| Eritrea, a developing multilingual country in the Horn of Africa,qualifies as a real-life laboratory for comparative literacy research. In its 1993 language policy, Eritrea decided for mother-tongueeducation in the country&8217;s nine languages, and English andTigrinya and/or Arabic as compulsory subjects in primary education.Consequently, within one national curriculum, three different writingsystems are taught and learned. Eritrea&8217;s nine languages arewritten in the syllabic Fidel script (Tigrinya, Tigre), the fullLatin alphabet (Bilin, Hidareb, Kunama, Saho, Nara, Afar), and theconsonantal-alphabetic Arabic script (Arabic).These scripts differ inhow they represent units of language, in graphic form, and inorthographic complexity. All children have to learn at least two,many even all three different scripts. Not much is known yet, however, about how scriptal differences affect the acquisition of literacywithin one curriculum. Besides, not much is known yet about how thedifferent scripts are used and valued in the cultural practices ofthe different ethnolinguistic groups, and how acquisition and use arerelated. Using multiple data sources, the project investigatesliteracy acquisition and use in different scripts in Eritrea. Thisgeneral research aim is divided into four research questions, eachusing a different methodology: A sociolinguistic survey investigatesliteracy-in-use: What are the functions, uses, and values attached toliteracy in different ethnolinguistic groups? A key-informantinterview study and document analysis investigate literacyinstruction: How are children taught to read and write in differentscripts? A comparative experimental study of reading and writingbehaviour investigates literacy skills: What are the results oflearning to read a first language in a syllabic script, as comparedto literacy acquisition in two different alphabetic scripts, and howdoes literacy acquisition in these scripts relate to literacyacquisition in English as a second language? A multiple classroomcase study investigates literacy learning processes andmetalinguistic awareness in a syllabic, a Latin-alphabetic and anconsonantal-alphabetic script. What learning processes, cognitiveprocesses, stages, and reading problems are discernable in learningdifferent scripts? The project will generate new scientific knowledgeon multiscriptal literacy and instruments that can be useful forliteracy research in developing countries. Where Eritrea is planningto revise its curriculum, the research results can be used for makinglanguage and education policy decisions and for developinginstructional and reading materials. As such the project aims at |
