The term ‘lingua franca’ refers to a common language that is spoken between people with different native languages. This is what Lingua Franca Publishers has accomplished over the course of 17 years: Working with expert authors, the 100% black-owned publishing house has published a wide range of empowering, easy-to-use books for young people from different backgrounds (from educational books to novels and children’s books) in various South African languages, including indigenous languages.
Education for everyone
‘Our philosophy is to empower learners and young people in general, who are from different backgrounds, to prepare their own paths for a bright future through learning and the culture of reading,’ says Louise McDermott, the Publishing Director.
Established in 1993, on the brink of South Africa’s significant transition to democracy, Lingua Franca Publishers has distinguished itself as an inclusive publishing house. ‘We believe and understand that the education system, as well as the publishing industry, should be diverse and inclusive. This enables us to publish quality and enriched learning and reading material that is inclusive in terms of racial, social, and cultural diversity in the country.’
Top-notch textbooks for success – in learning and in life
This desire to contribute meaningfully to the future of young people – and the knowledge that the children and the youth need top-quality, relatable and easy-to-understand content in order to excel at school and in life – have been the driving force behind all of Lingua Franca’s publishing endeavours.
Lingua Franca’s Step-by-Step Series and Fast-Track Series both embody this ethos. While Step-by-Step covers Foundation and Senior phase, presenting the learning content in a manner which enables the learner to efficiently grasp and actively understand the concepts from beginning to end, Fast-Track focuses on the FET phase, giving learners a headstart. Both the Step-by-Step and Fast-Track series are supported by comprehensive teacher’s guides.
The Step-by-Step Series:
● Is CAPS compliant
● Encourages step-by-step active learning
● Respects the diversity of learners
● Encourages learners to work actively together in groups, promoting collaboration skills
● Promotes creativity and problem-solving through activities, questions, essays, projects and case studies
The Fast-Track Series:
● Is CAPS compliant
● Integrates ICT skills, helping learners who live in a digital age to develop ICT literacy
● Puts forth a variety of study skills and strategies that learners can use to study smarter and achieve better results
● Gives practical applications of subject-specific concepts/skills in a real-life situation
● Promotes sound subject knowledge, high-order thinking, interaction among learners, and continued explanations either in groups or individually
● Empowers learners to be engaged in their own learning process
The books, which are continually revised and adapted to remain engaging and explanatory, are testament to Lingua Franca’s commitment to publishing content that prepares learners for a bright future.
As Louise reflects: ‘The most rewarding part of our job is that we are able to contribute to the future of young people, by providing learning and reading material that are of high quality and relevant, and which assists them to excel in their academics.’
Schools can purchase these textbooks from selected commercial bookstores such as CNA, Van Schaik, PNA, Protea Boekwinkel and many independent stores across the country.
Lingua Franca Publishers has a variety of learning material listed on the National Catalogue of the Department of Basic Education. These books were developed according to the Curriculum Assessment Policy Statements (CAPS); and are used nationwide in schools and libraries.
