Durbanville Preparatory is a dual-lingual prep-school with classes from Gr 1 – 3 and I, Marga Jonker, am the isiXhosa second additional language teacher. My focus is on the grade 3 pupils with introductory isiXhosa, isiXhosa Second Additional Language. Our theme for this term was My Body.
When I plan for my lessons, I regularly check to see if there are good quality Xhosa educational material that I can blend in with CAPS curriculum and share with my learners. Xander Educational Apps in Xhosa met my expectations and I’ve since used it to blend it into my lesson plans as additional learning material. I connect my iPad to the smart whiteboard and I’m particularly fond of the first language speaker accent displayed in the app which allows my learners to grasp the correct pronunciation of Xhosa vocabulary.
The learners love the inclusion of the Xhosa Wardrobe App to the lesson. They enjoy the interactive games and are huge fans of earning coins to buy new outfits for the avatar they chose. The future accountants and financial planners in the class calculate how many times we must to buy two sets of clothes.
After introducing the app to my class they were quick to ask me where they could find the app and I’m proud to say more than half my Gr 3A1 class purchased the app and were using it to practice their vocabulary at home. I can see how the 3A1 class’ understanding and knowledge developed much faster because of the partnership with their parents and the use of the Xander Xhosa Wardrobe app compared to my other grade 3 classes.
One of the learners had some trouble downloading the app at home and we emailed the Xander Team about his issue. We received a prompt response from the team and they agreed to visit us to help learners with questions about downloading the Xander Apps.
The class was treated little Xander dolls, adorable T-Rex dinosaurs, and mini flyers with QR codes which make it easy for parents and teachers to scan and access the apps directly from their devices. We were introduced to the young voices who record for the apps as well as the development team. This also sparked interest from the budding mobile app engineers in the classroom.
Having the Xander team visit us was both a treat and an eye-opener. We’ll definitely be using more the apps in our classroom.
Marga Jonker
isiXhosa teacher – Durbanville Preparatory School
