Cape Coast, June 8, GNA – The Reverend Dorcas Annam, the Superintendent Minister in charge of the Evangelical Methodist Church of Christ in Cape Coast, has encouraged parents to speak the local Ghanaian languages with their children to help them appreciate the country’s indigenous cultures at an early age.
“Our children must be made to cultivate, understand and appreciate their languages. They must also know where they come from to enable them to grow to appreciate it,” she said.
Rev Annam was speaking at the launch of the 2022 Oguaa Fetu Afahye of the chiefs and the people of Cape Coast.
This year’s festival is on the theme: “Making Cape Coast Great Again; Through Education, Tourism and Development”, aimed at restoring the ancient city’s cultural heritage, education and development.
Rev Annam said the right type of language as the medium of instruction in the schools had become a thorny issue and that research suggested that children taught in their mother tongues tended to grasp concepts faster than when taught in other languages.
She said the English Language was good, but children could not learn that alone to the detriment of their mother tongue.
There were just marginal differences among the arts and cultures and by learning the local language at a tender age, the young ones would appreciate the nuances and contribute their quota to promote Ghana’s domestic tourism, she said.
“It is good to promote tourism among Ghanaians, domestically, because it helps us to know so many things, and these young people will get to know Ghana better to foster national unity and development.
“How can a student become relevant to the community if he or she cannot communicate in his or her language. How do you claim you are educated if you cannot speak your mother tongue,” she queried.
Touching on some good parenting traits, Mrs Annam commended parents who endeavoured to provide the needs of their children adding; “That way, your children will take care of you in your old age.
she expressed regret over the current challenges of poverty, cultural shift, spiritual neglect, abuse, instability of the home, economic and peer pressure, media and technology, which had made parenting the most challenging tasks in recent times.
GNA