An offline AI-assisted mobile app to help Senegalese teachers improve their French

While French is the primary language in Senegalese schools, a significant proportion of the country's 127,700 primary and secondary school teachers have not mastered the language to a professional level (World Bank Group, 2024). This issue is particularly challenging for newly-qualified teachers, those working in rural areas or with limited access to introductory or continuous training programs (PASEC, 2019).

According to a study conducted by the project team in 2023, only 4.4% of Senegalese teachers speak French as their first language, and barely 20% actually use it to teach in the classroom. Many teachers find training programs hard to come by, expensive, infrequent, and difficult to continue over the long term (IFADEM, 2016).

This situation is critical, as the quality of language used in the classroom directly affects teachers' ability to give clear instructions, their confidence, and ultimately, student performance. Research has shown a strong correlation between proficiency in the language of instruction and teaching self-efficacy (Wang, 2021), with insufficient language skills disproportionately affecting non-native French-speaking students and those from disadvantaged backgrounds (UNESCO, 2016; World BankGroup, 2021).

Karibu Prof has been adapted from Karibu, a mobile app launched by Libraries Without Borders (BSF) in 2022 to teach basic French language skills, and used by more than 20,000 learners across Africa and Europe. The app deployed in Senegal builds on the existing architecture and artificial intelligence platform, while adding teaching content and tailoring the user experience to Senegalese teachers' needs.

This personalized mobile app can be used offline, making it particularly suited to rural areas with limited internet access. It includes exercises aligned with the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), a proficiency test covering levels A2 through to B2, detailed AI feedback, and gamification features (including badges, progress charts and level certification) to promote long-term engagement.

In 2024, AFD financed a trial for a prototype with 30 teachers in Dakar and Thiès. This project therefore aims to test the improved app with 250 primary and secondary school teachers across several regional education authorities (Dakar, Thiès and Saint-Louis), selected in collaboration with the Ministry of National Education. The project will focus on three main activities over 16 months: content adaptation and AI optimization; roll-out and support for teachers; and a pilot evaluation to assess the app's impact on French language skills and teaching practices.

Financed by FID, this project will trial Karibu Prof on a larger scale, among 250 teachers from various regional education authorities selected with the Ministry of National Education (Dakar, Thiès and Saint-Louis) to cover a broad range of urban, suburban, and rural areas. The goal is to pilot the expanded and improved app, validate its operational viability, and assess its impact.

The project will test several improvements made to the prototype trialed in 2024, including:

• Improved teaching content: with more varied exercises, tailored to the school system in Senegal, with more detailed AI feedback.
• Optimized user experience: with a local saving function and writing exercises better suited to smartphones.
• Improved support to encourage long-term engagement: gamification with badges, level certification, and progress charts.

The evaluation will include both quantitative and qualitative data, with randomized controlled trials, questionnaires, and interviews, to assess language skills development, actual use of the platform, and teachers' confidence in their teaching practices.