Literacy Boost: an innovative approach for learning to read

Friday, September 9, 2016

All over the world, millions of children are starting a new school year. Despite rising levels of school attendance, 250 million children still haven't mastered the basics of reading (UNESCO, World Tracking Report on Education For All 2015).

World Vision has joined forces with Save The Children to develop Literacy Boost, an innovative programme accessible to the whole community that teaches reading skills. The objective is to make reading a social and cultural activity that is stewarded not only by teachers in schools but also by volunteers in the heart of village life.

Literacy Boost has been implemented in Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia, where literacy levels are the lowest. The method includes training teachers in new techniques to teach reading, evaluating initial proficiency and starting up after-school activities such as reading clubs, mobile libraries and training workshops for families, which are all run by community members.

A bridge between school and the community in Senegal

Only 28% of Senegalese schoolchildren have mastered basic reading skills. Since World Vision launched Literacy Boost in 2014 in three rural communities in the region of Fatick, some 2,700 children ages six to nine have taken advantage of initial proficiency assessment and 63 teachers have received training.

Literacy Boost is a bridge between schools and members of these three communities. 84 volunteers run the 42 reading clubs established through the programme. Outside school hours, more than 2,200 children walk through their doors. Through games, songs, and pairwork that reinforce the material covered in the classroom, these young learners are able to discover the joy of listening to stories and reading them for themselves.

Many children have few or no books at home. Thanks to the reading clubs, they are now able to consult works in the reference and lending sections of the club. In order to promote the history and traditions of the participating communities, Literacy Boost encourages teachers, parents and volunteers to get involved in writing books that will guide children towards identifying with the stories, and that will encourage them in their reading. 10,000 works have been made available so far.

Gilbert, 8:

"I love the reading club. I find many books there that I don't have at home or at school. When I get stuck, I just ask my classmates to help."

"My name is Maman Rocky Sene, in class CEI and I live in the village of Mboudaye (ADP Niakhar). Since the club started, my reading has improved and I've made some new friends to play with."

Maimouna Ba, Reading club volunteer

"The reading clubs are important in the community. The have got the schoolkids into reading and every session new kids arrive, enabling us to expand from two to four clubs."

Teachers and school principals have already noticed the contribution of the new method towards the schoolchildren's progress. In fact, 82.7% of Fatick region children taking part in Literacy Boost have now attained average levels in their reading and writing tests, as opposed to a rate of 41.3% in schools not participating in the programme.

Kory Thiao, President of the School Principals' Collective confirms: "Local people set great store by the project. The number of people beating a path to the clubs proves this. Massive thanks are due to the volunteers because in the classroom we are already reaping the rewards of their efforts."

With the support of local participants, World Vision aims to have every child reading before their 11th birthday, which dramatically improves their opportunities in life. World Vision knows reading skills are essential to the villages achieving progress. By bringing more skilled jobs within reach, literacy raises income and offers families a sustainable route out of poverty.

Feel free to download the project materials (names and content in french):