Section 5: Supporting additional language learning · Web viewNevertheless, there are ways to get your pupils talking and writing to those who are more fluent in the additional language

Section 5: Supporting additional language learning

TESSA_RSA Primary Literacy


Page 2 of 27 23rd September 2016

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Contents Section 5: Supporting additional language

learning 1. Focus on everyday language 2. Writing letters 3. Creating books Resource 1: Pen-pals Resource 2: Writing letters Resource 3: Assessing pen-pal letters Resource 4: Songs and stories about

processes





Section 5: Supporting additional language learningKey Focus Question: How can you build supportive

relationships in the additional language?

Keywords: personal communication; pen-pals; sharing local

information

Learning OutcomesBy the end of this section, you will have:

begun developing relationships between pupils that

support their learning in the additional language and

help them reflect on their own learning;

provided opportunities for pupils to communicate with

proficient or mother-tongue speakers of the additional

language;

set up opportunities for communication with pupils

beyond your school.

IntroductionMany pupils in Africa have few opportunities to interact with

mother-tongue speakers of the additional language. Often,





exposure to the language has to come through reading, listening to

the radio or watching the TV.

Nevertheless, there are ways to get your pupils talking and writing

to those who are more fluent in the additional language. You may

also be able to help your pupils communicate, in the additional

language, with pupils in another school.

This section looks at ways to do this.

1. Focus on everyday languageFor people who learn language in a formal classroom, the phrases

people use every day to interact with one another are often the last

things that they learn.

There are ways to help your pupils to gain proficiency in phrases

and sentences that they can use when they meet proficient

speakers of the additional language. Each set of phrases or

sentences should:

be short and easy to learn;

say something that the pupils need and want to say;

be usable with a lot of people;

allow the pupils to start a conversation and build a

relationship;





allow the pupils to learn more about the language from

the person they are talking to;

not provoke long responses from the other person.

Case Study 1: Learning isiZulu through relationshipsLiz Botha in East London, South Africa, was learning isiZulu as an

additional language through a local language project called TALK.

The motto of the TALK project was, ‘Learn a little, and use it a

LOT!’

She started by learning how to greet in isiZulu, and to tell people

that she was learning isiZulu. She also learned to ask them to

speak to her in isiZulu and help her with her language learning.

She looked for people to whom she could speak isiZulu, and found

that there were a number of isiZulu-speaking hawkers selling fruit

and vegetables in the streets near her home. She practised her

sentences with them, and started to get to know them. She had a

friend who taught her new phrases, and she found out, from her,

how to ask for the price of something, and buy it. These were the

sentences she used the next time she saw her hawker friends.

As time went by, she learned to tell them about herself and her

family. Later, she told them short stories about what had happened





to her the day before, or at the weekend. One of the hawkers,

named Jabu, became a very special friend of hers, and taught her

many new words and sentences. He eventually became involved

in helping other people to learn isiZulu within the TALK project.

Activity 1: Building language learning relationshipsAsk your pupils where they hear the additional language spoken.

Who do they know who speaks it well? Who could they speak to in

the additional language? Consider individuals outside and inside

school, and also people that you could invite to your classroom.

Consider a partnership with another school nearby, if it could

promote interaction in the additional language.

Now that your pupils know who they want to speak to, work out

what they would like to say to them.

Systematically, as a long-term project, help them to learn

vocabulary. Concentrate on clear sounds and pronunciation. Let

them practise in pairs.

Ideas for basic things to learn include:

greetings and leave-taking;

giving and asking names, and personal/family

information;





explaining that they are learners of the language and

want help with learning more;

buying things;

talking about the weather;

saying what happened yesterday;

apologising, requesting, complimenting, etc.

Encourage them to practise with the people they decided on

(above).

Spend some time each week asking about their progress.

What successes and difficulties have they had?

What new language have they learned?

What else have they learned?

2. Writing lettersIn this part, we suggest that you motivate your pupils to write

letters in the additional language. This could mean setting up long-

distance relationships with speakers of the additional language, or

they could write to friends who are closer.

