BTL course aims to improve pupil literacy

THE Molteno Institute for Language and Literacy is tackling the country’s reading crisis head-on through Breakthrough to Literacy (BTL), a course for grades 1 to 3, teaching pupils to read with comprehension.

South Africa was placed last out of 50 countries in the recently released Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS). The study found that eight out of 10 Grade 4 pupils could not read and then comprehend what they read.

Molteno Institute for Language and Literacy chief executive Masennya Dikotla said BTL was the institute’s flagship programme and was highly effective in developing children’s vocabulary and phonology.

“BTL teaches children to read through various methods, including but not limited to, phonic decoding and look-and-say strategies,” Dikotla said.

“The phonic decoding involves children reading a full sentence, then breaking the sentence into words, and then syllables and sounds.

“The look-and-say strategies involve children describing what they see on a conversation poster orally and then the teacher guiding them to write what they have described.”

BTL is available in all 11 official languages. It is also assisting teachers develop knowledge and skills in initial literacy teaching and in pupil-centred classroom management, which are transferable to other areas of the curriculum.

Molteno is a non-profit language and literacy organisation that was established in 1974.

Its mission is to change our world by developing literacy through teaching and learning materials, as well as providing institutional training and classroom mentoring to developing communities in Africa.

Dikotla said BTL and all Molteno’s other materials complied with the Department of Basic Education’s curriculum requirements.

“BTL is a very effective literacy methodology that responds to curriculum and educational contexts, ensuring that it achieves results with the children, who learn to read and write freely within the first year of schooling,” he said.

“A major aspect of the programme’s success is that it provides teacher training and follow-up support in the classroom. We support teachers by helping them address their challenges.

“This provides them with necessary skills to successfully empower children with literacy, even in crowded and under-resourced classrooms.”