Uganda Spelling Bee

“If you have sorted out the world in one language, it becomes much easier to sort it out in a second language.” – Pauline Gibbons

Language and literacy are fascinating. What a wealth of knowledge, history, and culture that lives within just one tongue. What incredible universes the written word has opened up to us. They are glimpses into the human mind, snatches of the magic and power we have inside of ourselves. They are the cornerstones of the world we have built.

In college, I was introduced to a profession where my passion for language and literacy was combined – teaching English as a Second Language. The English language is an intricate puzzle that, when unlocked, can open to life-changing opportunities and insights, and few things bring me greater joy than to work on that puzzle with others. But as much as I love English, as much as I delight in sharing in it and despairing of it with others, I also realize how much the world would lose if every thought originated only in English.

English is not meant to be a replacement, a bulldozer razing indigenous languages and cultures; instead, it is meant to be used as a tool, a tool to make connections and exchange knowledge. This is not always the message that is communicated and, unfortunately, centuries of colonialism have wrongly placed it as oftentimes higher, more valuable, more desirable than one’s own mother tongue.

This colonial hangover is present even today in Uganda. Despite a switch to education solely in local language from Primary 1 to Primary 3, with Primary 4 being the “transition year” to instruction in English from Primary 5 to Primary 7, there is no denying that English is the language of opportunity here; whether someone is looking for a professional job abroad or in country, being able to speak English is a must. However, this attitude has led to a devaluation of native languages and a misunderstanding of how best to achieve fluency in a second language. Such unfortunate devaluation can be seen in the following words of one Ugandan:

“Children … should learn a language which helps them in the future. Not put them in brackets of a second community.”

Rural parents and community members often believe that such a language policy, attempting to ensure that a child learns in their native language in at least the first three grades, has been imposed for political reasons; they are frustrated because they want their children to master the language of wider communication, English, as quickly as possible. Some even mistakenly think that African languages are not able to deal with scientific and technical concepts. To them, a local language policy seems like a step backward to the past, not forward to the future. This is detrimental because, as any Peace Corps Volunteer knows, if a community does not embrace an idea, it will not happen.

But many in the Ugandan community, especially the rural community, are not embracing this step because they have not been informed of the pedagogical advantages afforded their children when they are they are instructed in their first language before moving on to being educated in English. It can seem contradictory, but the more time children spend learning in local language, the better they will perform academically and the more fluent they will become in their second language. For example, first language speakers of Afrikaans in South Africa, in places where English is taught only as a subject for one lesson per day, have been shown to successfully achieve high levels of bilingual proficiency in both Afrikaans and English – not being instructed in English was in no way detrimental.

If parents want their children to learn the language of wider communication, in this case English, it will take these pupils six to eight years of learning English before it can be successfully used as the medium of instruction for academic concepts. If this process is hurried, the pupil will learn neither the new language nor academic content well enough. Imagine trying to learn physics or study classic French novels with only your three years of high school French!

When it comes down to it, if a pupil is not literate in their first language, it is incredibly difficult for them to become literate in a second language. Literacy, in both first and second languages, is immensely important to individuals and to countries as a whole. It has been found, using panel data for forty-four African countries, that literacy was among the variables with a positive effect on GDP per capita growth. Literacy skills are fundamental to informed decision-making, critical reflection, personal empowerment, creativity, and participation in political, social, and cultural spheres. Furthermore, while it’s hard to separate the benefits of literacy from education, schooling, and knowledge overall, it has been shown that literacy among women improves livelihoods and leads to better child and maternal health in addition to empowering those women to gain access to and challenge male domains. The Reading Agency has even shown that reading for enjoyment can increase empathy, improve relationships, reduce symptoms of depression and raise wellbeing!

However, first-language literacy and literacy in general face particular challenges in Uganda. There are 63 main languages spoken, none with a large enough majority for one to be selected as the national language. 52% of Uganda’s 36 million people are children below the age of 15, and 71% are not finishing primary school in time. This is caused by, among other reasons, low competence, low literacy rates, and lack of interest. In fact, Uganda is ranked lowest in the region in literacy according to a 2012 Uwezo report.