You could introduce a pen-pal scheme (see Resource 1: Pen-pals) with another class. This can be a class in your country or in

another country. Page 9 of 27 23rd September 2016




If pupils become confident writers and readers of letters while they

are at primary school, they are more likely to be successful writers

of letters later in life. As they write personal letters to friends, you

can also introduce other styles of letter writing. This will equip them

for later needs, such as applying for bursaries or jobs, letters to

newspapers, letters of congratulation or condolence.

Case Study 2: Writing to console or complainThe pupils in Mrs Linda Shiceka’s Grade 5 class were upset and

couldn’t concentrate on their schoolwork. One of their classmates,

Mandisa, had been killed in a bus crash. They missed their friend

very much. They were also angry because they had heard that the

bus had faulty brakes.

Mrs Shiceka encouraged the pupils to talk about how they were

feeling. She realised that they wanted to do something, so she

asked if they would like to write to Mandisa’s family. She

suggested that they write two letters: one in isiXhosa for her

parents and grandparents and one in English for her brother and

sister who had grown up in London. The pupils said that they

wanted to tell Mandisa’s family members that they were thinking

about them and also tell them all the good things about Mandisa.

Mrs Shiceka helped them with an outline for their writing. The

pupils wrote individual letters in isiXhosa. In the next lesson, Mrs





Shiceka helped them to write one letter from the whole class in

English and then each pupil signed it.

With Mrs Shiceka’s help, they also wrote a letter in English to the

bus company, requesting that all the buses be carefully checked to

make sure they were roadworthy.

The class received replies to both the letters they had written. Mrs

Shiceka pinned these letters to the class notice board.

Mrs Shiceka realised how this had motivated her pupils and given

them important social skills. It had also helped them see the

purpose of learning the additional language.

Activity 2: A letter to a friend or penRead Resource 1 first, and set up your partner school.

Give each pupil in your class the name of a pen-pal

with whom they can establish a relationship. (If this is

not possible, try to get each pupil to identify a pupil in

another class or a relative or friend away from home

they would like to correspond with.) If you already

have a partner school, or you set one up (see

Resource 1 for how to do this), keep in close

contact with your partner teacher, to discuss potential

problems and find solutions together.





Discuss with your class the kinds of things they might

like to say in their first letter. Over time, they could

exchange information about their lives, their families,

their friends, their interests, their dreams.

Agree a format for the letter (see Resource 2: Writing letters), and let them start writing. Go

round helping them with words and phrases that they

need.

Let them revise and edit their letters in pairs. (See

Resource 3: Assessing pen-pal letters.)

Take the letters in yourself, and give supportive and

constructive feedback.

Let pupils write out a final version of their letter,

address the envelope and post it.

With younger pupils, this could be a whole-class

activity and you write what they want to say. They

could write to another class in the school.

How can you support the development of these correspondence

relationships?

How can you help where needed, while giving space for

relationships to develop?

3. Creating booksPage 12 of 27 23rd September 2016




Producing books that the pupils have written and made not only

enhances their self-esteem, but also provides you with welcome

classroom resources.

This part builds on the idea of a Big Book in Module 1, Section 5. It suggests that you motivate your pupils to bring their

writing and drawing to a final stage by putting together a book.

This can be shared with others in the class, or with a person,

group or school in another place.

You need to think about how to plan and organise an activity like

this. You will need to think about the kind of book to make (e.g.

folding book), the visuals and layout of the book, and the type of

book (e.g. songbook, storybook or non-fiction book).

You will need to think about the resources needed and where to

get them. You may have to involve pupils in collecting some of

these before you actually start the work in class. This kind of

planning and preparation is vital if your classroom is to be effective

in helping pupils learn (see Key Resource: Being a resourceful teacher in challenging conditions).

Case Study 3: Making a class bookMrs Bandele, who teaches a class of 44 Grade 5 pupils in

Johannesburg, wanted to encourage them as writers and readers




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and so decided to make books with them in their additional

language of English.

