CSIR tackles literacy crisis
A recent international study (the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study) has sent shockwaves through the South African education community by revealing that more than eight out of ten Grade 4 learners cannot read for basic meaning in their home language. Without this essential skill, South African children are deprived of the opportunity to fulfil their true potential, with the impact being the most devastating for those from disadvantaged communities. Watch for more information
A recent international study (the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study) has sent shockwaves through the South African education community by revealing that more than eight out of ten Grade 4 learners cannot read for basic meaning in their home language. Without this essential skill, South African children are deprived of the opportunity to fulfil their true potential, with the impact being the most devastating for those from disadvantaged communities.
With many complex factors contributing to this result, the need for a wide range of solutions is paramount to addressing the various dimensions of this crisis.
With this in mind, the Natural Language Processing Research Group of the CSIR embarked on a research and development project called Ngiyaqonda! (isiZulu for “I understand”), in which speech and text technology for South African languages are harnessed to enhance home language literacy. This project is funded by the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture and incorporates artefacts developed in previous projects funded by the South African Centre for Digital Language Resources (SADiLaR).
The main aim of the project is to integrate speech and text technologies into an Android app that guides learners to compose sentences in their home language as well as in English. This app provides learners with a dynamic digital learning environment in their home language and English. While children are taught in their home language from Grade 1 to Grade 3, the medium of instruction for most South African learners starting from Grade 4 is English.
The use of both speech and text technologies enables purposeful gamification. Learners listen to sentences spoken by a synthetic (computer-generated) voice and then compose sentences using guidance from a grammatically reliable text generation engine. The app also allows learners to read sentences aloud and receive feedback on their fluency and pronunciation based on an automatic speech scoring system developed specifically for children’s voices. The app was piloted with isiZulu-speaking Grade 3 learners in Soweto and with Sepedi-speaking Grade 3 learners in Mamelodi during 2023 and 2024.
“The application harnesses so-called translanguaging principles, such as using translation between the home language and a target language (typically English) to ensure that learners really understand what they are reading. While the application is currently configured to serve foundation phase learners in their literacy journey, it has the potential to be used up to tertiary level to assist in language learning of the African languages,” said CSIR senior researcher Laurette Marais.
The technologies behind the application are being developed by the Natural Language Processing Research Group, with the aim of supporting all official spoken languages of South Africa within the next few years. The current project targets isiZulu, Sepedi, English and Afrikaans, with the groundwork being laid to expand to more languages in the future.
While no single solution can be considered a silver bullet, this team of CSIR researchers has made it their mission to use their unique set of skills to bring an innovative solution that could empower all South African children and their hopes for a bright future.
in Mamelodi, Pretoria. The CSIR is piloting the Ngiyaqonda! literacy app.
Watch for more information: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmQiqx8x0J8
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Issued by CSIR Strategic Communication
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About the CSIR:
The CSIR, an entity of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation, is one of the leading scientific and technology research, development and implementation organisations in Africa. Constituted by an Act of Parliament in 1945 as a science council, the CSIR undertakes directed and multidisciplinary research and technological innovation, as well as industrial and scientific development, to improve the quality of life of all South Africans. For more information, visit: www.csir.co.za.
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