Abstract This paper presents a critical review of literature relating to language policy and literacy practices in education, with a particular focus on multilingual Kenya. Existing research on schooling in Kenya often draws attention to the use of languages that are distanced from students’ daily realities and localities. This article synthesises research on literacy practices in Kenyan primary classrooms to explicate the current language-in-education policy and practices, and, to discuss their impacts on literacy access and knowledge production in the classroom. We argue that Kenya’s language- in-education policy, which informs curricula and teaching, and is itself grounded in monoglossic orientations, inhibits students’ participation in knowledge production, and, thus, silences students’ voices, leading to epistemic exclusion of the often-marginalised rural students who have limited or no access to school language outside the classroom. We recommend adoption of home languages and legitimising translanguaging practices in multilingual classrooms as a possible remedy for literacy access, sustenance, and development.

中文翻译：

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多语言教室环境中未开发的交流资源：可能的替代方法

摘要本文对与教育中的语言政策和扫盲实践有关的文献进行了批判性的综述，尤其着眼于多语种肯尼亚。肯尼亚现有的学校教育研究通常会引起人们对语言使用的关注，这些语言与学生的日常生活和所在地区有所不同。本文综合了肯尼亚小学教室中扫盲实践的研究，以阐明当前的教育语言政策和实践，并讨论它们对教室中扫盲获取和知识生产的影响。我们认为，肯尼亚的语言教育政策为课程和教学提供了信息，并且其自身以单一语言取向为基础，抑制了学生参与知识生产，从而使学生的声音保持沉默，导致对经常被边缘化的农村学生进行认知排斥，这些学生在教室外无法或很少使用学校的语言。我们建议在多种语言的教室中采用母语和使翻译语言合法化，以此作为扫盲，养育和发展的一种可能的补救方法。