GraphoGame - a catalyst for multi-level promotion of literacy in diverse contexts

GraphoGame (GG) is originally a technology-based intervention method for supporting children with reading difficulties. It is now known that children who face problems in reading acquisition have difficulties in learning to differentiate and manipulate speech sounds and consequently, in connecting these sounds to corresponding letters. GG was developed to provide intensive training in matching speech sounds and larger units of speech to their written counterparts. GG has been shown to benefit children with reading difficulties and the game is now available for all Finnish school children for literacy support. Presently millions of children in Africa fail to learn to read despite years of primary school education. As many African languages have transparent writing systems similar in structure to Finnish, it was hypothesized that GG-based training of letter-sound correspondences could also be effective in supporting children's learning in African countries. In this article we will describe how GG has been developed from a Finnish dyslexia prevention game to an intervention method that can be used not only to improve children's reading performance but also to raise teachers' and parents' awareness of the development of reading skill and effective reading instruction methods. We will also provide an overview of the GG activities in Zambia, Kenya, Tanzania, and Namibia, and the potential to promote education for all with a combination of scientific research and mobile learning.Peer reviewe

Assessing and Validating Early Grade Teachers’ Knowledge of Vowel Letter Sounds of Transparent Zambian Bantu Languages Using Computer Based GraphoLearn Technology

Teachers who instruct children how to read in transparent orthographies need to possess the knowledge of letter-sound correspondences critical in helping learners acquire basic reading skills. Lyytinen, Erskine, Kujala, Ojanen and Richardson (2009) observed that Zambian teachers lacked adequate information about this core knowledge for instructing reading in their transparent Zambian Bantu languages. The typical error has been caused by using letter-names of English, which fail to cue the sounds of the letters of Zambian Bantu languages such as; CiNyanja, one of the languages of initial literacy in Zambia. Ojanen et al. (2009) noted that Lusaka primary school children experienced difficulties in mapping letters to sounds in their fully consistently written Bantu languages and consequently failed to acquire the basic reading skills in the first grade in school. The goals of this study were to (1) observe the situation of knowledge teachers have concerning efficient instruction of the basic reading skills of Bantu languages in Zambian primary schools, and (2) document how intervention based on GraphoLearn (GL) technology can help teachers acquire the core knowledge i.e. the sounds of letters – especially vowels sounds – needed for efficient instruction of the basic reading skill of Zambian Bantu languages. To attain these goals, this study was divided into four sub-studies. Study I examined the teacher trainers’ and teachers’ background knowledge needed for the efficient instruction of basic reading skills. Study II assessed the teachers’ knowledge specifically associated with letters representing vowel sounds, using an experimental measurement tool to observe in which ways the teachers’ knowledge of letter sounds was compromised. Study III observed using a Finnish-based digital learning environment GL, the accuracy and the confusion between vowel sounds collected and then validated such knowledge with that collected in study II using the measurement tools. Study IV documented how GL-based training supports a teacher’s acquisition of the knowledge of vowel letters. Primary school teachers (N = 32) from Lusaka and Eastern Provinces; and teacher trainers (N = 22) from 11 colleges of education in Zambia participated in the study. Data were analysed using SPSS to generate descriptive statistics. The questionnaire was administered twice (before and after the use of GL). The results showed that teachers’ knowledge of vowel letter sounds in general improved after training with GL (t = 3, 116, df (31); p = .004) except for letter U. Vowel letter “I” emerged to be the most problematic sound in all the measures: Pre-test(65.63%), Post-test(80.00%) and GL(69.4%). Further, the findings indicated that most teacher trainers and teachers lacked sufficient background knowledge and information on reading instructions, especially of transparent Bantu languages. Overall, the findings suggest that majority of the teachers did not know all the vowel letter sounds perfectly well to instruct reading effectively and Finally, the results also suggest that GL training support acquisition of vowel letter-sound knowledge for teachers.Lasten lukemaan oppimista kirjain-äännetasolla johdonmukaisesti kirjoitetuissa kielissä opettavien tulee omata kirjainten vastinäännetuntemus. Lyytinen, Erskine, Kujala, Ojanen ja Richardson (2009) havaitsivat, että Sambian opettajille ei ollut riittävää tietoa tästä johdonmukaisesti kirjoitettujen Bantukielten ydinasiasta. Tyypillisen virheen aiheutti nojautuminen englannin kielen kirjainten nimiin, jotka eivät ohjaa oikeaan Sambian bantukielten, kuten esimerkiksi CiNyanjan, kirjainten ääntämiseen. CiNyanja on Lusakassa ja Sambian itäisissä provinsseissa asuvien lasten kieli, jolla lukemaan opettaminen alkaa. Sambian nykyopettajat ovat taipuvaisia seuraamaan opetuksessaan sitä mallia, jonka opettajat (vuoteen 2000 asti) itse oppivat koulu-uransa alkuvuosina, jolloin lukemaan opetus alkoi englannin kielestä. Ojanen ym. (2009) totesivat, että Lusakan ala-asteen oppilaat kokevat vaikeuksia kirjain-äännetasolla täysin johdonmukaisesti käyttäytyvän kielensä kirjoituksen vastinäänteiden oppimisessa. Sen vuoksi lapset epäonnistuvat lukemaan oppimisessaan ensimmäisillä luokilla kuten Sampa ym. (2019) sittemmin osoittivat. Tämän tutkimuksen tarkoitus oli 1) havainnoida tietoisuutta, mikä Sambian ala-asteen opettajilla on Bantukielten tehokkaasta instruoinnista, 2) dokumentoida mahdollisuuksia GraphoLearn (GL) teknologian avulla auttaa opettajia omaksumaan lukemaan oppimisen ydintieto, so. kirjainten äännevasteet, erityisesti vokaaliäänteiden osalta. Se auttaisi heitä instruoimaan tuloksellisesti Sambian Bantukielten lukemaan oppimisen perusteet. Saavuttaakseen mainitut tavoitteet tämä tutkimus on jaettu neljään tutkimusosioon. Tutkimus I tarkastelee ala-asteen opettajien ja opettajakouluttajien tehokasta peruslukutaidon opettamista koskevaa tietopohjaa. Tutkimus II arvioi opettajien erityisesti opettajien tietämystä kirjaimista, jotka edustavat vokaaliäänteitä käyttäen kokeilevaa, kevyttä arviointimenetelmää, mikä kehitettiin sen havainnoimiseen mitä puutteita tässä tietämyksessä on. Tutkimuksessa III käytettiin Suomessa kehitettyä digitaalista GraphoLearn teknologiaa, mikä havainnoi ja tallentaa pelinomaisessa ympäristössä kirjainten äännevasteiden tuntemuksen ja paljastaa sekaannukset, joita siinä havaitaan. Näin sillä voidaan validoida mainitun kyselypohjaisen (tutkimus II:n) menettelyn toimivuutta. Tutkimus IV dokumentoi sitä, miten GL-pohjainen harjoitus auttaa opettajia tuntemaan vokaaleja edustavien kirjainten äännevasteet virheettömästi. Tutkimus kohdistettiin ala-asteen opettajiin (N=32) Lusakasta ja itäisistä provinsseista sekä opettajakouluttajiin (N=22) yhdestätoista Sambian opettajakoulutuslaitoksesta. Kyselypohjainen kirjainäänten tunnistusmenettely esitettiin kahdesti (ennen ja jälkeen GL-menettelyn käyttöä). Tulokset osoittivat, että vokaaliäänteiden tuntemus parani GL-harjoituksen avulla (p =.004) lukuun ottamatta U-kirjaimen vastinäännettä. Ongelman tulkinnan perusteella odotetusti vaikeimmat ongelmat liittyivät I-kirjaimen äännevasteeseen molemmilla menetelmillä saaduissa tuloksissa. Lisäksi useimmilla opettajilla ja opettajakouluttajilla oli merkittäviä puutteita lukemaan opetusta koskevassa tietämyksessä, erityisesti johdonmukaisesti kirjoitettujen Bantukielten peruslukutaidon opettamiseen. Tulokset osoittavat, että enemmistö opettajista ei tunne kaikkien vokaalikirjainten oikeaa äännevastetta, ja että GL harjoitus tukee opettajien kirjainten äännevasteiden omaksumista

