The son of one literacy teacher in the Mbeya region of Tanzania had been through four grades, and yet at 10 years old still couldn’t read or write. He was being taught in a different language, and it was hard for him to learn. Other teachers recommended he return back to the first grade because he couldn’t understand anything in class and there was no way he could pass his national fourth grade exams.
The teacher decided to try teaching him in their own language, Nyiha, rather than using other languages. After a month of tutoring in Nyiha, his son had learned to read and to write! “He is now doing well in other subjects and he will write his standard four exams without any problem.”
