NEWS, VIEWS & OTHER INTERESTING THINGS

The results of the 2021 Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS)  were released in South Africa on Tuesday, 16 May. There has been a righteous but not unexpected uproar regarding the 81% of Grade 4 learners incapable of reading with meaning in any of the official South African languages. help2read believes that the impact of the Covid era school closures and rotational system of learning is in no small part to blame for these catastrophic results. There is no easy way to undo the harm caused by these vital lost years, but our expertise at help2read ensures that we are well-poised to undo some of the damage.

help2read, a small NGO, works in no-fee paying government schools (most affected by large classes and lack of exciting reading resources). Since 2006 we have assisted over 30 000 Foundation Phase learners in 400 schools to improve their English literacy comprehension skills. Currently help2read has a presence in schools in Diepsloot, Gauteng; the Cape Winelands; Khayelitsha and Mitchells Plain in the Western Cape.

help2read has adopted a unique approach to assisting learners. Young people, who fall within the Not in Education, Employment or Training (NEET) category, are trained to provide one-on-one support to learners twice a week.  help2read trainee literacy tutors are taught to focus on the building blocks necessary to read with meaning i.e. rich texts which incorporate phonics and phonetic awareness, sight words and fluency.

help2read measures learner impact through a variety of methods. We are proud to report our findings of the Early Grade Reading Assessment. We can say with certainty that our methodology is working. In 2022, help2read learners achieved an improvement of:

• 78 % in phonemic awareness/letter sound recognition
• 89% in word recognition
• 88% in passage reading
• 42% in comprehension

Parental involvement in education is important to help2read. In 2023, help2read engaged with over 1500 parents and strongly believes in extending the love of reading through being able to put a book in the hands of each parent.