Legon Journal of the Humanities, 25

Teacher:
Everybody, let me see your teeth. What are the uses of your teeth? 
Dεn na wode wo se yε?
1
st
 Pupil:
Chewing 
2
nd
 pupil:
Mede we nam
I use it for chewing meat 
Teacher:
Are our teeth useful then? 
Class (chorus):
Yes! 
Teacher:
Today, we want to learn how we can take good care of our teeth. 
Yebesua sεnea yebetumi ahwε yεn se so yiye.
Teacher:
What is the first thing you do in the morning? 
3
rd
 Pupil: 
We wash our face, we brush our teeth. 
Teacher: 
What do we use for brushing our teeth? 
3
NALAP was formed to address the literacy crisis in Primary Education in Ghana.
Ansah, A. M./ Legon Journal of the Humanities 25 (2014) 37-57 

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Legon Journal of the Humanities, 25 
(2014)
P a g e
| 46 
4
th
 Pupil: 
Duawa
 
Chewing stick 
5
th
 Pupil:
Brush 
ne 
pepsodent 
and 
Teacher:
How many times do we have to brush our teeth in a day? 
Mpεn ahe na εsε sε yetwiw yεn se dabiara?
6
th
 Pupil:
Two times 
Teacher:
Good, well done! 
The teacher introduced the topic in English, and translated it into Twi. After the lesson 
had been introduced in both English and Twi, the pupils answered questions using either 
Twi or English, whichever they were proficient in. When the questions required one-word 
answers, the pupils spoke English otherwise Twi was used. The teacher did English-Akan 
codeswitching throughout the teaching session.
The second session which was observed was a Mathematics lesson. Language 
choice of pupils was quite different, with English language dominating in the answers 
that pupils gave. The use of English dominated in the answers, because the questions did 
not demand complete statements. When the teacher had introduced the topic “Simple 
Division”, she went ahead to explain the concept in Akan using objects.