‘Learning science and technology using local languages improves creative thinking’

WHAT’s the ‘Science in Yoruba’ project about?

The ‘Science in Yoruba’ project is an effort to ensure that Yoruba people, whether they have western education or not, can talk about science and technology in Yoruba. My belief is that this has the potential to emancipate Yoruba people not only in terms of making scientific and technological breakthroughs, but also in terms of having a better and appreciative sense of ourselves as a nation and of our language as one not inferior to any other human language but capable of expressing technical ideas whether those ideas come from the sciences, arts, trades, etc.

Going down the memory lane, what would you say prompted the project idea?

I became interested in the connection between language and the sciences when I was in high school. My friends and I would have interesting and riveting discussions about D. O. Fagunwa’s Ogboju Ode ninu Igbo Irunmole, despite the fact that this was not part of our curriculum. I always wanted similar discussions about mathematics in Yoruba, the language with which we process the world. When I got to Obafemi Awolowo University and read in one of our classes about the work of Professor Babs Fafunwa and his colleagues on Ife Primary Education Research Project in the 1970s, I was convinced even more that if Yoruba people have access to STEM knowledge in our language, we would be more productive and more developed than we currently are. I published an article with The Nation in 2013, where I summarized this idea.

At Andrew Mellon Fellowship at Tulane University, I initially contemplated on doing a different project in New Orleans, where Tulane is located but I wanted a project that I would be able to continue even after the two-year span of the fellowship and even if I was no longer in New Orleans. I floated the idea of the ‘Science in Yoruba’ project with the fellowship director, and he was receptive to it. That was how ‘Science in Yoruba’ started.

Would you like to talk about how you have been implementing the project?

The ‘Science in Yoruba’ project has three main goals. The first one is to translate all high school STEM textbooks into Yoruba by collaborating with graduates of STEM fields and linguistics. For the project that we concluded last year, I collaborated with Babatola Oyetayo, Samuel Awelewa, Samuel Jegede, and Eriife Mofoluwawo who are all graduates of University of Ibadan specializing respectively in Yoruba/Linguistics, Physics, Microbiology and Chemistry. We translated Basic Science 1 for JSS 1 students into Yoruba, and the manuscript is already with the publisher of the book, Learn Africa Plc. The plan was to have the book out by now, but the COVID-19 pandemic has slowed down the process.

The second goal is to teach translated textbooks to the students. We worked with three schools in Ibadan. We taught JSS1 students at Abadina College, Orogun Grammar School, and Ajibode Grammar School between November 2018 and March 2019. We adopted a translanguaging technique where both English and Yoruba played roles. We taught the students only those aspects that their teachers had taught them in English. And we made sure that our complementary Yoruba instructions did not confuse them. Our focus was to ensure that the students understand concepts as they are in English; so, we retained scientific terms the way they are in English while explaining what they mean in Yoruba. We adopted this method for two reasons. The first and the most important reason is that these students were going to write their promotional exams in English and it may be costly if they write ‘hóró’, our adopted translation of ‘cell’ as an answer to a relevant question. The second reason we adopted this technique is to avoid a problem that Fafunwa and his colleagues ran into. Some parents took away their kids from the Yoruba-only classroom, fearing that their kids would perform poorly if taught only in Yoruba.

The third goal is to facilitate discussions of STEM knowledge in Yoruba language among Yoruba people, both those who have western education and those who do not. The way we are implementing this is by creating images and videos and making them available on social media. We have series for different fields in STEM so that whoever is interested can watch as many videos as they can on any given field. For now, we have a series on astronomy which is called ‘Ìrìnkèrindò nínú àgbáńlá-ayé’ (Expedition within the Universe) and another series on Physics and Chemistry which is called ‘Physics& Chemistry in Yorùbá’. We also produce general knowledge videos, and we are working on including more series as time goes on.

This is not the first time Nigerian scholars will be advocating for the use of indigenous languages in education, yet without the desired result. Do you see your project bringing the desired change?

Yes, many scholars have advocated for the use of mother tongue as the language of instruction since the work of Professor Fafunwa and his colleagues in the 70s. In fact, some scholars not only advocated for mother tongue education in academic journals, conferences, and books, they also created contents, especially for STEM, that show that this is absolutely possible. After Professor Fafunwa, other notable scholars who have worked in this area are Engr J .A. Odetayo, who published the English-Yoruba Dictionary of Engineering Physics in 1993, Dr Kayode Fakinlede, who published the English-Yoruba Science and Technology Handbook and is still publishing tons of articles on Facebook. More recently are works coming out of the University of Ibadan. One of these is the English-Yoruba Glossary of HIV, AIDS and Ebola-Related Terms edited by Drs Luqman Ayodele Yusuff, Adedotun Adetunji, and Clement Odoje. The other one is Eya Ara fun Alakobere (Anatomy for Beginners) compiled by E. Oluwabunmi Olapade-Olaopa, Olusoga Olusola Akute, Duro Adeleke, Joseph Fadeyemi Akinrinmade and Matthew Temitayo Shokunbi.

Scholars who advocated for mother tongue education often desire a situation where English is dropped completely and Yoruba is the sole language of instruction. This desired change can be brought about only by the government and not by private individuals. We can only do that which would be complementary to the extant government-approved curriculum. That was why we adopted the translanguaging technique that I mentioned earlier. Our project has not brought that desired change but it is a step in that direction.

Rather than continuing as a consumer of technology, you want the African child, especially a Nigerian, to be able to produce technology. To what extent do you think your approach can work?

The government is not yet ready to invest in teaching STEM in Yoruba, the most relevant approach that private individuals like us can take is one which complements the government-recommended curriculum in the schools. Some of the changes that we witnessed and were confirmed by their teachers include the fact that some of the students who used to be passive were actively engaged during our Yoruba explanations with the particular case at Ajibode Grammar School; most of them were excited to participate in class discussions; and our instructions proved efficient in helping the students distinguish between science and folk science.

Given these changes in behaviour, we believe that if the students have access to our complementary instructions, some of them would go on to become active producers of technology, however crude and game-changing scientific knowledge. Someone invented that the Dojuti NEPA (put NEPA to shame) is a torch, made out of some plastic materials, LEDs, and a switch, which is sold to people for a hundred naira. Imagine what students could do if they had education that gives them the opportunity to think creatively about knowledge of science and technology in the language in which they naturally see the world.

What are the achievements and challenges so far?

The most important achievement recorded so far is the fact that we were able to successfully provide complementary Yoruba instructions at the three schools. We also have a manuscript which is in the process of publication. We left demonstration materials like microscopes, dynamo lanterns, solar system props, and renewable energy kits at each of the schools, which would continue to serve them for years to come. What pleases me the most is Hakeem Oluwafemi Odu-Owobamire Adeniyan from Ekiti State starting a page on Facebook called Mathematics in Yoruba Language where he explains mathematical topics in Yoruba. Another individual, Akinwale Ayodeji, has also started producing videos where he also explains Mathematics in the Ondo dialect.

The top challenge is that they did not have enough teachers.

In fact, one of our colleagues had to assume the role of a regular school teacher at some point. The fact that we, together with the Oyo State Ministry of Education, were not able to extend our methodology beyond the three schools is also a challenge that we will try to address moving forward. We are going back to the ministry once our translation is published by Learn Africa PLC.

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