POLOKWANE – With 11 official languages to South Africa’s name, most schools in the country only offer Afrikaans, English and Zulu as a first additional language (FAL).
However, Mitchell House recently decided to add Sepedi as another option for learners.
According to the Department of Education, a first additional language assumes that learners do not necessarily have any knowledge of the language when they arrive at school.
The curriculum starts by developing learners’ ability to understand and speak the language. On this foundation, it builds literacy.
Learners are then able to transfer the literacies they have acquired in their home language to their FAL. The curriculum provides strong support for learners who will use their FAL as a language of learning and teaching.
By the end of Gr 9, learners should be able to use their home language and FAL effectively and with confidence for a variety of purposes, including learning.
Review spoke exclusively to Andrew Cook, headmaster of Mitchell House, who said that after considerate consultation, the decision to introduce Sepedi as an alternative FAL option for its learners was made. Sepedi was introduced into the Junior Phase at the beginning of 2015 and will become a FAL option for Grade 8, 9 and 10 in the college next year. “We are delighted to have attracted Maite Mokoka, one of the most experienced and expert Sepedi teachers to establish Sepedi as a FAL at Mitchell House,” Cook said.
Cook said this comes after encouragement by department to introduce indigenous languages in schools and although Sepedi is not as commonly taught in South Africa as Afrikaans is, it is the most widely spoken language in Limpopo.
“The diversification of the Mitchell House language policy has been welcomed by both those parents whose children will opt for Sepedi, and those who will continue studying Afrikaans,” Cook explained.
