In an effort to promote and preserve the Xhosa language, Lower Crossroads High School in Lower Crossroads held a Xhosa Spelling Competition on Friday 14 August.

Learners prepare for Metro-South competition

The top six learners in the competition are expected to represent the school in the Metro-South Education District competition, which includes all the schools from Klipfontein, at the same school on Friday 21 August.

Event organiser and teacher at the school, Nombulelo Mahonono, described the competition as entertaining and educational. She said the aim was to encourage learners to speak and read Xhosa. She said most people, particularly young people, prefer to communicate in English rather than their home languages.

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Teacher calls for mindset shift on vernacular languages

“We want to change the perception that people have about vernacular languages and stop seeing them as useless. We want them to know that there is a lot that they can do using Xhosa, like being an author, a news reader or even a translator,” she explained. She urged parents to encourage their children to speak the language at home.

Top learner aims for national stage

The top-performing learner from the competition, Luniko Feleni (13), who is in Grade 8, described the competition as educational. She said she is looking forward to representing her school in the upcoming competition. “It was not easy. I practised a lot prior to the event. My goal is to compete at national level. This is a stepping stone for us young learners to learn about our language,” said Feleni.