Learn local lingo with Joy Language Class
As more people are rapidly adapting to using smart technologies and embracing a digital world, the education sector is also following suit.
The state of South Africa’s education system can be boosted by new solutions and innovations that make learning easier.
Thabo W. Temba, is the inventor of Joy Language Class. He is a Political Science graduate and coaches high school learners in public speaking and debate. He is from Ratanda in Heidelberg, south of Gauteng.
Joy Language Class is an online languages teaching and learning channel. The platform teaches everyday Xitsonga, isiZulu, Tshivenda, isiNdebele, Sesotho, Setswana, Sepedi, siSwati, isiXhosa, Nama(Khoi-San), Afrikaans, Kiswahili, Sign Language, Shona and English to first-time learners of these languages. This also includes those who know just a little of a language and want to learn more of it.
“What inspired me to start Joy Language Class is the observation that a lot of Africans have successfully, because of a flood of western influences, undermined their own languages and this means disaster in terms of cultural preservation for today and for coming generations. Language carries within it a distinct culture and when language is marginalized so is the culture that comes with it and people without a culture are directionless and lost,” Temba explains.
The online learning process takes over a period of five days for only 30 minutes daily. Those who are working during the day can still arrange for an after work class or classes.
Joy Language Class has enjoyed a fair share of international students who benefit from this local solution. Thabo reports of a student in Australia learning Sesotho.
“I teach her in a way that acknowledges that she is new to the language. My teaching is consistent with the promise that learners are to be taught language in a way that it is spoken from day to day. I did try to up the level a bit and it did not work so I returned to teaching in a very beginner friendly way. And my classes have humour and this helps learners to relax, be at ease, and know that I am for them and their growth in learning a language. Also, there are tutors who teach other language that learners are referred to as you can see that there are many languages to choose from,” Temba explained.
Unlike the traditional education experience most people are used to, there is no pressure towards taking your new lingo classes.
The learning is tailored according to learner preferences in terms of availability and non-availability. Learners are welcomed to postpone classes to certain future times or days.
“This is impacted by global different time zones too in the case of international learners. It makes sense enough to teach the languages using English as a bridge to people who are new to a language. It just would be very frustrating to teach a person who is new to a language using the exact language to be learned as the medium of instruction. In terms of the style of teaching I can so far say that I take into consideration the everyday environments that a learner would typically spend their time in such as major monuments in the cities they live in, their occupations, and accommodate that in the teaching and learning,” he said.
To book your first Joy Language Class and learn a new language, email joylclass@gmail.com or call (+27)68 263 4346. You can also reach Thabo on social media, on LinkedIn: Thabo Temba and Twitter: @ThaboTeach.
