ACSR PROMOTES THE CULTURE OF READING IN SOUTH AFRICAN LANGUAGES

ACSR PROMOTES THE CULTURE OF READING IN SOUTH AFRICAN LANGUAGES 

By: Edith Mogapi 

Thuto Molefe from "Dintswa Tsa Teng Book Club" reviewing a book "Nna Sejane Kokobela" written y K.E Ntsane during Funda Mzantsi Championship. Photo : Kabelo Selebogo

Barack Obama once said: “Reading is important. If you know how to read, then the whole world opens up to you.” The quote could well have been the inspiration in Rustenburg recently when book clubs from across the North West Province participated in the 11th Annual National Funda Mzantsi Championships (FMC) competition.

The FMC is a book-reading competition aimed at stimulating and encouraging reading on a continuous basis. The competition is also aimed at promoting literacy and reading for enjoyment. The provincial Department of Arts, Culture, Sports and Recreation (Acsr) hosted the other eight provinces, as well as the Department of Correctional Service (DCS). The event was held under the auspices of the National Library of South Africa’s (NLSA).

“Dintswa tsa teng”, a Book Club from Setlagole represented by Thuto Molefe, a learner from Onkabetse Thuto Secondary School scooped the first spot for Sesotho book review. Due to COVID-19 regulations, the FMC took the form of a hybrid (both on-site and virtually) for the first time since inception.

The project was started as part of the NLSA mandate to promote a culture of reading amongst South Africans.

Acsr identified six Book Clubs from the four districts and provided transport, meals and accommodation in Rustenburg where they competed virtually with book clubs from other Provinces. Adjudication was done virtually at a central venue in Pretoria.

Those representing the Province were Mamusa Book Club and Ipelegeng library (both from Mamusa), Devine Thoughts from Ganalaagte, Mabeskraal Library from Moses Kotane Municipality,

Dintswa tsa teng from Setlagole and Mind Liberators from Jourbeton.

The focus of the first day on the programme was English where Book Clubs competed in reviewing identified books they read. After the book reviews the Book Clubs competed in an impromptu reading where they were given books on stage and given a page to read for two minutes.

The second and third day of the competition focused on indigenous languages in categories of book reviewing and impromptu reading. The fourth day was reserved for the announcement of results.

Kealeboga Matsafu and Theo Mosime both from Mabeskraal Book Club spoke of the importance of reading and how their participation in a book club influenced their good performance in school - boosting their confidence. They became members of the book club as learners at Rakoko Senior Secondary School.

“I was a very shy and introverted person growing up, but since I joined our book club, I overcame my fear of speaking in front of an audience,” said Mosime.

Matsafu added: “I was a good performer but I struggled with comprehension tests. Since joining the book club my Setswana literature performance improved.

That has contributed to my getting distinctions in languages because I learned how to review a book and how to interpret a poem”