Exploring the Truth and Reconciliation Commission report as a classroom resource

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) (1998) report is a five-volume record of the voices of many victims and perpetrators of apartheid giving evidence of their experiences and suffering. It is encoded in sophisticated and often complex English, largely inaccessible to its public South African readership, most of whom use English as a First, Second of even Third Additional language. This study explores the nature and function of the discourse of the TRC Report as a contemporary historical text. The aim of this investigation is to establish the viability of introducing the TRC report into the classroom. It focuses on teenage learners. I examine the ability of Grade 10 and 11 English Primary Language and First Additional Language learners to read the original TRC text and a modified/simplified form of it.

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

Centre for Applied Language and Literacy Studies and Services in Africa

Year dc:date.issued

2006

Author dc:creator

• Kennedy, Jacqueline

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Young, Douglas

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/11427/11594

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/11594