A Culturally Sensitive Approach to Promoting Initial Literacy Development in Africa : Ongoing and Planned Research and Development at the University of Zambia’s Centre for Promotion of Literacy in Sub-Saharan Africa (CAPOLSA)

A four-year research and development program at CAPOLSA (the Centre for the Promotion of Literacy in Sub-Saharan Africa) was inspired by widespread dissatisfaction with poor literacy outcomes of mass basic schooling in Zambia and sought to test the generalizability of a scientifically grounded, computer-mediated instructional resource developed in Finland, for effective intervention in an African society where different linguistic and educational conditions obtain. Specific challenges and opportunities posed by the local sociocultural context included the prevalence of multilingualism, the relatively transparent orthographies of local languages, and poor infrastructure of the public school system. Software was translated and field-tested under ecologically realistic conditions. Complementary influences on initial literacy learning were systematically explored of children’s home literacy environments, teachers’ attitudes and practices, biological and social constraints on learning among children with special needs, curriculum development, and teacher training. Complementary instructional resource development focused on creation of child-friendly reading materials in seven indigenous languages, translation of stories across those languages, harmonization of their orthographies, and exploring the potential of multiple media for dissemination of literacy materials. Effective application of scientific and technological innovations to educational policy and practice called for systematic coordination of insights from multiple disciplines to situate developmental science within sociocultural context.peerReviewe

Challenges Associated with Reading Acquisition in Sub-Saharan Africa : Promotion of Literacy in Multilingual Contexts

Heikki Lyytinen and his co-authors note the problems of poorly trained teachers and large class sizes in Africa. Drawing on experience in Zambia, they present a case study of a digital game that can help overcome these problems and lead to more effective literacy instruction, particularly for students facing barriers to learning how to read.peerReviewe