According to Independent Education Today, mother tongue education improves learning abilities in adolescents. On 21 February, we celebrate International Mother Language Day and discover how learning in one’s mother tongue impacts the cognitive abilities of South Africa’s youth.
A mother language is the first language a baby is taught, hears and speaks. Cognitive and intellectual development is faster for children who learn in their mother language and higher rate of educational success is linked to learning in one’s mother tongue.
“In a study conducted by the Department of Education titled: Systematic Evaluation – Foundation Phase, it was determined that 75% of learners that took assessments in their mother tongue obtained significantly higher scores than fellow learners who had to respond to the assessment tasks in their second or third language,” says Kgosi Kgosi from Roundafire, a digital children’s literacy solution.
The main subjects taught at primary school level namely Literacy, Numeracy and Life-skills, are most frequently being taught in English and Afrikaans. African languages need to be developed as academic and scientific languages before it can be used in the schooling system, and for teachers to be able to effectively teach in these languages.
Kgosi Kgosi, a local entrepreneur, whose innovation is incubated at The Innovation Hub’s Maxum Business Incubator, has created an app to help children learn in their mother tongue, improving cognitive learning abilities
“Seventy-eight percent of our population is illiterate. We aim to solve this, by delivering interactive stories to children in their mother tongue,” says Kgosi.
Roundafire: A mother tongue reading app
“Research shows that interactive reading and learning increases motivation by 67% and comprehension by 76%. Our goal is to help increase mother tongue literacy and encourage more mother tongue reading in our children. To have children read content they can relate to and help in the country’s efforts to establish a culture of reading among our youth,” he adds.
“Now more than ever during the COVID-19 pandemic, it is important that we focus on at-home learning. Learning in your mother tongue connects you to your community – it’s proven to boost confidence, students enjoy school more, and parents are more involved in the schooling process,” says Advocate Pieter Holl, CEO of The Innovation Hub. “It is, therefore, important that we support initiatives such as Roundafire, that help future generations better understand educational materials, increasing the country’s literacy rate,” he concludes.
For more information on The Innovation Hub and its business incubators, please contact Linah Nematandani at lnematandani@theinnovationhub.com | (+27) 12 8440030/ (+27) 71 673 9964 or visit www.theinnovationhub.com.
The Innovation Hub- “#We guide today so that you can build tomorrow”.
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About the Innovation Hub
The Innovation Hub, a subsidiary of the Gauteng Growth and Development Agency (GGDA) is the innovation agency of the Gauteng province and is responsible for managing Africa’s first internationally accredited Science and Technology Park of the same name, and is a full member of the International Association of Science Parks (IASP). Strategically located in Tshwane, South Africa's executive capital in the ‘smart’ province of Gauteng, The Innovation Hub implements initiatives identified in the Gauteng Innovation Strategy and Green Economy strategy to advance the economic development and growth of the Province through innovation. The Innovation Hub has created unique spaces, in Tshwane and the rest of the Gauteng province, for high-tech entrepreneurs, world-class businesses, academics, researchers and venture capitalists to meet, network and prosper.