These are problems that many Ugandans are well aware of and something that two amazing Ugandans in particular decided to do something about. Peter Mugogo and Aaron Kirunda, the founders of their own business based in Kampala, decided that establishing their own microfinance company was not giving back enough to their community. They passionately believe that Uganda’s future belongs to that 52% below 15, and they realized that the literacy rate needed to be improved, academic achievement celebrated, and key life skills developed in these children in order to ensure that they were motivated to stay in school and ensure a bright future for Uganda. So, three years ago, they started Enjuba Spelling Bee, an English spelling competition for teams of three in Primary 4 through Primary 7.

Aaron and Peter

One year ago, Peace Corps Volunteers Loren Evans and Jason Economou made their own realizations. For the literacy rate both in pupils’ local languages and in English to improve, communities had to embrace the government’s local language education policy for Primary 1 to Primary 3 and possibly even a future extension of it to Primary 5 or Primary 7. This meant boosting the status of indigenous languages, developing the orthography of languages if necessary, providing teachers with professional development, and increasing the amount of available written materials in local languages. Thus, the My Language Spelling Bee, a local language competition for Primary 3 pupils which I wrote about last year, was born. 

This year, as one of the National Co-Directors, I have had the incredible privilege of being able to witness the birth of what I and my Co-Director, Ben Ferraro, truly believe is a model Peace Corps partnership with dedicated, hardworking, and passionate Ugandans. 

My Co-Director, Ben, working on the My Language Spelling Bee in Arua district.

Enjuba Spelling Bee and My Language Spelling Bee, along with the Ministry of Education and Sports, have joined together to create Uganda Spelling Bee, offering in-service teacher trainings, a P3 local language spelling competition, and a P4 – P7 English spelling competition across Uganda. We believe that this national initiative, besides just being incredibly fun, will help primary school pupils and their school communities understand the importance of both first and second language literacy. This awareness and these competitions will, hopefully, in turn, increase literacy rates by training teachers in learner-centered literacy instructional techniques and by helping pupils learn key life skills, ignite their curiosity, become inspired to stay in school longer, and develop pride in their mother tongue as well as improved competences in English. It’s a lot to put on one project, but if anyone can do it, Peter, Aaron, and their team of highly-educated, caring Ugandan volunteers can do it. 

Michael and Juliet, two more volunteers from Enjuba Spelling Bee

This month has been the beginning of the culmination of a year’s work for Uganda Spelling Bee. Recently, the Runyankore/Rukiga My Language Spelling Bee finals and English Spelling Bee semi-finals were held at the Primary Teacher’s College where Kris and I live. The response, excitement, and anticipation of this year’s events by the community were overwhelming. Our reach was much greater than last year due to the new partnership and due to the fact that ownership of this project has been almost entirely taken on by wonderful community partners in Bushenyi district, partners such as Mugisha Laban, who have embraced Uganda Spelling Bee and taken it far past where I ever thought it could go. In-service teacher trainings revolving around spelling bee practices and learner-centered teaching techniques were held during the second school term and school, district, and regional-level competitions, run almost entirely by Ugandans, proceeded from there. The Runyankore/Rukiga My Language Spelling Bee alone reached over 10,000 pupils, 275 teachers, and 190 schools in the Southwest overall – and that’s just one of the six language regions Uganda Spelling Bee is currently operating in.

The day of the competition was filled with music, word lists, and excited pupils practicing under the shade of nearby trees. 

Paul Benz, the Music Man!

Kris and Immaculate enjoying the entertainment.

The Deputy Principal of the college opened the event by speaking of the importance of local language literacy and the role it plays in achieving second language competence. He urged teachers to continue the learner-centered literacy practices they had learned and praised the event as a project that supported the celebration of academic excellence and that now belonged to the community itself.

The preliminaries for My Language Spelling Bee and the English Spelling Bee were held side by side, with brief musical interludes, before lunch.

The English Spelling Bee pupils were a bit shy and nervous at first, so the judges had the pupils take their spots and quiz their teachers!

This adorable 8-year-old pupil did a great job in the My Language Spelling Bee.

The MLSB judges conferring.

