English is a source of great frustration for a child whose home language is not English.
English has notoriously difficult spelling which makes it difficult for kids to learn to read and write it properly.
This is the main reason Thutopele Academy is inviting the parents of kids struggling with English to register their children before the closing date on 31 January.
The classes start on Saturday, 1 February, from 9am to 1pm.
After registration, each child’s language skills are assessed to learn her or his weaknesses and strengths.
Since 2013, the academy has been using classrooms at Morula View Primary School. Each room seats about 25 students but the number may get bigger.
Dyslexia testing
Estimates suggest one in 10 people struggle with some form of dyslexia, a problem with the brain’s ability to read the letters in the same way as they appear on the page.
Dyslexia makes spelling difficult and words like prepositions, articles and conjunctions particularly difficult to use properly.
When a child’s spelling ability falls below that of same-age peers, it can undermine his or her confidence and result in poor performance at school.
To help, they teach the children to spell correctly using games such as Scrabble. They also have maths games.
The lesson plan
So far there are four tutors who attend to challenges a kid faces in the classroom.
Keabetswe Dire, founder of Thutopele Academy, told SunEducation: “I started this academy because I wanted to give back to the same community where I attended school.
“There was no one to help pupils when I was at school and this is what I wanted to fix.
“When I started this academy, it was free but now I have to charge to cope with the demand.
“We rely on tests to check how the children progress.
“In November, we organised Maths 24, a spelling bee and Scrabble competitions with medals and certificates for winners.
“We appeal to people to sponsor prizes for our competition or stationery for the academy.”
