collection will be used by the project in preparing school texts. The collection will remain available for future educational and/or cultural uses. INDRAP, with the occasional assistance of other Nigerien institutions, will then develop two grade-school readers in each of the five language groups. Approximately 2,000 copies of each text will be distributed to some 25 experimental primary schools. In cooperation with teachers at these schools, INDRAP will develop lesson plans and teaching techniques to be used with the texts. The texts will be tested at experimental schools and eventually adopted for a national program. The project will define methodologies for evaluating the use of maternal languages in primary schools. The project will provide INDRAP with facilities and equipment necessary to produce the texts and with the services of a linguist in developing educational materials based on oral traditions. In addition to reducing the number of early school leavers in Niger - currently 54% - the project will upgrade the capabilities of INDRAP staff to develop methodologies for conducting applied linguistic research.