About eTale Africa

eTale Africa supports to teach every child to read in local languages

Teacher eLearning Africa initiative (eTALE Africa) enhances teachers’ skills to teach literacy in local languages in sub-Saharan Africa by developing a comprehensive eLearning environment.

The eTALE Africa learning environment provides guidance and best practices for teachers on how to teach literacy starting from the basics to more advanced reading comprehension taking into consideration especially children who have difficulties in learning to read. It is a unique tool that supports teacher educators, special education teachers and teachers in their work. The eTALE Africa learning materials can be accessed by various mobile devices and PCs free of charge.

Created to enhance teachers’ skills to teach literacy

The beneficiaries are special education teachers, therapists, teachers, and teacher educators who will acquire evidence based knowledge and
skills to teach literacy in local languages. Children and their parents will benefit from the improved quality of teaching reading and acquired
basic literacy skills.

eTALE Africa key topics: Development of reading and writing skills

Pre-Literacy Skills

• Literacy environments
• Linguistic memory
• Working memory
• Naming speed
• Visuomotor skills
• Vocabulary
• Listening comprehension
• Phonological awareness
• Letter knowledge

Decoding and Spelling

• Reading accuracy
• Spelling
• Reading and spelling fluency

Reading Comprehension

• Inference making
• Taking perspectives
• Critical interpretation
• Assessment

Productive Writing

• Cohesion
• Coherence
• Nuanced and rich language
• Sentences
• Words

Lifelong Literacy Learning

• Adult literacy
• Multiliteracy
• Metalinguistic skills
• Multilinguistic competence

Important Background Factors

• Motivation
• Attention
• Executive function
• Learning skills

Developed through consortium of literacy experts

The joint eTALE Africa project brings together literacy experts from Kenya, Namibia, Tanzania, Zambia, and Finland.

The partners are:
• Archbishop Mihayo University College of Tabora (AMUCTA), Tanzania
• Kenya Institute of Special Education (KISE), Kenya
• University of Namibia, (UNAM), Namibia
• Centre for promotion of literacy in Sub-Saharan Africa (Capolsa) at the
Department of Psychology, University of Zambia (UNZA)
• Niilo Mäki Institute, (Niilo Mäki Foundation, NMF), Finland
• University of Jyväskylä, Finland
• University of Helsinki, Finland

The eTALE Africa project is administered by Niilo Mäki Institute (NMF) and co-funded by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland and Niilo Mäki Institute (NMF).