OUR ENGLISH LITERACY PROGRAM

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Since our meetings are virtual, we often encounter wifi issues. This makes it almost impossible to engage in spoken conversations with students that day. However, we send over writing prompts for students to work on via email while we wait for the internet. If we are unable to connect virtually that day, we message the Amandla project coordinators and work together to find a topic that the learners can discuss together during our session time.

We meet with Philippi students in grades 9-11 over Zoom. Since English is most Philippi learners’ second language, we work with Amandla’s program coordinators to ensure that students have support in English literacy and the tools necessary to read and write at the standard for their grade level, to succeed in post-graduate interviews, and to have confidence In using English. 

We work with Amandla coordinators to create lesson plans based on what learners are learning in their standardized grammar textbooks. We also aim to compliment our lessons with the texts and materials they are engaging with in class. We have separate groups for learners based on their grade level. If students need extra individual support, one of our team members will meet with the student and the Amandla coordinator in a separate breakout room. 

We encourage students to ask any questions they have during our sessions, and, in order to make sure students are actively involved in the learning process, we pause the session at various times to ask students to reflect on what they are learning.