Quality education should be delivered in the language spoken at home, according to a UNESCO policy paper. International and regional learning assessments confirm that when home and school languages differ there is an adverse impact on test scores. In the world today, this standard is not met thereby limiting ability to develop foundations for learning. For children, being taught in a language other than their own can negatively impact their learning. Their parents may lack literacy skills which can then reinforce gaps in learning opportunities. Students from poor households who speak a different language at home are the worst affected. In a study in Guatemala in 2006, among minority poor students who speak a different language at home, only 38% learned the basics in mathematics while 77% of rich students who speak Spanish reached that level.


A study in Cameroon, between 2007 and 2012, showed that when a local language (Kom) was used as a medium of instruction in 12 schools for grades 1 to 3, learners showed a marked advantage in achievement in reading and comprehension compared with children taught only in English. The research also pointed out that Kom educated children scored twice as high on mathematics tests at the end of grade 3. Yet, these learning gains were not sustained when the students switched to English-only instruction in grade 4. The reason for this decreased gain was attributed to the early exit from a mother tongue environment. Evaluations from a six Year Primary Project in Ife, Nigeria, that used Yoruba as the medium of instruction for the six years of primary education, found out that students who switched to English after six years of mother tongue instruction performed better in English and in other subjects compared with those who did so after only three years.

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https://desertbloomadvisory.com/2019/04/09/learning-in-mother-tongue-has-positive-benefits/