Literacy for Women in Africa (LWA)

Before project operations begin, a situational analysis is conducted. Proper planning of the project requires specific information on the local languages and dialects, writing systems, existing literacy materials, beneficiaries, potential partners, and available resources.

Literacy work is coordinated and managed by the local Bible Societies. Local needs and possible challenges are taken into account. The commitment of the local community and local Churches is essential for the functioning of the classes. Local community leaders, who know local practices and needs, play a key role.

“Primers”, teachers’ guides, and alphabet posters for adult learners are produced in a month-long workshop with a literacy specialist, local language experts, local artists, and community members.

The primers are based on the phonics methodology, which works well in a situation where learners have time constraints, teachers have little previous teaching experience, and the writing system is transparent, i.e., one symbol represents one sound of the language.

Community members develop additional reading materials at different levels of difficulty. The topics covered by these materials relate to the daily life familiar to the learners. This facilitates the development of reading comprehension and makes learning as natural as possible.

Based on the criteria given by the Bible Society, teachers are recruited from local communities in cooperation with the community leaders. The community leaders oversee the work of the teachers and intervene if necessary to ensure the smooth functioning of the literacy classes.

Community leaders and teachers recruit and assign learners to literacy classes. The intended beneficiaries of the LWA literacy projects are women who cannot read and write in any language. Priority is given to non-literate female learners, but non-literate men can also join.

New teachers are trained in a ten-day teacher training workshop. Teachers who previously received ten-day training join a five-day refresher training every year.

In the initial phase of the project, teacher training is led by a literacy consultant, assisted by the national literacy coordinator and literacy supervisors. Later, some of the best teachers are selected as teacher trainers. A literacy consultant continues to coach the literacy team so that over time further teacher training can be done independently.

When the literacy course ends, the teachers get together to share their experiences and to prepare for organizing activities aimed at improving the learners’ reading and writing skills.

After the primers and the teacher’s guides are completed, ten pilot classes are organized. These pilot classes test the functionality of the materials and the teaching methodology. Information is collected and revisions are made to the materials where necessary.

After the pilot phase and revisions to the materials, the number of literacy classes is increased from 10 to 20 or more. Literacy courses last generally 6–8 months, teaching takes place three days a week, two hours a day. The annual timing of the classes depends on the local agricultural calendar. Many of LWA’s literacy courses run from May to October.

Classes will take place in schools, churches, and under a tree depending on what is available in the community. Chalkboards, primers, teachers’ guides, notebooks, pens, and alphabet posters are provided to each class by the project.

Literacy supervisors visit the literacy classes regularly to monitor the classes and to support the teachers in their work.  The national literacy coordinator visits the literacy team and literacy classes few times a year. A professional literacy consultant does monitoring visits to several classes once a year in the beginning of a new project phase.

Baseline and end-line reading tests are conduted to assess the progress of the learners and to ensure that the chosen learning-teaching methodology is working well.

Graduation ceremony is held in the end of the course.

Annual clock Literacy for women in Africa, Malawi

Reading and writing are skills that require long-term practice. In about six months, a learner already knows the alphabet of the language used, can read simple sentences and short stories. More practice is needed for more complex texts.

Bible Societies have prepared additional leveled reading materials that could be used to strengthen the reading skills after learning the the basic literacy course is completed. The projects hope to help in the creation of the culture of reading.

Most literacy groups continue to meet regularly after the basic literacy course to improve their reading and writing skills.