Mother tongue teachers have found a new revenue stream; children and adults seeking to learn vernacular languages. From holiday language boot camps to paid storytelling sessions and weekend online classes, these tutors are hired mostly by millennials who want their children to learn Kikuyu, Luo, Kalenjin, Luhya, Kisii, among other languages, or by adults who want to master these languages.
Growing up, the older generations could speak, read, and talk in their mother tongue, as the school curriculum included these classes early on. But today, very few Gen Zs can speak their mother tongue fluently, and even fewer Gen Alphas can say simple greetings.