English at Once has been hard at work during the Covid-19 lockdown so that teachers can feel supported and have access to top-quality, up-to-date resources. Our English worksheets, which are based on current issues, have always been available online and now that many schools are having to resort to distance teaching, they have been even more relevant. Parents who have been keen for their children to keep up to date with English or to practise comprehension skills have also been subscribing to the worksheets.

Teachers who are using our resources have had this to say:

“Your worksheets have certainly helped me and my department in ensuring that some work is being done at home during lockdown. We are so happy to have joined your team this year; and are very grateful!”

“I appreciate your work even more now during this remote teaching period.”

“Your ONCE worksheets are well used by our school, but they have been a life-saver during lockdown!”

Our aim is to provide material that is up to date and current. In the context of the Covid-19 crisis, we have tried to focus on more positive, uplifting issues but have also wanted to create an awareness among school students about the way in which different people have been affected. As one teacher commented, “I think these comprehensions are helping our learners to frame this experience and to have some sense of it being something we can deal with.”

Our worksheets this term have covered topics like:

• What we can learn from Nelson Mandela and the way he used exercise to cope to with being confined in a tiny cell
• The story behind the first person to be given an injection in the trials for a vaccine against Covid-19
• Interviews with our unsung heroes – the people who are going about their daily work while we stay at home
• The way in which South Africans are connecting and helping one another in this time
• An insight into the very shy, sensitive pangolins – believed to be one of the links in the transmission of the virus from animals to humans.

As a further contribution, we have made available a free worksheet for the FET phase. Should you wish to receive this – based on an article by Professor Thuli Madonsela on whether this represents a ‘shift moment’ for South Africa – or any of our other awesome resources, please contact us on info@englishatonce.com.