TAQA Seeks To Leverage Technology To Develop An App That Allows Children To Read Stories In Their Mother Tongue
TAQA Seeks To Leverage Technology To Develop An App That Allows Children To Read Stories In Their Mother Tongue. TAQA believes languages are far more than just a medium of instruction, they are holders of the spirit, thought, imagination, and history of a people. The loss of a language is not just the loss of an easily replaceable medium of instruction, it is the loss of libraries, imagination, histories, and entire identities.
By leveraging technology, the company is currently developing an application that will allow children to read stories in their mother tongue. Its goal is to develop their competence in reading by learning a second language and growing a love for their history and identity. In partnership with Nal’ibali, it also offers access to children’s audiobooks in South African languages on various streaming sites.
TAQA’s vision is to make knowledge accessible to everyone by using technology to increase access and eliminate language as a barrier. Africa is the only continent in which the majority of students study in a language other than their mother tongue. African children are not given a fair opportunity to gain knowledge of themselves, their histories as well as other knowledge in the school system. TAQA’s mission is to address 3 root causes of this:• Language Barrier• Lack of access to reading material • Under representation of African cultures and histories
The TAQA App is a digital library of illustrated children’s audiobooks in all 11 official South African spoken languages. The company’s digital library of illustrative stories with read along functionality and audio components can help children grow competent in reading whilst also developing a love for literature through stories written about them in their mother tongues.
