Challenges teachers face when teaching grade 4 English first additional language (FAL) reading in rural schools of the Dzindi circuit in the Vhembe district
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Date
2021
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Publisher
University of Zululand
Abstract
English is the medium of instruction for most of the learners in primary schools in Vhembe District. Therefore, the ability to read is an indispensable foundation for all learning. Failure by learners to understand either concepts in lessons or questions in assessments, because of English poor reading skills, impacts on learner performance in other subjects. However, teaching reading is a major challenge in South African rural public schools today. A considerable number of schools in the Vhembe District have teachers experiencing such challenges. While the Department of Basic Education (DBE) is attempting to intervene in these schools to address this problem, the interventions and turnaround strategies have not been sustainable. In schools where interventions and turnaround strategies are provided, such interventions have been short-lived and were not sustainable. The aim of the study was to investigate challenges teachers face when teaching Grade 4 English First Additional Language reading (FAL) in rural schools of Dzindi Circuit in Vhembe District toestablish strategies to overcome those challenges. This study used a quantitative research design in which questionnaires and observation were used for data collection as a result quantitative approach was used. The sampling method used was probability where simple random sampling procedure was followed to select a sample of 20 respondents who completed questionnaires for quantitative method and 5 teachers were observed. Quantitative data was collected using questionnaires and structured observation schedules in this study. The DBE should take advantage of the high qualifications and vast experience held by most teachers in rural schools and empower such teachers through workshops on reading English FAL. It is recommended that teachers in rural schools must not be complacent about teacher-learner ratios that have become much lower, compared to the past, but should aim at the recommended ratio, that promotes individual attention to learners. Teachers in rural schools, most of whom are natives, are aware of words in their home language, that have the potential of interfering with words to be read by learners in English FAL. Special classes meant to focus on such words are crucial for learners to be alerted of such interference. Quantitative data were analysed using IBM Statistical Package for Social Sciences Version 25 (IBM SPSS statistics). Theoretical framework used theories of reading which are: the bottom-up approach to reading called phonics, the cognitive view (top-down processing), constructivism and the metacognitive view.
Description
A dissertation submitted to the Department of English in fulfillment of the Requirements for a Master of Arts in the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Zululand, 2021.
Keywords
English First Additional Language, rural schools, medium of instruction