Earlier this year I had the privilege of running a workshop for a talented group of facilitators at Virgin Active in Cape Town. One of the delegates came up with this ingenious way to teach Zulu greetings to English speakers. It was such a success that I thought it needed to be shared.

Prepare:

1. Create flashcards for each of the statements made by two people when greeting each other. Make one set of flashcards for each group (2 – 4) of learners.

2. Create a handout containing the Zulu greetings and their English equivalents, plus a set of cultural tips and ideas.

Run the activity:

• Place learners into small teams and hand each team the set of flashcards. Their task is to sort out the flashcards under two headings: Person 1 and Person 2. They should sequence the statements correctly and should also suggest the meaning of each one.

• Debrief the exercise and invite each group to paste up their answers on the board. Nudge the learners towards the correct sequence and meaning where necessary.

• Now get learners to pair up and to practise the sequence together. You can leave the flashcards up for the exercise at first and then, once everyone has talked through the greeting three or four times, remove the flashcards and let them practise without help.

• Conclude by passing around the handout for further reference.

Comment

What I enjoyed most about this activity was the intellectual activity demanded by the sorting, sequencing and allocating meaning exercise. Everyone was engaged in really looking at the words, recalling the sound of them, and reasoning through the meaning. The result – an audible ‘click’ as the light bulbs went on for everyone! Thank you Sandile!

Karen Gray is a director of Gray Training, a company devoted to developing facilitators, trainers, assessors, instructional designers and business writers. Training Tips is a free service that Gray Training offers to all our students and colleagues – and to anyone who is passionate about making learning happen. You will receive a useful idea each week to help you to make your training more interesting and effective.

For more information visit Gray Training

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