Author's Name:	Virginia Hope Mawere, Dr Thembinkosi Tshabalala & Prof. Tichaona Mapolisa
Subject Area:	Social Science and Humanities
Subject	Education
Section	Research Paper

Indigenous languages, Mother tongue, ECD, language of instruction, parents? perceptions.

The study justified the use of indigenous languages as a medium of instruction at Early Childhood Development education level in purposefully sampled five primary schools in Harare Central Northern District in Zimbabwe. Ten participants were selected using opportunity sampling. It established that parents agree that while indigenous languages? use as a medium of instruction at ECD level has some, benefits, it is its weaknesses. It also found that the use of indigenous languages as a medium of instruction at ECD level is associated with a negative impact on children?s future education endeavours. The study concluded that while the weaknesses of the use of indigenous languages as a medium of instruction at ECD level outweighed the benefits, the weaknesses provide policy makers with an opportunity to bring the language policy at ECD level to every door-step of parents with children of school-going age. Its other conclusion was that advocacy for the adoption of the use of indigenous languages as a medium of instruction at ECD level is meaningless in the absence of robust research. It recommended that the government needs to provide adequate information about the language policy at ECD level in newspapers that reach wide readership. Countrywide research needs to be carried out to inform current trends and practices of using indigenous languages for the benefit of the ECD learner, parent and other stakeholders.