She told them that she wished to start a collection of books for the

class and it would only grow if they produced some of their own

books. They discussed what kinds of books they liked to read and

she listed these on the board. The list included stories, poems, and

books about sports and clothes. She then asked the class to form

small groups of no more than six people interested in a particular

kind of book.

Mrs Bandele discussed with each group what kind of book they

were going to write. One group decided to work in smaller groups

of three to produce two sports books, one about football and the

other about running. Another group wanted to write a storybook

based on a traditional tale. Mrs Bandele gave the groups time to

plan their outlines before asking them to share their ideas with the

rest of the class. The class gave feedback to each group. Over the

next week, Mrs Bandele gave the groups lesson time as well as

homework time to work on their writing.

As each group finished their drafts, Mrs Bandele read these

through and gave feedback on ways to improve their books. The

final drafts were completed over the next week and were put on

display for the whole class to read.





Key Activity: Creating a book to share Suggest to your class that they make a book for their

partner school (or for another purpose), containing

songs, recipes and other local information. If you have

a recipe book, show it to them. Some recipe books

include pictures, information and stories about places

and people related to the recipes.

Decide which songs or recipes they will include and

how they will be presented (see Section 1).

Decide together what else will be in the book. See

Resource 4: Songs and stories about processes – similar songs and stories could be

included. Poems or descriptions from activities in

Sections 2 and 4 could be included. Think about

illustrations, photographs, instructions for local games,

stories or poems.

Plan with your pupils who will do each piece of work,

who will edit the work and when each task should be

completed. (Module 1, Section 5, Resource 1: How stories are made into books tells how a

book is put together by different people.)

Carry out the plan. If possible, make copies of the

book, so that you can keep one and send one to your

partner school. Ask your partner school if they can

send you a book they have made, too. Page 15 of 27 23rd September 2016



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Where resources are limited, recycled paper, old calendars,

newspapers and magazines are materials you may be able to

gather locally for making books. For further ideas, see Key Resource: Being a resourceful teacher in challenging circumstances.

Resource 1: Pen-pals

Background information / subject knowledge for teacher

If you wish to be put in touch with a school in your own country or

another country that is also making use of TESSA materials,

please contact TESSA at the Open University, FELS-

[email protected] or at the following address: The Open

University, P O Box 77, Walton Hall, Milton Keynes MK7 6BT.

You can then set up a link between your class and a class of

similar age at the other school, and arrange for every one of your

pupils to have a pen-pal. This will give your pupils the advantage

of having a friend to write to, and receive responses from, about

matters of interest, using a common additional language or lingua

franca. They will gain practice in reading and writing for a real

purpose, and learn a lot about the other person, their family,

school, country and lifestyle.




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Before you introduce your pupils to the scheme, make sure that

you have sorted out issues such as the provision of, and payment

for, envelopes and stamps. You may be able to put all the letters in

a large envelope and post this to the teacher.

Resource 2: Writing letters

Background information / subject knowledge for teacher

Pupils are likely to find letter writing more enjoyable (in either their

mother tongue or the additional language) if they feel there is a

real reason for writing and that someone will be interested in

reading their letters. There will be a number of situations where

using the additional language would be more appropriate. In every

case, you will need to discuss which language to use.

You can arrange with teachers in another school for pupils in each

school to write letters to those in the other (see Resource 1).

You could also help your pupils to write a letter to a company to

ask for a donation of money, goods or services for the school. If

you have taken them to visit a place in your community such as a

clinic, an agricultural project or a factory, you could help them to

write a letter of thanks. There may be happy or sad occasions

where it would be appropriate for them to write someone a letter of

congratulations or condolence. Page 17 of 27 23rd September 2016




Whatever type of letter you choose, first discuss with pupils why

people write letters and what they want to say in the particular type

of letter chosen. Write their ideas on the chalkboard and help them

to organise them into paragraphs. You may wish to use some of

the following outlines.

