Rationale
The fundamental element of literacy in pre-primary education cannot be understated. It is central to learning and an essential foundation of education. The global improvement of literacy demands up to date approaches of teaching that will position the students strategically
in this global village. The ultimate goal of literacy instruction is to build a student's comprehension, writing skills, and overall skills in communication. The methodology facet is of importance, as it is crucial for learning to take place. The approach a teacher takes to instruct
the student can be detrimental and affect the student’s progression to later levels of education. It is believed that pre-school students are able to understand and repeat an average of 4000 words and can speak five-word sentences coherently. While others acquire language quickly other struggle to process, store, and retrieve. An environment rich in vocabulary will enable the child to learn quickly. Oral language and phonological awareness relate to literacy development. Therefore, the aim of this course is to equip the teacher with the necessary practical skills to be able to facilitate literacy learning. Emphasis is placed on the teaching practices that improve the outcomes in reading, writing, speaking and listening. A sound vocabulary and a vocabulary skill will serve students better in the later stages of learning. The inclusion of lesson plans, approaches to teaching, facilitating as an effective instruction mode are included.

Learning outcomes
At the end of the course students will be expected to:

(i)   Identify the most modern teaching approaches in the language lesson.
(ii)  Define an integrated literacy model as it is formed by the most modern trends of the 21st century, through the continuous interconnection of act and theory and scientific documentation of the teacher's educational options.
(iii) Explain basic pedagogical principles in the teaching of Language and its Literacy.
(iv) Apply flexible and targeted modern pedagogical approaches to developing an integrated literacy model.
(v)  Prepare a rich portfolio of practice and teaching tools related to Language and Literacy.
(vi) Compare and contrast facilitation and other modes of instruction.
(vii) Explain the manageable steps used in the teaching of language and literacy by practicing.
(viii) Engage in peer teaching to demonstrate linking of theory and practice.
(ix)  Analyse and evaluate peer performance.