A South African reading revolution needs more books in African languages

By reading books written in their home languages, children are able to see themselves in the words and worlds captured on paper. It is an important form of representation that goes beyond the practical skills of reading and writing in literacy.

However, many children, schools and caregivers across South Africa continue to struggle with access to reading materials in African languages, according to Dr Xolisa Guzula, an early literacy expert at the University of Cape Town’s (UCT’s) School of Education.

“English books are still the most accessible. Schools and parents still don’t know where to get books in African languages, and this must be harder for children in schools that have no interventions, access to school libraries and online platforms,” she said.

Children may encounter books on subjects they love — princesses, the Moon, astronomy — but as long as those books aren’t available in the language they speak, it says something about how valuable that language is seen as in society, according to Babalwayashe Molate, a PhD candidate in the School of Education at UCT and part-time lecturer in the Faculty of Education at Stellenbosch University.

“[To make] English books the only available books in schools and bookshops is to contribute to the colonialism that makes us believe that English is superior and African languages are inferior,” said Guzula. “It is to contribute to the erasure of African languages, knowledge, culture and identities.”

Reading outcomes 

Learners with African home languages usually live with parents or caregivers who are African language speakers. Developing reading and writing competencies in these languages at school would allow them to come home and share what they have learnt with their families, while allowing parents to assist and enhance the work done by teachers, said Guzula. 

The most recent nationally representative and publicly available survey of reading outcomes, the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study 2016, shows that 78% of Grade 4 children cannot read for meaning in any language.

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When it comes to children who speak African languages, a factor behind this reading crisis is the scarcity of reading material available in their home tongues — particularly material that is fun and representative of different genres, said Molate.

“You’d find that … most books or literature available in isiXhosa are stories. If a child is not interested in those kinds of stories, but maybe is interested in cooking and recipe books ... they can’t find a book in isiXhosa for children about cooking. Or … about science,” she said.

“So, if you’re interested in that, it really limits the experience of a child with a text and … you can imagine what it does to the vocabulary, for instance.”

Poor accessibility 

The barriers to accessing multilingual reading material are greatest in poorer communities. Books are expensive, and for many households, being able to buy bread is more important, said Guzula.

“Not all schools have school libraries, and community libraries are also not always accessible and safe and affordable for children to get to,” she said. “Schools actually depend on the DBE [Department of Basic Education] to supply them with books and the DBE is not always in a position to do so.”

However, even when it comes to the better-resourced Model C schools in Cape Town’s southern suburbs, isiXhosa and other African languages are not well valued, said Molate.

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In 2020, Molate began a biliteracy club at Rustenburg Girls’ Junior School in Cape Town, with the intention of creating a space where all languages — particularly marginalised languages such as isiXhosa — could be legitimised. As part of the school’s curriculum for isiXhosa, children from Grade R to Grade 7 receive only one hour-long class in the language each week, which provides limited time in which to use language skills, she said.

“My involvement in the school then was to challenge them about the political will to transform, or to show interest in the promotion of African languages.”

While she was completing her master’s degree research, Molate found that none of the southern suburbs Model C primary schools had a language policy. Many had practices that marginalise African languages.

While South African schools can teach learners in their home languages from Grade 1 and Grade 3, English is the recommended language of teaching and learning from Grade 4.

The switch to English as a medium of instruction means there is less reading material and language development available for African language-speaking learners from Grade 4, said Molate.

Improving access 

One of the recommendations for addressing poor literacy rates, made at the inaugural gathering of the 2030 Reading Panel in February, was that a standard minimum set of reading resources be provided to all Foundation Phase classrooms, said Noncedo Madubedube, the general secretary of Equal Education.

The Vula Bula anthologies, an existing set of graded readers in all 11 official languages, were put forward as a fitting option for distribution. The estimated cost of printing an anthology of graded readers for every child in every grade each year was R32-million.

“We think just that could change the trajectory around access and consistent availability of … reading material,” said Madubedube.

Guzula recommended that community libraries source books in African languages in numbers and highlighted the need to set up fibre internet in working-class communities, connecting schools, clinics, libraries and community halls so that those needing online materials can use these spaces to access them.

“The DBE must speed up the introduction of mother tongue-based bilingual education from Grade 4 onwards, as the minister has been pronouncing. This encourages publishers to produce more books in African languages knowing there is a guarantee of the books being bought and delivered to schools.”

In communities, families and homes, people need to value storytelling, reading and writing, and make the sharing of stories and books a daily practice, she said.

Madubedube emphasised that it is not only African languages that should be prioritised as part of a reading revolution, but also the creation of stories that children can relate to and apply to their lives.

“We need to commit ourselves to creating real spaces where young people can read content that’s relevant to their lived experience.”

Where to look 

Some organisations and projects that have improved access to books and stories in African languages include:

• BiblionefSA, which donates books in the 11 official languages across the country;


• African Storybook, which makes stories available in various languages online;


• The Puku Foundation, which popularises books in African languages through its website


• Ethnikids, an online bookshop started by parents who struggled to source books in African languages;


• The Cadbury Digital Library, which provides online access to original, local African stories; and


• The Nal’ibali national reading-for-enjoyment campaign, which has made material available in all official languages since its inception in 2012. DM/MC