MAPUTO, Mozambique — Otília Alves Manai, âge 9, fait face aux mêmes défis que de nombreux jeunes apprenants au Mozambique. Taux élevés d’insécurité alimentaire et de malnutrition chronique, classes de grande taille, des niveaux élevés de pauvreté et des infrastructures scolaires médiocres ne sont que quelques-uns de ces problèmes..
Mais contrairement à la majorité des enfants du Mozambique qui commencent leur éducation formelle en portugais – une langue moins répandue 10 % des enfants parlent lorsqu'ils commencent l'école — Otília apprend à lire dans sa langue maternelle.
Le projet de lecture bilingue en maternelle financé par l'USAID Lisons!/Lisons! fournit une assistance technique et matérielle pour améliorer l'alphabétisation des premières années d'école dans trois langues locales, À Makhuwa, Elomwe et Echuwabo. Le projet travaille également sur l'acquisition d'une langue seconde et le soutien à l'alphabétisation pour préparer les enfants à une transition progressive vers le portugais..
Learning to read in a language they already speak and understand not only makes school more interesting and less intimidating for young students but also helps to lay a foundation for lifelong learning.
Otília is one of the 800,000 children benefiting from the program and was one of more than 13,000 students tested across over 500 schools in the project’s midterm early grade reading assessment.
She was by far the best of all young readers tested, reading nearly 40 words in less than a minute. This is remarkable given that the average number of words read by children tested was only 11, and in general boys tended to outperform girls in reading.
Her academic achievements are in stark contrast to those of her family. Neither of her parents finished primary school and none of her four older sisters can read, though two did complete primary school.
Turning the tide on illiteracy with mother tongue instruction
Poverty and illiteracy remain persistently high in Mozambique, particularly in rural areas and among women. Le overall literacy rate for Mozambicans age 15 or older is 47 pour cent, but for women it is just 33 percent nationally and only 23 percent in rural area.
When Otília’s mother struggles to spell her own name to the Vamos Ler! équipe, Otília quickly comes to her rescue.
“She is the youngest of all my children, but she can read much more than her brothers,” says Otília’s mother. “She likes to read everything she can get her hands on to learn new things.”
Ses deux parents sont analphabètes et ne peuvent pas aider Otília dans ses devoirs scolaires., mais ils encouragent son goût d'apprendre et aiment l'écouter leur lire à haute voix. Ils essaient de s'assurer qu'elle ait le temps d'étudier à la maison pendant la journée., car il n'y a pas d'électricité pour qu'elle puisse travailler la nuit.
Le Lisons! Le programme a développé du matériel d’apprentissage pour les étudiants dans la langue maternelle d’Otília., Echuwabo.
Les manuels scolaires, cahiers d'exercices, les livres de lecture et les affiches supplémentaires contiennent des illustrations et des histoires adaptées aux enfants qui sont pertinentes pour la vie quotidienne dans les zones rurales du Mozambique. Ils éveillent également la curiosité des enfants et introduisent de nouveaux concepts qui leur font découvrir un monde plein de possibilités..
Quand elle a commencé l'école dans son village isolé, Otília didn’t have many dreams for the future and never imagined having a life different from her parents. But when her teacher introduced the supplementary books developed by Vamos Ler! she was able to learn about different professions and what they do.
Otília decided that when she grows up, she wants to be a nurse, to take care of the people in her community that she has seen struggle with many different illnesses.
She is proud of her accomplishments as the program’s top reader and wants to keep on learning.
“I like to learn all the stories that are in our books. I also like to read at home, because our teacher told us that if we read a lot at home, we will be able to read even better in the classroom. I would like to be the best every year!»