ABSTRACT
The language of instruction must be the child’s language rather than the teacher’s language. An infant in a village school knows only his mother-tongue, and for all practical purposes it will be long before any other is a necessity. There is also the fact that the vernacular is the child’s only language, and the beginnings of education cannot be made except through the mother-tongue. If Ki-Swahili, for instance, is not a child’s mother-tongue, then the only sound psychological approach to education is through the mother-tongue rather than through Ki-Swahili. In East Africa Ki-Swahili is the chief language of the coast, and it is spreading into the interior. For the purpose of communication among tribes other than the Swahili, Ki-Swahili is simply a makeshift. It is a language which is easily “picked up” by different tribes, and people will continue to use it as a convenience.
