Chinua Achebe

Achebe's literary works—especially "Things Fall Apart"—seek to reclaim African stories from colonial narratives that traditionally distorted or erased African histories and cultures. He believed in helping learners see themselves reflected in the curriculum and countering colonial stereotypes.

Achebe deliberately crafted "Things Fall Apart" as a response to European representations of Africa, particularly Joseph Conrad's "Heart of Darkness" and Joyce Cary's "Mister Johnson." His novel presents Igbo society as complex and sophisticated with its own systems of justice, religion, and social organisation before colonial disruption.

Key implications for academic literacy:

• Reclaiming African stories from colonial distortions
• Providing counter-narratives to colonial historiography
• Helping learners see themselves in the curriculum
• Challenging Eurocentric perspectives in education

This approach transforms academic literacy from mere skill acquisition to a process of cultural reclamation and identity formation. Achebe's narrative strategy demonstrates how literature can serve as both historical documentation and cultural rehabilitation.

"Until the lions have their own historians, the history of the hunt will always glorify the hunter." — African proverb often cited by Achebe

Achebe famously chose to write in English, justifying this as a pragmatic step to reach both African and international audiences, and to reshape English for African realities. He advocated for a form of English that carries African imagery, idioms, and rhythms.

In his essay "The African Writer and the English Language," Achebe argued that English could become "a new English, still in communion with its ancestral home but altered to suit its new African surroundings." He demonstrated this through his literary style, which incorporated Igbo proverbs, speech patterns, and conceptual frameworks.

Achebe's approach to English:

• Pragmatic use for wider communication while maintaining cultural authenticity
• Africanisation of English through local idioms and proverbial language
• Infusing English with African imagery and rhythms
• Making the language serve African expressive needs rather than imperial purposes

Educational applications:

• Developing locally relevant English language materials that reflect African experiences
• Valuing code-switching and hybrid language forms as legitimate communication
• Recognising the legitimacy of African varieties of English (such as Nigerian English)
• Using literature to teach language in cultural context rather than as abstract rules

"I feel that the English language will be able to carry the weight of my African experience. But it will have to be a new English, still in full communion with its ancestral home but altered to suit its new African surroundings." — Achebe, "The African Writer and the English Language"

Achebe's novels often explore the transition from oral to literate societies. This foregrounds two important elements of academic literacy: the importance of orality (community storytelling, wisdom, values) and the necessity of mastering literacy for participation in modern society.

Achebe masterfully incorporated elements of Igbo oral tradition into his written works. His novels are replete with proverbs, folk tales, and the rhythmic patterns of African speech. In "Things Fall Apart," he includes over 40 distinct proverbs, demonstrating how oral wisdom functions as a system of knowledge transmission and social regulation.

Key aspects of this bridge:

• Valuing oral traditions as legitimate knowledge sources with their own epistemological value
• Incorporating proverbs and storytelling techniques into formal education极
• Recognising the complementary nature of oral and written traditions rather than hierarchical
• Developing literacy without erasing oral cultural heritage

Transformative outcomes:

• Enriches academic literacy with cultural depth and multiple ways of knowing
• Makes education more inclusive of traditional knowledge systems
• Creates continuity between home/community and school learning experiences
• Develops multiple literacies rather than replacing one with another

"Among the Igbo the art of conversation is regarded very highly, and proverbs are the palm oil with which words are eaten." — Achebe, "Things Fall Apart"

Achebe's philosophy champions an academic literacy that empowers learners to interrogate inherited knowledge, reclaim their own narratives, and use language as a vehicle for self-expression, social critique, and cultural affirmation.

Achebe saw education as a means of cultural rehabilitation. He argued that colonialism had damaged African self-perception through what he termed "the disaster of the crossed races," creating psychological confusion that needed addressing through culturally affirming education.

Key strategies for cultural affirmation:

• Centring African perspectives and worldviews in curriculum design
• Validating indigenous knowledge systems as equally valuable to Western knowledge
• Developing critical literacy about colonial histories and their contemporary impacts
• Fostering pride in cultural heritage alongside development of academic skills

Benefits for academic literacy:

• Creates personal connection and relevance learning materials
• Develops critical thinking about power, representation, and knowledge production
• Builds confidence in students' cultural identity as foundation for learning
• Prepares students to engage globally without cultural surrender or inferiority complex

"The worst thing that can happen to any people is the loss of their dignity and self-respect. The writer's duty is to help them regain it by showing them in human terms what happened to them, what they lost." — Achebe

Achebe's insistence on using English in a localised, Africanised way shows that language itself can be decolonised—not necessarily by abandoning colonial languages altogether, but by reshaping them to serve local realities and express indigenous values.

Achebe practised what postcolonial theorists would later call "writing back to the centre" — using the coloniser's language to challenge colonial narratives and assert agency. His approach was neither wholesale rejection of English nor uncritical adoption, but a creative transformation that made the language serve African purposes.

Decolonising approaches:

• Infusing English with African linguistic patterns and speech rhythms
• Incorporating local metaphors, imagery, and conceptual frameworks
• Creating new vocabulary and expressions for uniquely African concepts
• Subverting colonial language for anti-colonial and postcolonial purposes

Classroom applications:

• Using African literature as primary texts in language instruction
• Encouraging students to incorporate their linguistic heritage in academic work
• Teaching critical awareness of language politics and power dynamics
• Validating hybrid language practices as legitimate forms of communication

"The price a world language must be prepared to pay is submission to many different kinds of use." — Achebe