Language and culture in a multilingual context: An overview at the education system in Mozambique

ABSTRACT

In the present text I intend to make a bibliographical review of the main issues related to education and to the teaching and learning process in Mozambique, in what respects general primary and secondary education. I am particularly interested in analyzing three issues, which I believe are crucial for formal schooling in Mozambique, namely: (a) The definition of a language policy; (b) Languages and the education system; and (c) Teaching and learning in a multilingual and pluricultural context. These three issues, which are widely discussed by scholars and the academia in the field of linguistics and sociolinguistics, must, in my opinion, contribute to a reflection on what needs to be changed or improved in the education system in Mozambique, so that school success is not utopia. I will use concepts such as multilingualism, plurilingualism, pluriculture and interculture, thus crossing the areas of linguistics, sociolinguistics and cultural anthropology, in order to try to ascertain from what perspective the texts I have chosen for my analysis (Menezes, 2013; Timbane, 2014; Henriksen, 2017; Noa, 2017) address the issue of education in Mozambique.

Keywords:
Language Policy; Multilingualism; Plurilingualism; Interculture and Education.