A small break before lunch.

The college students and scouts helped us serve.

Olivia, my P3 pupil.

After lunch, all attending watched the My Language Spelling Bee finals, with pupils spelling words like omuhingánzima and ekiteetéèyi, until only one child remained.

Then came the English Spelling Bee finals, with the primary school pupils impressing all of the adults present by tackling words such as endogenous, paradigm, and xenolith.

Everyone, of course, received certificates and the top three My Language Spelling Bee finishers received donated books, games, world maps, and academic supplies for themselves and their schools. 

Laban closing the ceremony.

The winning pupils from my school.

The Southwest Uganda Spelling Bee team! Minus Robert Hahn, that is.

Letting off a little steam after a long day.

The top three English Spelling Bee teams now move on to the National Championship in Uganda’s capital, Kampala, on October 17^th - an exciting prize in and of itself for the public school children, especially since some have never been outside of their own district or ridden a bus before. It’s going to be an extremely exciting event, and I invite all of you to be a part of it by liking Uganda Spelling Bee on Facebook and Twitter. Please, follow along and give these amazing pupils your moral support on their big day!

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/UgandaSpellingBee?fref=ts

Twitter: https://twitter.com/spellingbeeug

Website: http://www.spellingbee.ug/

References

Mother Tongue Matters: Local Language as a Key to Effective Learning

English Education, Local Languages, and Community Perspectives in Uganda

Optimising Learning, Education, and Publishing in Uganda: The Language Factor

Mother Tongue Classrooms Give Better Boost to English Study Later

Why Literacy Matters - UNESCO

Reading for Pleasure Builds Empathy and Improves Well-being

Language Education Policy and Multilingual Literacies in Ugandan Primary Schools

My Language Spelling Bee

In Ugandan primary schools, children are taught in their local language until Primary 4, where they switch to learning in English. This “transition year,” as it is known, can be very difficult for pupils. This, coupled with the fact that being fluent in English is seen as the key to success in many areas, has led parents and communities to push for all-English classes at younger and younger ages. However, when classes are taught in English beginning at Primary 1, many pupils never become literate in their first language. This is a major detriment because skills in literacy transfer from the first language to the second language only if completely learned. As an ESL teacher, I know that the best predictor of reading proficiency in someone's second language is their level of literacy in their native language. English is important to learn, but it should not come at the expense of a child's native language. In addition to the many social, economic, and cognitive benefits first-language literacy offers, a pupil who is literate in their native language takes considerably less time to achieve competency in English. Despite all of this, an initial lack of focus on English can seem counter-intuitive to many people. This has led to a devaluing of indigenous languages in Uganda and an uncertainty about what role, if any, local languages should play in schooling.

Enter the My Language Spelling Bee (MLSB). The MLSB is a spelling competition created this year by Peace Corps Volunteers in partnership with the Ministry of Education and Sports. Pupils from different regions all over Uganda are competing this month and the next in their local languages – Acholi, Luganda, Runyankore/Rukiga, Runyoro/Rutooro, and more. The goal of MLSB is to increase the levels of literacy in Uganda, promote a love of reading and writing, and help to preserve indigenous languages. It’s a project centering around all of the causes that I am most passionate about, and I am so happy that I was able to be a small part of it in the Runyankore/Rukiga language region.

The idea of a spelling bee is a new concept here and introducing it to the community was certainly a challenge, one that earned me many “crazy muzungu” looks at first. However, after an explanation of the educational benefits of events such as this one, the strong support of local community members such as the District Education Officer and the Coordinating Centre Tutors led to my entire district embracing the idea. Over 150 schools in my area held school-level spelling bees in September. The winner of each school spelling bee traveled to their local Coordinating Centres in mid-October to compete in the district-level competitions. The top five pupils from each district competition, in addition to 12 pupils from two other districts, went on to compete in the final regional competition on October 27^th, one of the best days of my service.

39 pupils, their P3 teachers, and a mix of parents and headteachers from the Southwest of Uganda arrived at Bushenyi Core Primary Teachers’ College at 10:30 a.m., some from as far as five hours away. As each pupil registered, they received the homemade registration bibs that Hannah, Kris, Codie, and I had made assembly-line style the previous day out of scrap paper, duct tape, and yarn.

