Thetha msebenzi thetha

The winning team: Students who have completed the masithethe isiXhosa course showcase their certificates.

Stimulating, scary and enlightening.

That was how a student described the isiXhosa course for beginners, masithethe isiXhosa, as participants who have completed it were handed certificates on 26 November.

The 12-week one-hour course is offered twice a year by the Multilingualism Education Project (MEP) in the Centre for Higher Education Development to promote multilingualism at UCT, which is viewed as pivotal to transformation, and to equip staff and students with basic communication skills in Xhosa.

According to Associate Professor Mbulu Madiba, MEP co-ordinator, the course was piloted last year with 60 people taking part. This year the number has grown to over 200 participants and plans were afoot to introduce intermediate and advanced courses.

Madiba told the "graduating" students that completing the course should mean more than just a piece of paper.

"Learning a new language is like acquiring a new soul, it is something that adds value to our lives," he said.