Responding to Linguistic and Cultural Need: The Design and Evaluation of a Bilingual Storybook Intervention for Bilingual Fante–English Learners in Ghana

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

1. The authors may not use results from their own studies which are still under peer review.
2. A brief discussion of different of models of bilingual education may be added to differentiate or distinguish the model adopted in Ghana, as well as the model adopted by the authors in the study.
3. A short background on the Fante language and its use in education in Ghana may be added to orient the readers unfamiliar with this language.
4. A section on the relevance of the study to an international audience aside from local application may be added. While the study is very much useful to the local Ghanian context, its contribution to the larger field of mother tongue-based education and even to the refinement, if any, of the educational design research method used, must be articulated clearly.
5. Overall, the study has great utility towards advancing the use of Fante in educational contexts.

Comments on the Quality of English Language

1. A few subject-verb agreement and spelling errors should be corrected.
2. The reference list needs to be made consistent (some use title case and others sentence case). Some book references list the place of publication while others don't. Recheck some missing information or missing links.

Author Response

Reviewer 1

1. The authors may not use results from their own studies which are still under peer review. This has been changed.
2. A brief discussion of different of models of bilingual education may be added to differentiate or distinguish the model adopted in Ghana, as well as the model adopted by the authors in the study. We have added the following (lines 215-220):

Following Trudell (2023) the most common models for including local languages in multilingual education are transition models. These models include the learner’s first language as medium of instruction in the early primary grades only. After some years, another language becomes the medium of instruction. Late-exit models, on the other hand, use the mother-tongue through the later primary grades, before changing to another language of instruction.

1. A short background on the Fante language and its use in education in Ghana may be added to orient the readers unfamiliar with this language. We have added the following (lines 181-187):

The documentation and development of Fante as a written language can be traced back to the 18^th century, when Jacobus Capitein, a Dutch missionary, translated the Lord's Prayer into Fante (Tufuor, 2009). By the end of the 18^th century Fante began to be used in educational contexts (Agyekum, 2015). During the British occupation in the 19^th century, local missionaries, who laid the groundwork for Fante as a written language, advocated for the use of Fante for both religious and educational purposes.

1. A section on the relevance of the study to an international audience aside from local application may be added. While the study is very much useful to the local Ghanian context, its contribution to the larger field of mother tongue-based education and even to the refinement, if any, of the educational design research method used, must be articulated clearly.  We have added the following section to the discussion (lines 708-713):

Globally, a large number of children do not access education in their mother tongue, thereby being forced to deny their cultural heritage. In particular, this affects learners of minority languages or children in low- and middle income countries, such as Ghana. Our study contributes to the larger field of mother tongue-based education in these countries, by providing a framework for the development and evaluation of locally designed teaching and learning materials to improve learner access and inclusion.

1. Overall, the study has great utility towards advancing the use of Fante in educational contexts.

 

Comments on the Quality of English Language

1. A few subject-verb agreement and spelling errors should be corrected. Done
2. The reference list needs to be made consistent (some use title case and others sentence case). Some book references list the place of publication while others don't. Recheck some missing information or missing links. Done.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 2 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

The manuscript explores the processes and challenges involved in designing, developing, and implementing locally produced Fante-English bilingual storybooks for primary schools in Ghana, to address the lack of mother-tongue-based education materials and enhance learners’ sense of identity. The study uses Educational Design Research to document the steps involved in the process. Results from teacher surveys and classroom observation suggest that the use of Fante-English bilingual books, which were complemented with different types of language exercises, promotes learners’ cultural identity, self-awareness, and a sense of prestige. In the following paragraphs, I highlight the main strengths and weaknesses of the paper.

Strengths

Relevance: The manuscript presents a compelling argument for the integration of mother-tongue-based educational (MTBE) materials in multilingual classrooms as a means to enhance inclusion and academic success. This is a highly relevant and timely topic, as it directly addresses critical issues related to equitable access to education, social justice, and the right to learn in a language that facilitates comprehension and engagement.

Innovation: The study presents findings from research conducted in Ghanaian primary schools, offering insights from an underexplored context in the existing literature. This focus is particularly valuable, as much of the current research on linguistically and culturally responsive teaching is centered on Western contexts, leaving a gap in understanding how these issues unfold in other (post-colonial) settings.

Literature review: The literature review is rigorous and well-structured, drawing on both seminal and recent research to support the authors’ claims. The bibliography is comprehensive, relevant, and up to date, demonstrating a strong awareness of current scholarship in the field.

Methodology: The chosen methodology, Educational Design Research, is well-suited to addressing the research questions. The research process is clearly articulated and well-documented, ensuring transparency and rigor. Additionally, the instruments for data collection are appropriate, aligning with the study’s objectives.

Takeaway: A key takeaway from the study is the development of bilingual Fante-English books, created by local teachers and students. These materials not only serve as valuable educational resources but also exemplify a participatory approach to curriculum development that empowers local minority speakers. Additionally, the study provides practical guidelines for designing such materials (as outlined in Section 3.4), which can be adapted and applied to other multilingual settings.

Arear for improvement

Participants’ profiles: The manuscript provides insufficient information about the linguistic and cultural backgrounds of the students and teachers involved in the study.

Selection of language exercises: The rationale behind the choice of language exercises requires further elaboration. How were the specific exercises (focused on vocabulary, morphological awareness, and reading comprehension) selected? Were they based on existing frameworks, empirical evidence, or specific learning needs identified in the study context? Why were these and not others selected?

