The Learning Adventure dates back to 1986. It grew out of ESST’s work with teachers in the afternoons. The teachers were seeking ways in which the classroom could be changed into a place of learning (instead of teaching). Together, we decided to develop material which would be child-centred; and so, the English Proficiency Programme (EPP) was born. Higher primary school children (standards 4 to 5) received bi-monthly My Own English Magazine and lower primary school children (standards 1 to 3) received My Own English Story Book. The learning material was highly interactive, covered all the learning areas, and pupils were encouraged to learn together and enjoy learning.

Apart from exceptional scholastic performance across the board, the EPP also achieved the following:
• With a strong emphasis on the individual and how precious s/he is, learners developed a self-awareness and self-confidence (where there was very little or none earlier).
• Learners learnt to appreciate their culture and its uniqueness. They were encouraged to send their own stories to “Uncle James” (the persona in the material), some of which were then published.
• Learners were encouraged (and shown how) to give free reign to their artistic competencies, e.g. writing poems, drawing pictures, making things.
• Because the material was presented in English and lent itself to spontaneous discussion, learners developed fluency in English, the lingua franca, in a stimulating and fun-filled manner.

The EPP therefore contributed significantly to:
• The development of personal/social skills and an improvement in scholastic performance
• An appreciation of the learners’ own culture and heritage
• The development of learners’ creative talents (writing, drawing, acting, etc.)
• Fluency (and confidence) in the use of English.

The EPP was funded primarily through foreign agencies, amongst which were USAID and various Scandinavian embassies. Over the years hundreds of primary schools were served in this way. The programme expanded to the extent that at some stage all the primary schools in the Northern Cape were exposed to it. By 1998, foreign funding started to dry up. At the same time, funding started to be channelled directly to the Department of Education for the implementation of outcomes-based education. Statistics tell us that illiteracy and innumeracy are at their highest ever amongst primary school learners. From 1997 to 2001, as funding was decreasing, we changed the English Proficiency Programme into the Learning Adventure and consolidated the twelve editions per year (6 x My Own English Magazine and 6 x My Own English Storybook) to four editions per year, two for the higher grades (6 and 7) and two for the lower grades (3, 4 and 5). In 2001 the Learning Adventure came to a natural end. Our methodology of developing cognitively stimulating materials and implementing them in schools through teacher training and learner group study, has been tried and tested, and externally evaluated. Two doctoral theses have also been written on the Learning Adventure. To Top