To introduce a one-to-one reading support programme to promote accelerated English reading progress for learners across the Project Zulu partnership.
This project ran in 2019 across our rural Dundee partner schools. Drawing on best practice from similar initiatives in the UK, the programme involved one-to-one diagnostic reading support, helping learners progress through a structured levelled reading scheme. In South African schools, the medium of instruction is English and accessing learning materials, following textbooks, completing tasks and undertaking tests all require fluency in English reading. Many learners in our partner schools find this a challenge, not least because English is not their first language.
UWE Bristol Education academics led workshops for teachers on how to facilitate the programme, and UWE Bristol students delivered the first sessions with learners in each school throughout August 2019.
The Township Reading project formed part of Project Zulu's wider commitment to supporting literacy teaching and outcomes in rural and township schools. Alongside learner-focused interventions, the partnership has supported educator professional development through workshops, conferences and collaborative learning opportunities focused on reading, phonics, spelling and literacy teaching.
This work has also informed a range of research activities undertaken by UWE Bristol and the University of Zululand, including studies exploring reading comprehension interventions, teacher development and the use of digital tools to support literacy teaching. To learn more, visit our Academic Research Outputs page.
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