Est. 1996

Ndigbo!

 

Which ever way you look at it, those of us who were born here in the Diaspora have English as their first language, their mother tongue. A large proportion of us, through school, have learned a second language such as french, spanish or even Mandarin. But many of us and our children do not have the privilege of learning and mastering our native language like our parents did. I have a saying that sticks out in my mind: “You will never know who you truly are until you learn the language of your ancestors”. I believe one of the truly life enhancing gifts we can give our kids is the opportunity, space and time to learn, develop and master the beautiful language of IGBO. And, Oh my, is Igbo a beautiful language. the nuances, expressions, idioms and tonation steeped in rich history and culture over a thousand years. language isn’t just academic, its the stuff of life, the vocal expression of ancestral love, pain, struggle, hope and community wrapped in history.

In the past, we have tried to teach our children igbo by getting them to identify and remember key words, labels and phrases. The problem with this approach is three-fold:

​

Firstly, we miss out two core elements of language teaching - linguistics and grammar. We should be asking questions like, How is mastering the Igbo alphabet important? How can words be pronounced properly and used in the right context? How does the nuance of a phrase or sentence correctly express the appropriate thought?

​

Secondly, Once classes are complete, there are no followup classes to provide deeper learning experiences and outcomes. The journey of learning Igbo in all it’s glory lasts a life time and it should not stop with just one set of classes. This is a journey that we as a community, are responsible for helping our kids go through this extraordinary journey.

​

Thirdly, What ever happened to teaching Igbo history and culture to augment the experience of learning Igbo language? Our rich language, history and culture are all interwind and inseparable, thus the experience of learning one of these elements must accompany the experience of learning the others to create a richer, deeper and fuller experience of being Igbo.

​

To that end, Igbo Community Association in the Midlands (ICAM), have created Midlands Igbo School. This School will develop and deliver a series of carefully designed 6 week courses from grade 1 to grade 7. The expectation is that willing students will learn Igbo in a structured environment graduating from one grade to the next, all the whilst increasing their proficiency, competency and ultimately confidence in Igbo language.

​

Thank You.