Nal’ibali supply reading supplements for children in multiple languages to promote mother language preservation and now they have added two more to the collection.
Nal’ibali is a national reading campaign that provides stories in newspaper supplement form so that more children can enjoy reading in their home language. The campaign has added another two languages to their list, pushing it up to a total of eight South African languages.
The latest languages to be added to the campaign are Setswana and Xitsonga. The supplements in these languages will become available from mid-April.
The eight languages include English, Setswana, isiXhosa, isiZulu, Afrikaans, Sesotho, Sepedi and Xitsonga.
The Nal’ibali campaigns to help children find enjoyment in their reading and strongly believes mother languages should be promoted at home. Giving children the opportunity to read and write in their home language.
The bilingual supplements are available every two weeks in Tiso Blackstar (formerly Times Media Group) newspapers during school term times. They are given out freely at schools.
“The importance of mother language preservation and promotion is critical and should be addressed as such. People learn and understand better when lessons are conducted in a language they know and understand well.” – Gezani Chabalala, Nal’ibali Xitsonga language editor
The two new editors have given some serious praise about the opportunity for more children to be included and to develop a love for reading.
“I would like to commend Nal’ibali for giving the Batswana children, and children of other languages, an opportunity to read interesting stories in their own language! It is a great effort towards ensuring we cultivate a culture of reading in our children, at the same time preserving our language.” – Opelo Thole, Nal’ibali Setswana language editor
“In my opinion, children who can write and read in their language can easily learn other languages. Through storytelling, with special reference to Setswana, our language and culture will be hugely promoted, as Nal’ibali urges children to interact with others, to use their imagination and to learn from these stories.”
147 600 supplements are ditributed to schools on a bi-weekly basis. Two languages are included in every suppliment.
The following newspapers carry the supplements in the following language combinations:
- Sunday World (North West Province) – English and Setswana – Sundays
- English and Xitsonga supplements will be available at selected SA Post Offices and reading clubs in Limpopo
- Sunday Times Express (Western Cape) – English and isiXhosa – Sundays
- Sunday World (KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng) – English and isiZulu – Sundays
- Sunday World (Free State) – English and Sesotho – Sundays
- Sunday World (Limpopo) – English and Sepedi– Sundays
- The Herald (Thursdays) and Daily Dispatch (Tuesdays) (Eastern Cape) – English and isiXhosa.
The suppliments are also distributed to reading clubs, libraries, various organisations, schools and affiliated partners. They are also distributed to select post offices in Limpopo and North West.
The supplements are also available online on the Nal’ibali website here.
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