We need our children to grow in many directions, to read as much as possible, and to really understand what they are reading.
Setswana author Helen Kgobane remembers growing up with her grandmothers telling her stories about ancient African rulers around the fire. She speaks fondly of the importance of oral storytelling and how this is part of a proud African tradition. She worries that, in our modern age, it is falling by the wayside.
IsiZulu author and illustrator Themba Maboso agrees. He is passionate about promoting local voices and contexts. “African children can’t see themselves in stories like Cinderella,” he believes.
There is increasing research that backs up the view that children learn to read better and faster when they hear and see words in their home language. It also helps in learning additional languages and has a range of other improved educational outcomes: dropout rates are addressed, classroom engagement picks up and learning ability is strengthened.
At present, young African language-speaking learners learn in their mother tongue until grade three, after which they must switch to English, which becomes the language of instruction for the rest of their schooling.
But literacy levels in South Africa are alarmingly low. It is estimated that 81% of grade four learners don’t understand what they are reading. Various plans, government initiatives and programmes are attempting to boost literacy. However, teacher shortages, limited resources and overcrowded classrooms hamper efforts. More help is needed.
One solution lies in South Africa’s fascinating cultural heritage. There are so many traditional stories filled with powerful characters and moral lessons that date back centuries, captured in each of the country’s main languages — isiZulu, isiXhosa, isiNdebele, Sepedi, Sesotho, Setswana, siSwati, Tshivenda, Xitsonga and Afrikaans.
But classrooms often have children of different cultural backgrounds and who speak diverse languages. How can a Sepedi teacher in an isiZulu classroom with some isiXhosa-speaking learners help each child in their first language?
This is a serious problem for many teachers, as was seen at the recent 2024 Literacy Association of South Africa (Litasa) Conference. A snap poll among teachers, asking them about decolonising literacy practices, revealed that the majority felt insufficient teacher training and a lack of culturally relevant material were concerns. When asked about ways of promoting early literacy among children, the teachers overwhelmingly voted for storybook reading.
They also said introducing technology in early literacy programmes could significantly support teacher efforts. These could include books and story guides with audio files or apps on tablets via which children could access stories in their own languages. Such early readers and audiobooks can be helpful as there is a well-known lack of suitable reading materials in African languages. This has caused some local teachers to write their own stories for their learners.
At the Litasa conference, author Sikhumbuzo Sibanda noted that the department of education and its partners — the British Council and African Storybook.org — had recently produced 30 stories and translated them into 11 languages.
In addition, Oxford University Press had commissioned and published readers in isiXhosa, isiZulu, Sepedi, Sesotho, Afrikaans and Setswana. These stories feature local characters in recognisable contexts, such as Lelo and Mama Africa who must save the stories of the world by charging the Umthombo, the well of stories.
Unfortunately, there is a misconception among many parents in South Africa that children should learn to speak and read English early on. These parents believe, as most of their schooling will be in English, they are giving their children a head start by enrolling them in English-speaking pre-primary schools and early-childhood development (ECD) centres.
In addition, many parents cannot afford to send their children to ECDs. This is problematic as research shows children need pre-reading skills established in early childhood education before formal schooling begins. This should ideally be done in the home language.
It involves reading with children and telling them stories to increase phonic awareness — the sounds of words. Among the games that can be played are rhyming riddles, sounding out words and tongue twisters. Once children understand how letters work and make words, they can become more fluent and learn vocabulary. Then they are ready to learn how to read.
For parents without books, what about telling the stories they heard as a child? The ancient stories about Kenkebe, for example, which teaches about sharing and the danger of greed. Or the beautiful Zulu tale of Kulume, the last of the seven sons, and how he discovers his voice and brings joy to his grief-stricken father.
As Afrikaans author Troula Goosen says: “Your home language is where your roots are. When your roots are strong, then you can grow in different directions.”
We need our children to grow in many directions, to read as much as possible, and to really understand what they are reading. Our wonderful heritage, and our many stories and ancient folklore, provide teachers with an affordable and accessible way to address our literacy crisis.
Lucia Ndabula is the national education manager at Oxford University Press South Africa.