Reading for Ethiopia's Achievement Developed Technical Assistance Program
The Basics:
Funded by: USAID
Prime contractor: RTI International
Sub-contract value: $1,024,651.00
SIL LEAD involvement: 2012-2017
Minority languages served (7) - Somali, Wolaytta, Sidaamu Afoo, Hadiyyissa, Amharic, Afaan Oromo, Tigrigna
Materials produced: Developed materials (Student Books and Teacher’s Guides) for G 1-8 for 7 mother tongue languages; Created Supplementary Reading Materials (SRMs) in 7 MTs; Created Supplementary Reading Materials in English
Thesis of Project: Initiated in October 2012, the Reading for Ethiopia's Achievement Developed Technical Assistance (READ TA) Project was a five-year initiative to improve the reading and writing performance of 15 million primary grade students in 7 Ethiopian languages, and English as a second language.
English mlcs review. august, 2016
SIL LEAD Overall Contribution to Project:
Assisted with the review of the national MT syllabus and assessment of existing learning materials. We trainer the Mother Tongue Curriculum Development Team (MTCDT) of seven languages in developing L1 teaching-learning materials;
Assisted with reviewing and finalizing Scope and Sequence for G1-8 in 7 languages;
Directly assisted with developing materials (Student Books and Teacher’s Guides) for G 1-8 for the 3 SNNPR languages (Wolaitta, Haddiyya, and Sidaamu Afoo);
Conducted a desk study on English Situation Analysis in Ethiopia. We also conducted pre-primary curriculum review to address the issue of English curriculum for pre-primary and produce recommendations for the Ethiopian context and conducted a review of Grades 9-12 English Language Curriculum framework through a desk study.
Provided input in reviewing English language curriculum.
Created Supplementary Reading Materials (SRMs) in 7 MTs for G 1-8; Also created SRMs in English - using Bloom
Conducted Bloom awareness training for Latin and Saba language groups
Summary of the Project:
The Reading for Ethiopia’s Achievement Developed Technical Assistance (READ TA) project was a 5-year (2012–2017) US Agency for International Development (USAID)-funded initiative to improve the reading and writing performance of 15 million primary students in seven Ethiopian languages (Amharic, Af-Somali, Afaan Oromo, Tigrinya, Sidaamu Afoo, Wolayttatto, and Hadiyyisa) and English. (READ TA) was awarded on October 8, 2012, by the USAID to RTI International (RTI). READ TA was implemented by the Prime organization RTI International and six implementing partners: Save the Children International (SCI), Florida State University (FSU), Whiz Kids Workshop (WKW), SIL LEAD, Inveneo, and Books for Africa (BfA).READ TA worked closely with the Ministry of Education (MOE) and Regional State Education Bureaus (RSEBs).
READ TA was a major component in the effort toward improving the learning outcomes of primary school students, specifically in reading and writing. In this regard, the project aims to achieve the four following intermediate results (IRs):
IR 1: Reading and writing materials appropriate for primary classrooms and pre-service and in-service teacher training developed
IR 2: Language-specific teaching and learning methodologies and strategies that focus on helping students learn to read and write effectively are applied
IR 3: Language teaching and learning supported by appropriate technology and teaching aids
IR 4: Technical assistance to support RSEBs and MOE for the READ institutional improvement
READ TA also addressed three crosscutting themes of paramount importance in complementing its efforts: (1) gender and inclusion, (2) capacity building (CB), and (3) information communications and technology (ICT).
READ TA coordinated project activities from its central office in Addis Ababa and operates in five of the biggest regions of Ethiopia. It opened offices in the regional capitals of Amhara, Oromia, Ethio-Somali, Southern Nations Nationalities and Peoples’ Region (SNNPR), and Tigray regional states. The project also remotely worked with the Addis Ababa, Afar, Benishangul-Gumuz, Gambella, Dire Dawa, and Harari regional states/city administrations.
