"Love in your language" storytelling festival at UJ

It also presents South African youths with a platform to share their talents related to storytelling, song and dance, poetry/choral verse recital and stage production.

Included in the programme is the Executive Dean of the Faculty of Education, UJ, Professor Sarah Gravett and the director of the Gcinamasiko Arts and Heritage Trust, Dr Gcina Mhlophe who will read stories to the audience using a variety of South African languages.

According to Professor Gravett, reading and storytelling lays the foundation for all further cognitive development in young children: "Reading and storytelling are very important ways of activating and initiating the development of more complex thinking and linguistic literacy, which can prove crucial to the years of schooling. Reading and storytelling are used as tools to stimulate language development the better, as we never exist without language; we use it all the time."

Dr Gcina Mhlophe said that the Nozincwadi Stotytelling and Book Celebration Festival has been running in Durban since 2008: "It has grown bigger every year reaching a wider audience annually. Both schools and the general public have requested that we keep them informed of all our activities. One of my greatest joys at these festivals is to witness young talent shining on our stages and to see the ancient art of storytelling taking its rightful place in the hearts and minds of South Africans, young and old. This year we are honouring our mother tongues with great pride. Sign languages, brail and other forms of communication are to be celebrated."

Teach them something about the world

The Storytelling Festival also forms part of the Faculty of Education's reading programme, a programme that helps parents with reading strategies at home. "The question should not be whether I should be reading to my child, but what I should be reading and how I can use the reading experience to teach my child something about society," said Professor Gravett.

"Selected stories can be used to teach a child something about society and the world. By exposing the child to the right story, you are able to refer to the events and essential facets of narrative to teach them something about the world. For instance, a story that deals with friendship can be used to teach values and ideas accompany bonds of friendship."

She concluded: "Reading and storytelling can assist with memory retention, deepen thinking skills by stretching the imagination and encourage creative problem solving. Visualisation skills are expanded because reading and listening to stories allows one to form pictures in the mind. Most importantly, it presents an opportunity for children and adults to develop rich language abilities filled with new vocabulary and expressions."

The audience can also look forward to performances by UJ students and learners from nearby schools. Some of these performances include song and dance, arts and crafts for children and puppet shows,

The Storytelling Festival is open to all; however space is limited. For additional information and registration, contact Gadija Petker on az.ca.ju@pajidag or +27 (0)11 559 5101.