A seminar on the role of local languages in communication too place in Yaounde last Friday. Language is a medium of communication which permits exchange between people of the same language community. In Cameroon, apart from the official languages, (English and French) the first spoken language is the mother tongue. A recent experience with the teaching of the Kom language in the North West Region shows that the use of the mother tongue improves the performances of children because it is the first language that they master.

It is for this reason that a one-day seminar to reflect on the possibility of complementing indigenous languages and official languages in Cameroon's education system took place in Yaounde last Friday. The theme of the workshop was "Indigenous and Official Languages: Are they Complementary in Cameroon's Education system?".

Organised by the Ministry of Basic Education in partnership with the Cooperation and Cultural Activities Service of the French Embassy and the National Association of Cameroon Language Communities (NACLAC) the workshop brought together renowned professors in the area of language teaching and linguistics as well as members of the diplomatic corps.

The workshop was in line with the prolongation of activities to mark the International Francophonie Day. The aim of the workshop was to show the impact of a good command of mother tongue on a learner's successful school performance.

Speaking during the opening, the Minister of Basic Education, Haman Adama, said in the face of a huge diversity of national languages, the government intends to come up with a social and political consensus prior to the introduction of national languages in the formal system of education. Minister Haman Adama proposed the holding of a seminar in August on the eve of the opening of the next academic year. The date of the seminar is till to be announced.