The learners of Zimasa Community School in Langa in the Western Cape are reaping the benefits of having teachers who are determined to improve the reading, writing and mathematical competencies of their charges.
Principal Mxolisi Njenjele said that when the Western Cape department of education conducted its literacy and numeracy skills report in 2005 the school did not do well.
Zimasa Community School is one of 16 schools participating in the Western Cape education department’s Language Transformation Programme. It offers mother-tongue tuition – in isiXhosa – up to grade six and completed its literacy assessments in isiXhosa.
In 2005 only 7,5% of its grade three learners obtained 50% or more in the literacy assessment. This has changed radically over the past three years. Last year, when the same group was assessed, 39,8% achieved 50% or higher. This achievement earned it an award from the Western Cape education department for improving its literacy results by 32,3 percentage points.
Njenjele said the poor result in 2005 prompted the team of teachers to act. They started following the reading procedures suggested by the department.
One of the first things the school did was to introduce a daily reading period of 30 minutes. From 8.10am to 8.40am children from grade one to grade nine read. During this time the learners in some classes read aloud, while in others they read on their own. There are also classes where the children work in groups: some groups read; others listen and ask questions.
“We discovered the children are having fun when they are given an opportunity to read. Each and every child was then given a reading book and obviously they were also helped by the parents and teachers,” says Njenjele. The school has classroom libraries to ensure children have access to reading books.
Njenjele says the attention given to reading has improved the comprehension and the speed with which the children are reading.
Stokwana Thamsanqa, who is a teacher at the school, said the school studied each learner to identify his or her barriers to learning. The school then informed the parents of the problems and how these affect their children’s education.
Njenjele says that former learners are also helping the children with their reading, while partnerships with NGOs in the area have also benefited learners.
The school’s teachers have also increased the time that children spend on writing. Teachers ensure they write in all learning areas.
The improvement in reading and the focus on writing, coupled with more oral work, has built confidence in learners. This confidence, says Njenjele, helps children to put even more effort into their reading and writing.