Results: If data is available, it would be valuable to include information on the effects of the activities on parents’ attitudes toward the value of (their) minority languages. Understanding whether and how the bilingual materials influenced parental perceptions could provide important insights into the broader social impact of MTBE, given that parental support is a key factor in language maintenance and prestige.

Conclusion: The conclusions could be further developed by emphasizing the study’s implications for educational material design, particularly in the creation of bilingual resources. A discussion on how the findings can inform best practices in designing culturally and linguistically relevant materials would add depth to the conclusions. Additionally, it would be valuable to explore the study’s potential impact on education policy in Ghana, particularly regarding the integration of MTBE in primary education. Addressing how the research findings could influence classroom practices and teacher education would also strengthen the manuscript (e.g., discussing the role of teacher training in effectively integrating MTBE in their classrooms or how policymakers might support such initiatives).

I recommend that the authors address the above-mentioned points in their revision. I feel that these suggestions will strengthen the manuscript and contribute to its potential acceptance for publication.

Comments for author File: Comments.pdf

Comments on the Quality of English Language

Although the text is well-structured and organized, using academic English appropriately, the text contains minor language errors that should be corrected before publication. I have included specific suggestions in the attached document. Additionally, there are small inconsistencies in the formatting of in-text citations. Please ensure that citations follow a consistent style (e.g., using "the work by Qorro (2009)" instead of "the work by (Qorro, 2009)" when integrating the author’s name into the sentence). Furthermore, some acronyms (e.g., LOI and MTBE) are not defined upon their first use.

Author Response

Areas for improvement

Participants’ profiles: The manuscript provides insufficient information about the linguistic and cultural backgrounds of the students and teachers involved in the study. We have added the following under 3.1:

Ghana is a multilingual country in West-Africa, where around 73 indigenous African languages are spoken (Eberhard et al., 2024). The Central region is historically noted to be the first area to have had contact with the Europeans who visited the shores of Ghana, referred to as Gold Coast in those days. The contact influenced the later institutions and cultural adjustment that the indigenes had to live up to. The region is known for best schools in the country, however literacy rates are low. According to the 2010 Housing and Population Census, 78.2 % of the population above 11 years is literate (Ghana Statistical Service, 2013). Literacy levels are higher in urban than in rural localities for all Districts in the Central Region. The predominant occupation of its inhabitants is fishing, while other business activities like trading, tourism and public sector service are also reported. Fante is the language taught in schools in Central Region. Teachers and students selected for the study could speak both Fante and English.

 

Selection of language exercises: The rationale behind the choice of language exercises requires further elaboration. How were the specific exercises (focused on vocabulary, morphological awareness, and reading comprehension) selected? Were they based on existing frameworks, empirical evidence, or specific learning needs identified in the study context? Why were these and not others selected? We have explained this as follows:

All exercises were designed by an applied linguist, who used existing exercises which were freely available on educational platforms online, to inform the design.  

Results: If data is available, it would be valuable to include information on the effects of the activities on parents’ attitudes toward the value of (their) minority languages. Understanding whether and how the bilingual materials influenced parental perceptions could provide important insights into the broader social impact of MTBE, given that parental support is a key factor in language maintenance and prestige. Unfortunately, these data are not available.

Conclusion: The conclusions could be further developed by emphasizing the study’s implications for educational material design, particularly in the creation of bilingual resources. A discussion on how the findings can inform best practices in designing culturally and linguistically relevant materials would add depth to the conclusions. Additionally, it would be valuable to explore the study’s potential impact on education policy in Ghana, particularly regarding the integration of MTBE in primary education. Addressing how the research findings could influence classroom practices and teacher education would also strengthen the manuscript (e.g., discussing the role of teacher training in effectively integrating MTBE in their classrooms or how policymakers might support such initiatives).

We have addressed these concerns and have re-written our conclusion.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 3 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

This is a very timely and engaging article about MT instruction in Ghana, using local linguistic and human resources to produce teaching and learning materials (bottom-up approach). I would like to see the author critically reflect on the use of the concept MT (in MT instruction) when used to describe plurilingual speakers. Also: any bropback on the use of only MP in instruction, to be covered in the litterature review? 

About the empirical study, I just missed the chronological data: when were the different phases of the EDR framework implemented? Out of curiosity, would it be possible to reproduce one illustration of one of the books in section 4.1.4. A way forward, as I see it, could be to produce resources for teachers on how to use the bilingual textbooks more effectively (sort of guidelines). You refer to teacher education programs, but if they are not always possible to be implemented or attended by all teachers, such resources could be intersting.

Author Response

Reviewer 3

This is a very timely and engaging article about MT instruction in Ghana, using local linguistic and human resources to produce teaching and learning materials (bottom-up approach). I would like to see the author critically reflect on the use of the concept MT (in MT instruction) when used to describe plurilingual speakers. Also: any bropback on the use of only MP in instruction, to be covered in the litterature review? 

About the empirical study, I just missed the chronological data: when were the different phases of the EDR framework implemented? We have added the period for each phase to Figure 1 (in number of months). Out of curiosity, would it be possible to reproduce one illustration of one of the books in section 4.1.4. We have added two illustrations as figure 2 and figure 3.

A way forward, as I see it, could be to produce resources for teachers on how to use the bilingual textbooks more effectively (sort of guidelines). You refer to teacher education programs, but if they are not always possible to be implemented or attended by all teachers, such resources could be interesting. We have added the following (lines 661-665) new development, which wasn’t available during the writing of the first version of our manuscript:

Development of the teacher manual and follow-up teacher training is foreseen for 2025, whereby Ghana Education Service (GES) staff will be included in the training and distribution of the manual. An online repository will become available, where the teacher manual and best practice video’s will be freely accessible.