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Abstract

Many studies have been done on language and literacy development in other parts of the world; however, there is a paucity of research focusing on African children learning to read and write. Therefore, this project comes in handy to fill this research gap. This introduction, among other things, discusses the language and education situation in Kenya. Kenya is a postcolonial country whose present language policy is an extension of language policies set in motion during the colonial time. English has continued to flourish in Kenyan schools and society in general at the expense of the local languages. This chapter also discusses the sociocultural and dialogic theories which guided this project. According to the two theories, language and literacy develop out of interacting with other people.

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Lisanza, E.M. (2020). Introduction. In: The Multivoices of Kenyan Primary School Children Learning to Read and Write. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-38110-3_1

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