In Ibadan, two Nigerian women are leading a quiet revolution of how Nigerians think about language, culture, and the world. The KG Language School, founded by Oluwakemisola Adeusi and Gift Iyioku, is not just about helping students pass language proficiency exams. It is about preparing Nigerians to become truly global citizens.
When the school began in 2016, the mission was straightforward. The founders wanted to encourage international multilingualism among Nigerians and help break down the language barriers that often stand between local talent and global opportunity. But with time, they realized that many of their students were not just learning for curiosity’s sake. They were preparing to travel, to study, to work, or to start new lives in other countries.
It was a study trip to Germany in 2017 that changed the perspectives of the two founders. Having themselves experienced the difference between textbook language and the demands of real-world communication, they returned to Nigeria with a renewed sense of purpose. They redesigned their teaching approach around conversational fluency and context-specific language use that is rooted in everyday and occasional scenarios like job interviews, social events, and pop cultures.
“We saw the gap with our own eyes,” says Iyioku. “Grammar alone was not enough. People needed to speak in a way that allowed them to live, not just pass exams.”
But the innovation at KG did not stop at conversational models. Adeusi and Iyioku also developed a racially inclusive methodology that addresses a critical imbalance in Nigerian language education. While language learners abroad are increasingly exposed to diverse voices and cultures, the same cannot always be said for Nigeria. In many classrooms, international language instruction remains largely Eurocentric and detached from the lived experiences of African learners. “On the other hand, we attended a language conference where the purpose was to encourage teachers to make African voices dominant in language learning. To us, this was like tilting the scale to the other side,” Adeusi says.
The co-founders at KG are trying to balance both perspective with only one solution, which is to synthesize multiple voices and experiences. Their method champions global readiness without losing sight of African realities. They advocate for including African perspectives in language education, while also encouraging Nigerian students to encounter and engage with the voices and experiences of people from across the world. Their goal is to balance linguistic accuracy with cultural awareness and empathy. “Language is a lens through which we understand the world,” says Adeusi. “We cannot teach students to be globally competent if they only ever see the world through one filter. Yes, African voices matter. But part of our task is also helping students learn to listen to other voices, too.”
This philosophy has informed their curriculum and community outreach. In collaboration with Erudite Millennium Ltd., KG Language School recently hosted a language learners’ picnic in Ibadan. The event brought together students from both schools to share their learning journeys, perspectives on cultural experiences, and begin building a community grounded in cross-cultural dialogue.
That partnership is just the beginning. The school is currently in talks with other institutions in southwestern Nigeria, with hopes of expanding first into neighboring southwestern states, and eventually creating a network of language hubs across the country. The long-term vision is to build a cultural center where learners of all languages can exchange ideas, stories, and perspectives.
Oluwakemisola Adeusi, who is also a lecturer assistant at the University of Ibadan says that she is in conversation with the lecturers of the European studies department to advocate for more inclusive and context-driven language instruction. She is experimenting with her class with hopes that her success will encourage stakeholders to extend her methodology to other partner institutions like Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife and the University of Nigeria Nsukka.
The KG Language School is spreading a message that goes beyond vocabulary and grammar. It is about using language to connect. To see. To understand. To empathize. In a time when migration, technology, and globalization are reshaping the world, KG’s message is timely. The school is not just preparing students to go abroad. It is preparing them to engage the world with confidence, curiosity, and compassion.
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