This is the isiNdebele Home Language CAPS Document (Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement) for the Intermediate Phase, Grades 4-6, issued by the South African Department of Basic Education. It sets out what must be taught, learnt and assessed in isiNdebele Home Language across Grades 4, 5 and 6, and is relevant for the 2026 and 2027 school years. The document organises the subject around four language skills – Listening and Speaking, Reading and Viewing, Writing and Presenting, and Language Structures and Conventions – and provides term-by-term content and teaching plans for each grade.
The following document, isiNdebele Home Language CAPS Document Grades 4-6.pdf, is the full document.
CAPS Document Brief
isiNdebele Home Language CAPS Document Grades 4-6 kavo-077
The document defines the isiNdebele Home Language curriculum through four core skill areas: Listening and Speaking, Reading and Viewing, Writing and Presenting, and Language Structures and Conventions, each described in terms of the specific knowledge and skills learners must develop. It also distinguishes Home Language from First Additional Language, noting that these labels refer to the proficiency level at which a language is offered rather than a learner’s mother tongue.
Running to 130 pages, the document is divided into four sections. Section 1 introduces the National Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement, its general aims and the time allocation across school phases. Section 2 introduces isiNdebele Home Language in the Intermediate Phase, covering language levels, the four language skills and language teaching approaches. Section 3 sets out the content and detailed term-by-term teaching plans for each language skill across Grades 4 to 6, and Section 4 covers assessment, including informal and formal assessment, the programme of assessment, recording and reporting, and moderation, followed by a glossary of terms.
The document aims to develop learners’ proficiency in Listening and Speaking, Reading and Viewing, and Writing and Presenting, together with a sound grasp of Language Structures and Conventions, so that they can communicate effectively and think critically and creatively in isiNdebele Home Language. It also aims to build learners’ literary, aesthetic and imaginative abilities so that they can use the language to understand, interpret and engage with their world with confidence by the end of Grade 6.
Grade
4-6
Subject
isiNdebele Home Language
Phase
Intermediate Phase
Curriculum
South African (CAPS)
School Years
2026 and 2027