The National Coordinator of the Ghana National Education Campaign Coalition (GNECC), Mrs. Bernice Ampere Gyekye, has called on Ghanaian parents to make indigenous languages the primary means of communication at home, warning that the country’s linguistic heritage is gradually disappearing because many families now prioritise English over their mother tongues.
According to the education advocate, the inability of many children to speak the languages associated with their cultural identities stems largely from practices within the home rather than shortcomings in schools. She maintained that parents must take deliberate steps to preserve Ghana’s indigenous languages if future generations are to retain their cultural identity and improve early learning outcomes.
“The preservation of our local languages begins at home. Schools can reinforce language learning, but parents remain a child’s first teachers and must intentionally create an environment where indigenous languages are spoken every day.”
Mrs. Bernice Ampere Gyekye,
Parents Identified as the First Teachers
Mrs. Bernice Ampere Gyekye has attributed the growing decline in the use of Ghanaian languages among children to changing parenting practices, where English has become the dominant language of communication within many households.
Speaking on the topic “Language: Our Identity in the Younger Generation,”she observed that although many parents proudly give their children traditional Ghanaian names, several of those children are unable to communicate in the languages connected to their names.
She described the trend as worrying, noting that language remains one of the strongest expressions of culture, heritage and identity.
According to Mrs. Gyekye, children naturally acquire language through daily interaction with parents and family members long before they begin formal education.
She therefore urged parents to become intentional about speaking indigenous languages consistently at home, stressing that schools alone cannot shoulder the responsibility of preserving Ghana’s linguistic heritage.
Home Environment Shapes Children’s Language Development
The education advocate explained that families have a greater influence on children’s language development than any other institution.
She revealed that during monitoring visits to a Kindergarten Two classroom within the Ada East and Ada West municipalities, she observed pupils enthusiastically participating in lessons delivered in their mother tongue.
According to her, the children demonstrated excellent comprehension and confidence during classroom activities conducted in the local language.
However, she questioned whether those gains would be sustained once the children returned home, where many parents often revert to speaking English.
“Children learn remarkably well when lessons are delivered in their mother tongue, but those gains can easily diminish if families fail to continue using the same language after school. The home must reinforce what the classroom begins.”
Mrs. Bernice Ampere Gyekye,
Mrs. Gyekye maintained that preserving indigenous languages requires strong collaboration between schools and families, with parents taking the lead in daily language practice.
Mother Tongue Education Improves Learning Outcomes
Supporting her argument, Mrs. Gyekye highlighted Ghana’s Complementary Education Programme, which helps out-of-school children transition into the formal education system through instruction delivered in their native languages.
She explained that children enrolled in the programme receive approximately nine months of instruction in their mother tongue before joining mainstream primary schools.
Despite missing preschool and kindergarten education, many participants successfully integrate into Primary One, Primary Two and Primary Three, demonstrating strong literacy and numeracy skills.
According to her, the programme provides compelling evidence that indigenous language instruction enhances children’s academic development while strengthening their confidence and communication abilities.
She noted that although the initiative continues to record positive educational outcomes, it still faces several operational challenges that require sustained support.
Education experts have consistently argued that children understand concepts more effectively when taught in languages they already speak and understand, particularly during their early years of schooling.
Screen Time Replacing Family Conversations
Mrs. Gyekye further identified increasing dependence on digital devices as another major contributor to the erosion of Ghanaian languages.
She observed that many parents now spend less time engaging in direct conversations with their children, allowing televisions, smartphones and tablets to replace meaningful family interaction.
According to her, children develop vocabulary, sentence construction and communication skills primarily through conversations with parents and caregivers rather than passive exposure to digital content.
She expressed concern that most digital platforms consumed by children predominantly feature English-language content, providing limited opportunities for exposure to indigenous languages.
“Technology should complement parenting rather than replace it. When screens substitute conversations between parents and children, indigenous languages gradually disappear because children are no longer hearing or practising them in everyday life.”
Mrs. Bernice Ampere Gyekye,
Mrs. Gyekye added that the decline in indigenous language proficiency extends beyond today’s children, noting that many millennials and even older adults struggle to communicate confidently in their mother tongues.
Personal Experience Reinforces Advocacy
Adding to the discussion, Mrs. Gyekye shared her personal experience of deliberately raising her youngest child in Fanti after recognising that her older children had received less consistent exposure to the language.
She explained that she and her husband consciously decided to speak Fanti with their youngest daughter from infancy.
Today, she said, the child communicates fluently in both Fanti and English, demonstrating that bilingualism can be successfully achieved when parents intentionally expose children to indigenous languages from birth.
Her family’s experience has since strengthened her advocacy for greater parental involvement in language preservation across Ghana.
Mrs. Gyekye emphasised that preserving indigenous languages is not solely about protecting culture but also about strengthening children’s educational foundations, cognitive development and national identity.
She therefore urged Ghanaian parents and guardians to embrace their role as children’s first educators by making local languages an integral part of daily family life.
According to her, safeguarding Ghana’s linguistic heritage requires deliberate action from families, schools and communities alike to ensure future generations remain connected to their cultural roots while acquiring the communication skills needed to thrive in an increasingly globalised world.