When pupils have completed their letters, send them to the person

or organisation to whom they are addressed. You could collect all

the pupils’ letters and put them into one large envelope with the

appropriate address. If you and the pupils are lucky, you will

receive a reply!

Outline of a letter to a pen-pal at another school (or country)

Dear ……………….

I am very pleased that we are going to be pen-pals. In this letter I

am going to introduce myself to you.

My full name is ………………………………. I am …. years old. As I

don’t have a photograph to send you at present I will describe what

I look like. [followed by sentences with this description]

I would like to tell you about my family. [followed by sentences

about them]





We live in ………………… [followed by sentences about the place]

These are some of my favourite things. My favourite food is

…………. My favourite music is ……………. My favourite subject

at school is ………………

At the weekends I like to

………………………………………………….

When I finish school I hope to

…………………………………………….

I am looking forward to hearing from you.

With best wishes

[Name and signature]

Outline of a letter of thanks after a school visit

Dear ……………….

I really enjoyed our visit to ……………….

What I found most interesting was …………………………….

I thought this was the most interesting because……………………

If our school has a chance to make another visit I would like to

……………….Page 19 of 27 23rd September 2016




Thank you very much for ……………………………………………….

Yours sincerely


Outline of a letter to a company requesting a donation

Dear ……… [name of person or Dear Sir or Dear Madam]

I am writing to ask for your help. Our school really

needs…………………

We need this because

……………………………………………………….

I am writing to you because …………………. [reasons why this

company could help].

I do hope you will be able to assist us.

Yours sincerely


Resource 3: Assessing pen-pal letters

Pupil usePage 20 of 27 23rd September 2016




1. Does the letter create a lively and interesting picture of

the writer? What details could be added to make it

more interesting?

2. Is the information clearly expressed? Is the letter easy

to read?

3. Are different topics dealt with in different paragraphs?

4. Is it in the correct tense? (A description is likely to be

in the present tense.) Is each verb in the present

tense or, if not, is there a good reason for a different

tense? (You can decide what other structure features

you want to focus on in this activity.)

5. Does it look good? (Neat, well laid out.)

Resource 4: Songs and stories about processes

Teacher resource for planning or adapting to use with pupils

Here is a traditional isiXhosa song (with English translation)

describing various processes through which grain goes before it is

eaten. It was included in a booklet on ‘Processes and processing’.

Such songs could be included in a recipe book. Stories follow

which come from the same source, and could also be included in

such a recipe or process book.





Sayilim’ingqolowa, Sayilim’ingqolowa,

Sayilim’ingqolowa, Sayilim’ingqolowa, Sayilim’ingqolowa,

[We plough the wheat]

Sayivun’ingqolowa, Sayivun’ingqolowa,

Sayivun’ingqolowa, Sayivun’ingqolowa, Sayivun’ingqolowa,

[We harvest the wheat]

Sayiphek’ingqolowa, Sayiphek’ingqolowa,

Sayiphek’ingqolowa, Sayiphek’ingqolowa, Sayiphek’ingqolowa,

[We cook the wheat]

Sayity’ingqolowa, Sayity’ingqolowa,

Sayity’ingqolowa, Sayity’ingqolowa, Sayity’ingqolowa,

[We eat the wheat]

Sihlut’ingqolowa, Sihlut’ingqolowa,

Sihlut’ingqolowa, Sihlut’ingqolowa, Sihlut’ingqolowa,

[Our stomachs are full of wheat]

The discovery of amazimbaPage 22 of 27 23rd September 2016




Once upon a time there was a man with two wives. (In some parts

of Africa, they say, ‘One wife – one trouble. Twelve wives – twelve

troubles!’) The older wife could not have children, and so when she

discovered that the younger wife was pregnant, she was very

jealous. But there was nothing she could do.

The husband and his younger wife grew closer and closer. And

this made the older wife even more jealous. So she decided to wait

until after the birth.

But when the baby was born, it was a boy. The elder wife,

according to custom, was supposed to take care of the baby and

the umdlezana for a few months of ifuku. The elder wife decided to

go to the forest to look for something that she could cook for the

younger wife that would poison her. She hoped that the younger

wife would die, and then she would be able to bring up the baby as

her own.

