Speaker
Description
Inyang, G. W.
college of Education, Afaha nsit
gloriainyang8265@gmail.com
Track: Digital Pedagogy and Teaching Innovation
Across Africa, more than 2,000 indigenous languages coexist with colonial languages that continue to dominate formal education. This linguistic mismatch limits learner participation, reinforces teacher-centered instruction, and constrains meaningful learning. This study examines how digital pedagogy, integrated with translation and localisation, can support learner-centered classrooms across African contexts. A qualitative multiple-case study design was employed, drawing on data from three digital education initiatives implemented in Nigeria, Kenya, and South Africa between 2023 and 2025. The findings identify three major innovations: AI-assisted, community-validated translation of learning materials into local languages; multilingual mobile and offline learning platforms that improve access in low-connectivity environments; and the co-creation of Open Educational Resources with local educators to ensure cultural and linguistic relevance. Across the cases, learners who accessed instructional content in familiar languages through accessible digital tools demonstrated greater participation, improved comprehension, and stronger learner agency. However, the study also identifies persistent barriers, including the digital divide, uneven machine translation quality for many African languages, and limited teacher capacity to integrate digital technologies effectively. The paper concludes that digital innovation promotes educational inclusion only when technologies are intentionally designed around learners' linguistic, cultural, and contextual realities, and recommends greater investment in multilingual digital infrastructure, teacher professional development, and locally driven educational technologies.
Keywords: Digital pedagogy, translation, localisation, learner-centered education, multilingual education, Africa, educational technology.