To browse Academia. Music, dance, sports, painting, architecture and, of course, literature are forms of communication, which on one side allow connecting with the past, and, on the other hand, the past can help us to distinguish contemporary needs and develop future perspectives. The cultural significance of literature lies in its contribution to the system of symbols by means of which larger communities create their own identity.
Literature as part of a cultural awareness of a larger group becomes a place where it is decided what will be remembered. Mother tongue and literature is one of the basic subjects in the educational curriculum. With a careful selection of literary works in the curriculum one of the most important goals of the educational process can be accomplished, and that is the creation of educational and aesthetic competencies of students and their involvement in building their own cultural identity, not only in their own country, but also as part of the multiculture of nations.
African schools rarely present instruction in the students' native languages. The language of instruction tends to be of European origin. What results is a civilized elite which is unsuccessful in bringing knowledge to the vast majority of the population. A project in Cameroon proposes to teach through extensive trilingualism. First, children learn reading, writing, and arithmetic via the local language. At the same time the children begin to learn one of the "official" languages, which may become the primary language of instruction.
Later, students learn a third language, which may be either the second official language or the local tongue of a neighboring community.
Such an effort was conducted from to Students expressed themselves better and performed slightly better in arithmetic, and about equally well in French, as did a control group. Teaching in the local language is a necessary part of preserving the local culture. Failing to promote the culture would amount to promoting alienation and harming self-esteem.