In the forest, the older wife found a plant that had some heads of

corn growing on it. She had never seen anything quite like it

before. She said, ‘This will make her sleep, a really deep sleep, so

that she doesn’t wake up the next day. Then I can prepare a

wonderful funeral.’

She cooked the amazimba and fed the umdlezana. To her

surprise, the umdlezana didn’t fall into a deep sleep or die.





Instead, she grew fat and looked healthier and lovelier by the day.

The baby, too, thrived.

When the older wife saw the effects of the stuff she had been

cooking and feeding to the younger wife, the older wife decided to

taste it for herself. She liked the taste, and continued to cook and

eat this new stuff. She also began to grow fatter and healthier.

Well, the husband couldn’t help noticing that his two wives looked

so well, and the baby was so healthy. He wanted to taste whatever

it was that they were eating. So they all became fat and healthy.

And, of course, in a village, word gets around very, very quickly.

Before long, the rest of the villagers wanted to know what this

family were eating. And so it was that amazimba (millet) was

discovered

The discovery of butter

There was once a young couple with a large herd of cattle and a

large flock of sheep. The husband fed his family by milking the

cows. In those days they stored the milk in calabashes.

The couple sometimes quarrelled and she could be seen running

off to her mother, with her husband running after her, shouting and

shaking his fist in the air.





One day when they quarrelled, the husband happened to be

holding one of the calabashes of thick, creamy milk. When his wife

ran off, the husband ran after her, as usual. But this time he forgot

to put down the calabash of thick, creamy milk.

As he ran shouting after his bride, he shook his fist holding the

calabash in the air. The calabash of milk shook. And the thick,

creamy milk inside shook. In fact, the husband ran so fast that the

calabash of milk was shaken really hard.

When he couldn’t catch her, and he was out of breath, the man sat

down. He was hot and thirsty after running after his wife and

shouting. So he put the calabash to his lips to take a drink of the

thick creamy milk. But it wasn’t milk that poured from the calabash.

It was something much more like water! This was all his wife’s

fault!

The man was puzzled. He sat down and looked inside the

calabash. What had happened to the thick, creamy milk? How

could it have turned into something watery? He took another

mouthful. It was just the same. He put his hand inside the calabash

and discovered that there was a lump of something. I’m sure you

can guess what he found. Yes, that’s right, it was a lump of

smooth, greasy butter. When the husband licked his fingers, he

found that the lump of stuff tasted rather nice. It was like fat.





He rushed back to his place, found some maize bread, and

smeared some of the fat from the calabash onto the lump of bread.

The bread tasted much better than usual. His anger vanished.

When his wife returned after a little while, he showed her what had

happened, and gave her some of the fat to taste on bread.

For some time after that, whenever the butter was finished, the

husband would start a quarrel with his wife so that he could take a

calabash of thick, creamy milk with him as he ran after her. He

knew that way the thick creamy milk would produce some butter.

One day when there was very little butter left, the wife took a

calabash of thick creamy milk and shook it as hard as she could.

She shook it, and shook it, and shook it. When she could shake it

no more, she put the calabash down. You can guess what she

found when she looked inside, can’t you? She found some butter,

and some watery whey.

That evening when her husband came home, the young bride

turned to her husband and said, ‘Perhaps if we just shake the

calabash full of thick creamy milk really hard, it will make some

more butter. Then we won’t have to quarrel any more.’

And so it was that they lived very happily, and became wealthy

from bartering some of the thick, creamy milk of their cattle, and

the butter, which they had learned to make.





Taken from: Ngtetu, C. & Lehlakane, N., Inqolowa, The Discovery of Amazimba and The Discovery of Butter, Umthamo 3, University of Fort Hare Distance Education Project

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Section 5: Supporting additional language learning · Web viewNevertheless, there are ways to get your pupils talking and writing to those who are more fluent in the additional language