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Using language and education to make a difference

Luis Humberto Pereira is a teacher at Taxilla Secondary School and is fluent in nearly 10 languages.

POLOKWANE – For Luis, teaching is a noble profession as it implements the knowledge of people on a certain subject and shares it with children so they can grow into responsible adults and assets in the community.

The 27-year-old is a teacher at Taxila Secondary School where he teaches subjects such as social sciences, history, geography and life orientation.

“I am originally from Johannesburg but have been living in Polokwane for a long time. I completed my B.Ed senior phase for further education and training (FET) studies through the University of Limpopo in 2013 and the following year I began working at Taxila,” he said.

Luis, popularly known as ‘lekgowa’, is fluent in nearly 10 languages, including international languages.

“Growing up I was always surrounded by a variety of different cultures who speak different languages and follow different religions.

I currently speak an array of languages including Sepedi, Sesotho, SiSwati, IsiZulu, IsiXhosa and Xitsonga.

“My father is Portuguese and my mother is Italian and I can speak a little of both. I would love for my children to also be multilingual as it will help them to communicate with other people irrespective of their different cultures and races” he added.

Being fluent in so many languages, he explained, is also helpful when working with children who do not really understand English.

“By being able to speak in a language the children understand has made teaching them a lot easier as I can help them understand English terms by translating them into their mother tongue which makes learning more fun for them”

Luis explained that working in the media industry at a local radio station several years ago afforded him the opportunity to enhance his fluency in different languages and form a stronger bond with his colleagues and the community he lives in.

“Being multilingual in a society such as Polokwane is highly beneficial as the city is currently experiencing an influx of people from different cultural and language backgrounds such as Zimbabwe, Zambia, Italy, France and so on.

“This gives you the opportunity to be able to communicate with them and learn more about their cultures and heritage” he concluded.

reporter29@nmgroup.co.za

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