Date: December 2024
In an effort to enhance literacy education, early and upper-grade educators, including headteachers from four basic schools in Saltpond, participated in a transformative two-day workshop on organized by Reading Beyond Borders in collaboration with the Ghana Education Service. The workshop opened with inspiring remarks from the Chairperson, Prof. Dora Edu-Boandoh, a former Pro Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cape Coast who shared the vital role of developing one’s mother tongue as a foundation before acquiring additional languages. She eloquently stated that losing one's mother tongue equates to losing one’s identity. She therefore highlighted the importance of nurturing linguistic roots for building a diverse identity.
Prof. Edu-Boandoh also stressed the significance of bilingual storybooks, encouraging the idea that such resources greatly enhance learners' ability to relate to and comprehend what they read. The primary aim of the workshop was to equip educators with effective strategies to improve reading skills and instil a love for reading among students. Participants engaged in a series of hands-on activities focused on creating Teaching and Learning Materials that implement a bilingual storybook approach.
This method is designed to enhance vocabulary knowledge, morphological awareness, and oral reading fluency among learners, ensuring a more engaging learning experience. At the end of the sessions, educators received a wealth of resources, including books, pencils, toys, and localised vocabulary pockets for keeping vocabulary, among other essential materials. These resources are instrumental in helping educators design effective tools that support teaching and learning to improve reading skills among their students. The workshop also provided a platform for educators to voice the challenges they encounter while attempting to innovate their teaching practices.
Their feedback served as valuable insights into the ongoing need for professional development and support in the field of education. Reflecting on the success of the workshop, the participating educators and representatives from the Ghana Education Service expressed a strong desire for more training opportunities of this nature. The positive response reveals the commitment of educators to improve literacy outcomes for their students and highlights the importance of continued professional development. As we look to the future, initiatives like the Reading Beyond Borders workshop play a crucial role in empowering educators, forging stronger connections between languages and identities, and promoting a generation of skilled and confident readers, remarked one of the participants.