Michelle Jones
Education Writer
THEIR homework assignment after the first lesson was simple – greet family and friends with “ molo” and “ molweni”.
Grade 1 pupils at Montevideo Primary School in Montana sat in their classroom yesterday morning for their first Xhosa lesson. This is part of a pilot study ahead of the planned introduction of a third African language to the school curriculum in Grade 1 next year. The change will be made incrementally (one grade per year) and will be completed by 2026.
Montevideo Primary was one of 10 city schools chosen to participate in the study.
Teachers Nomonde Windvoel introduced herself to the pupils and said: “I’m going to teach you what is isiXhosa. Are you excited?”
Her question was met with a resoundingly positive response.
“Today, I want you to know I am teachalakazi(teacher).”
Windvoel then led the pupils through a spirited discussion involving greetings using two puppets named Thando and Thandeka.
Molo was the greeting used when saying hello to one person and molweni should be used when greeting more than one person, she explained.
Windvoel divided pupils into pairs and asked them to practise greeting one another.
She asked pupils to use their new greetings when they went home and practise their new words on their parents and siblings. Windvoel said she had decided to apply to be part of the pilot study because she was passionate about Xhosa.
“At first I was scared the kids wouldn’t be interested but they are keen.”
She had previously taught Xhosa and other languages to pupils in Grades 1 to 3 at Isiphiwo Primary School in Khayelitsha. “I’m extremely knowledgeable about isiXhosa as I did isiXhosa at university. I’m interested in isiXhosa and I want to do more, even write books about it.”
Windvoel was one of four teachers to be appointed to participate in the study.
A fifth teacher will be appointed this week.
The teachers had undergone training last month which included a workshop on the teaching programme and lesson plans.
Each of the teachers would travel between two or three schools.
Windvoel would divide her time between Montevideo Primary and Vorentoe Primary in Ravensmead.
She felt learning a third and an African language would benefit pupils in their future careers and in social situations as well as improve test results.
Education MEC Donald Grant had visited the school yesterday to attend the pupils’ first lesson. “The WCED is supportive of the pilot. However, any future roll-out will be determined at a later stage. We’ll be in a better position to evaluate the programme when it has been running for several months.”