Most South African children learn to read in more than one language. Here is how HL and FAL work in CAPS — and how to support both.
South African classrooms are gloriously multilingual. In the Foundation Phase, children study a Home Language (HL) and a First Additional Language (FAL) — and learning to read well in one strengthens the other.
Home Language carries the heaviest reading load: children learn to read and write in it first. The First Additional Language — often English — starts with listening and speaking, with reading building up from Grade 2.
Research is clear that strong reading skills in a child’s strongest language transfer to the second. Blending, decoding and comprehension are skills learned once and reused.
Read aloud in whichever language you are most comfortable in — story time in isiZulu or Afrikaans builds the same comprehension muscles English will use later. Organisations like the Molteno Institute produce African-language readers for exactly this reason.
Our programme offers English and Afrikaans streams, each following its own CAPS sequence, so a child can practise HL and FAL side by side. Explore the streams from any grade page, starting at Grade 1.
External sources open in a new tab. Saving Grace Education Group is not affiliated with these organisations.
Our CAPS-aligned programme turns these ideas into fun, interactive lessons. Try the first two lessons of every grade for free.
Help your child become a confident reader. Explore the CAPS-aligned Saving Grace Learn to Read programme — the first two lessons of every grade are free, no card needed.
