Language and education in Nigeria

This research outlines how language of instruction policy and practice impact on student learning outcomes in Nigeria.

Drawing on the experience of academics, policymakers and programme implementers across the country, the report is the first part of an ongoing joint research project by the British Council, in partnership with UNICEF. The research methodology included focus group discussions with 40 Nigerian discussants from various groups including academics in the field of language and linguistics, policymakers holding state-level and national-level government positions, education professionals, from both colleges and universities of education, and consultants and implementers of internationally-funded programme interventions in the fields of reading education support and teacher development.

This research builds on the British Council's Language Policy Dialogues, which started in 2016 in Nigeria and bring together experts in the field of language use in the classroom. Working with other international development partners, the Language Policy Dialogues have provided a regular forum for a community of practice to debate the latest evidence from programme implementation, strategies that can develop best practice, and how to best work with government at all levels to scale these up. 

This publication is free to download in pdf format below.

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