Oranjekloof Moravian Primary was formerly a school for the children of low income workers in the Hout Bay valley, and teachers are mainly Afrikaans speaking. During the past 15 years, more and more Xhosa learners from the nearby
Imizama Yethu informal settlement have enrolled, and parents have asked for tuition in English. This is a big challenge for Afrikaans speaking teachers, when the home language of their pupils is Xhosa!
Not surprisingly this school was chosen as one of 16 pilot schools for the Western Cape Education Department’s “Language Transformation Plan”. The Rotary Club of Hout Bay sponsored Literacy for All training, as well as Kagiso Readers for the school.
The school is also fortunate to have a benefactor who sponsors nine “Teaching Assistants” with matric certificates who assist the teachers in the classrooms.
In July 2008 the benefactor commissioned Literacy for All to give a week’s training to the Teaching Assistants, teaching them how to teach reading. The benefits were so marked that the school asked for a further two days training which took place in January.
Feedback from the Teachers Assistants (translated from isiXhosa.)
• At our workshop we found difficult words so we could help learners to understand them. We learned about different books. We enjoyed it very much. Zodwa
• We learned so much about teaching children about books. We learned that to have different answers can also be right. We learned to use books and tell stories. Thuliswa
• This workshop has made me feel empowered to take it back to the learners. We understand the things that Barbara does with us. Mzwandile
• In this workshop we learned how to introduce learners to books and how to tell them about the books. We learned how to help learners with new words which they may find difficult. We want to learn more. Linda
• We ask that Barbara comes back. She teaches us patience with children. She showed us how there are stages in learning. They must practice to be able to write. Kuthala
• The workshop and Barbara make difficult work easy. We practiced speaking and listening. We also had an opportunity to practice learning to write. Today we learned about different kinds of books. The workshop was good. Monwabisi