While they were waiting for break tea, Paul and an amazing P3 teacher from a nearby school organized games, songs, and icebreakers for the pupils. In no time at all, pupils in uniforms of all different colors were sharing seats, running to the latrines together, and gesticulating wildly as they debated the spellings of different words.

After break tea, the other PCVs and I stepped back and from there on out, it was entirely Ugandan-run. The Ugandan MC, an amazing man named Lebon, opened the competition with a prayer and the national anthem and the principal of the college and the District Education Officer gave heartfelt speeches in Runyankore. Their amplified voices, however, coupled with the rain that had begun to fall made many of the pupils' heads sink lower and lower onto their chests. But soon the rain cleared, and the entrance of the college’s Music Dance and Drama group made everyone snap back to eager attention. Many of the audience rose to their feet and began clapping and even dancing along with the group’s songs, dances, and drumbeats.

After the Music, Dance, and Drama presentation, the rules were explained and the pupils divided into two groups for a preliminary round. The schools, parents, pupils, and judges, a mix of teachers, tutors, and local language experts, were more excited and involved in the competition than I ever could have dreamed.

The children repeated words they were given silently to themselves, looks of concentration on their faces as they decided exactly how many a’s were in the middle of the word okutaaha before starting to spell. The parents and teachers actually mouthed the letters along with their pupils, giving satisfied nods and triumphant looks as their child decided that there were, in fact, two a’s. The judges smiled as they gestured successful pupils on to the next round and consulted their word lists and dictionaries seriously and often. I was struck by how much this could easily resemble a scene at a similar event anywhere around the world. An hour later, the arrival of the kitchen staff bearing giant pots of matooke and beans on their heads shattered this illusion somewhat. At the lunch break, 15 pupils were left to continue on to the final round after eating. And man, could these kids eat!

The pupils clamored in front of the serving tables for their favorites, which they so rarely get – matooke, g-nut sauce, rice, beef, "soup", and soda. Once everyone had consumed plates of food larger than their heads (the Ugandan appetite is truly remarkable), tables were placed in the middle of the two tents, the much duct-taped and only rarely on fire sound system was switched on, and the last 15 competitors, after an impromptu dance party while the judges were preparing. lined up for a series of much more difficult words.

Teachers scribbled furiously on their copies of the word lists as the children tackled words like amashémererwa, omunyongororwa, and ekiharáàni.

Soon, only two pupils were left and as competitor number 9 correctly spelled the word competitor number 2 had missed, the audience burst into applause. Gilbert, aka number 9, was swept into the arms of his teacher and handed over to the MC, who proudly declared him the winner of the first ever My Language Spelling Bee for Runyankore/Rukiga and therefore the recipient of an all-expenses paid trip to Kampala, the capital of Uganda, along with his teacher and parents.

The competition wrapped up as certificates were awarded, hands were shaken, and books in Runyankore were given to the 1^st, 2^nd, and 3^rd place pupils. As Codie, Paul, and I took down the MLSB banner in front of the now empty tents, we couldn’t stop grinning. We had spent the whole day surrounded by excited and eager children and adults whose enthusiasm for spelling, reading, and writing surpassed anything we’ve ever seen here before. As we headed back to the house for a debriefing and well-deserved relaxation, we reminisced over our favorite moments – children clapping, smiling, and laughing during the traditional songs and dances; a parent confidently quizzing his son while they waited for the competition to begin; a headmaster with a big goofy grin waving his arms in triumph across the tent as his pupil correctly spelled an especially difficult word; a judge gently asking if a competitor understood a word and beaming when he received an affirmative answer; a group of pupils muttering letters under their breath as they watched the final children compete; a teacher making copious notes about every word for next year’s competition. 

It was a day that I will never forget, a day where I began to truly understand that we are just here to plant the seed of literacy in Uganda’s fertile soil. Her people have asked it and her people will sow it. They are ready, they are capable, and they are remarkable.

To learn to read is to light a fire; every syllable that is spelled out is a spark. 

—Victor Hugo