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04 January 2021 | Story Nonsindiso Qwabe | Photo Anja Aucamp
Dr Sekanse Ntsala

Lecturer in the School of Social Sciences and Language Education at the University of Free State, Dr Sekanse Ntsala, collaborated with colleagues from eight universities across South Africa to produce instructional reading strategies for Sesotho and isiZulu students in the Faculty of Education.

The project will see Dr Ntsala partner in the production of learning material in Sesotho and IsiZulu for Foundation and Intermediate phase lecturers, academics, and students. The project is centred in the Centre for African Language Teaching at the University of Johannesburg. 

Designing African language material is a progressive move 

He said there was a gap in the learning material currently being produced, as it was all produced in English, even for African languages. 

"The dilemma is that thus far, all the material that we use for teaching has been written in English. This means that lecturers have to rely on material written in English, and in some instances, they have to translate into the relevant African language. The challenge with translation is that the final product does not always come out the same. You find that even when lecturers have to compile study guides, they still have to rely on the same material. It's a challenge that affects even students themselves, as discussions and assessments have to be done in the African language in question."

He said rather than to translate the content that has been written in English, the collaboration will result in newly created material for Sesotho and IsiZulu.

The two languages were selected as pilot languages; Dr Ntsala said the aim of the project is to expand the creation of material to other languages in order to eliminate English as the main focus in teaching.

"The main rationale is that it's only fair that we have material that will be relevant to a particular language. The manner in which it is happening now is sort of degrading to other languages," he said.

Dr Ntsala said the material would be completed by the end of 2020 and would then go through the process of getting approval from the deaneries of the approved universities, as well as from the Department of Education.

"We are trying to ensure that every language gets recognition in classrooms. Having material that is language-specific is a step in the right direction to ensure that each language is given the respect it deserves."

News Archive

Deputy Minister leads a space science outreach programme in Bloemfontein
2014-02-28

The Deputy Minister of Science and Technology, Michael Masutha and Mandla Maseko– the first black South African expected to go into space in 2015 – will participate in a Space Science Outreach Programme at the University of the Free State on Saturday 1 March 2014.

The event, taking place at the Bloemfontein Campus, is part of an outreach programme to raise awareness about South Africa’s advances in space science and technology and its benefits to society.

Mr Maseko will share his exciting experiences in the Axe Apollo Space Academy competition, a challenging event that included skydiving, aptitude tests and building and launching a rocket with about 600 learners from the surrounding areas. The 25-year-old from Mabopane near Pretoria will become the first black astronaut when he goes into space on the Lynx Mark II Shuttle, next year.

The outreach event will include activities such as telescope making and rocket launching. Workshops demonstrating the benefits of space science in areas such as earth observations, scientific research and development and human capital development, will also be conducted.

Among others, the open day will feature exhibitions such as the project to build the world’s largest telescope, the Square Kilometre Array and the recent launch into space of the country’s micro-satellite – ZACUBE1 built by post-graduate students at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT).

Other exhibitors will include the Hartebeesthoek Radio Astronomy Observatory (HartRAO), the Agricultural Research Council, Denel Dynamics, the South African National Space Agency (SANSA) and the South African Weather Services (SAWS).

Officials from the provincial Department of Basic Education are also expected to attend.

Journalists are invited to the outreach

Venue: Economics Building, University of the Free State
Date: Saturday 1 March 2014
Time: 08:00

For more information, contact Veronica Mohapeloa at +27(0)82 882 3818 or +27(0)12 843 6788 or email veronica.mohapeloa@dst.gov.za OR David Mandaha at +27(0)72 126 8910 or david.mandaha@dst.gov.za

 

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