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READING FOR MEANING IN SOUTH AFRICA – 81% FAILURE IN GRADE 4

What a disaster!

To try to help with this disaster, Busy Bee Editing is presenting a FREE basic course in the fundamental principles governing English language usage.

children holding books
Photo by Photo By: Kaboompics.com on Pexels.com

(1) a noun is a word referring to a thing, a person or an idea such as; a ball, a table a car a book or a picture.

(2) a verb describes an action performed by a person, an animal or even an idea.

(3) a sentence is a collection of words that describes what is happening.

e.g. The man picked up the ball. Man is a noun. Picked-up is the verb and ball is a noun.

The fundamental building block of the English language is a sentence comprising a noun, followed by a verb, followed by another noun.

It conveys a precise meaning that cannot be misunderstood and cannot mislead the reader.

Straightforward sentences such as in e.g. (1) should comprise the basic building block of all English writing. These principles could be easily taught by teachers and parents at home. A sufficient vocabulary for reading with meaning could be taught to children in the same way. EBooks on Amazon can be downloaded, viewed and taught at a very reasonable price.

Moving-on:

(4) Pronouns: a pronoun stands in place of a noun because it is unnecessary and irrating to the reader to quote names repetitively if readers and writers know which pronoun to use in place of a noun.

Pronouns include words such as he, she, it, they etc.

e.g. If a writer has earlier referred to a person such as Mr Brown in a story; he can be used to replace Mr Brown.

Mr Brown, a very nasty man, kept the ball that had been accidentally thrown over the wall, because he was being spiteful.

(5) Vocabulary

If your family is lucky enough to live in an area where there is a book exchange, a library or a second-hand book shop; then parent and child could go there together and buy children's books at a reasonable price. Alternatively; your child could swap books with friends, so as not to incur. Reading children's books pitched at the right age is the best way to improve vocabulary.

(6) Prepositions; are words that introduce the location of something; such as on, under, over, through; even words regarding time, such as during.

(7) Adverbs; are words that provide additional information about verbs, adjectives or other adverbs. They include words and phrases such as; overnight, extremely, clearly, horribly and so on.

(8) Adjectives are words that describe nouns; such as beautiful, creative, beneficial, lively etc.

If you were lucky enough to be born into a family of readers, you should take advantage of that by following in their footsteps and reading as much as you can because being proficient at English will stand you in good stead for the rest of your life.

We will continue publishing videos like this one; because it is totally unacceptable for children in South Africa to be so deficient in English reading skills.

Bee

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Meet Busy Bee

Busy Bee Editing is a South African proofreading and editing service founded by experienced editors Brenda van Rensburg and Hugo Chandler. Together, they help students, authors, academics and businesses present polished, professional writing with confidence.

Whether you're submitting a master's thesis, publishing your first novel, preparing a journal article or finalising an important business document, every piece of writing receives the same meticulous attention to detail. Their goal is simple: to ensure your words say exactly what you intended, clearly, accurately and professionally.

Because every great piece of writing deserves one final careful read.