Today marks the launch of TOTS or Turn On The Subtitles – in South Africa – to drive awareness around a simple action that can scientifically improve children’s literacy levels.
Turnonthesubtitles.org is working with local entertainment and sports stars to champion an ambitious plan to create the World’s largest literacy programme. The strategy is simple yet powerful: it encourages families to activate subtitles on their streaming platforms to help improve their children’s reading skills.
Connie Ferguson, Bryan Habana, Proverb and Graeme Smith have joined international supporters of TOTS – Jack Black and Stephen Fry – by posting messages to their social channels to highlight the illiteracy pandemic and encourage everyone to turn on the subtitles on their streaming platforms.
Su Little, Campaign Lead of TurnOnTheSubtitles.org says, “The statistics are catastrophic. Out of a global children’s literacy study across 57 countries, South Africa ranked the lowest, where 8 out of 10 children in our country currently can’t read for meaning in any language by age 10. Unfortunately, 7 out of 10 parents or caregivers don’t or can’t help children practice reading.”
Ferguson explains in her Instagram post: “Nearly half of our primary schools have no books, and worst of all, problems surrounding illiteracy are costing our economy a staggering R119 billion each year.”
Habana adds, “There’s a simple, 10-second action that can change this. An action that gives parents the time to get things done, guilt-free, while helping their children practice reading. And it costs nothing.”
“Imagine this: watching just three to seven hours of subtitled TV a week could expose your child to a million words in a year. By doubling their chance of becoming a good reader, maybe we can also double the chance of increasing the matric pass rate,” says Proverb.
Research shows that turning on subtitles while children watch TV can significantly improve their reading skills, doubling the likelihood of them becoming proficient readers. Platforms like Netflix and YouTube, along with many others, offer subtitles for a wide range of children’s shows, providing an easy, accessible tool to improve literacy.
By simply activating this feature, parents can incorporate a proven, impactful method into their child’s daily entertainment, transforming screen time into an opportunity for learning and development.
You can also find links to our celebrity advocates videos below; Connie Ferguson –
Bryan Habana – https://www.instagram.com/p/DAnGYuVIilu/
Proverb – https://www.instagram.com/p/DAnTJisom0C/
