Teaching Indigenous Knowledge System to Revitalize and Maintain Vulnerable Aspects of Indigenous Nigerian Languages’ Vocabulary:The Igbo Language Example

The Igbo language curriculum for pupils and students at the primary and secondary levels shows no provision for the teaching of any aspects of Igbo indigenous knowledge systems and this is resulting in the attrition and atrophy of vocabulary items associated with such knowledge systems,especially in the speech of primary and secondary students in urban and semi-urban areas of Igbo speech communities where the practices of the knowledge systems are quite remote.This paper examines the benefits derivable from integrating indigenous Igbo knowledge systems into the Igbo language curriculum(through comprehension passages,practical discussions,excursions,audio-visual materials,dramatization,etc.)for both the senior primary pupils and the secondary school students of Igbo origin in south-eastern Nigeria.The data presented in the study were collected through interviews from selected respondents.The study notes that integrating indigenous Igbo knowledge systems into the Igbo language curriculum of both pupils and students will afford pupils/students the opportunities to:(i)learn the indigenous Igbo knowledge systems and positive attitudes/values embedded in them(ii)learn through the Igbo culture(iii)learn across generations(iv)learn from the‘known’in the Igbo culture to the‘unknown’(v)learn outside the classroom.The paper further highlights sample vocabulary items associated with some indigenous Igbo knowledge systems which students/pupils can learn and familiarize themselves with in contextual usage.The paper concludes that learning through the teaching of the indigenous Igbo knowledge systems will enhance the revitalization,preservation and maintenance of the Igbo language and culture and also encourage intergenerational transfer of the language.