Analysis of data
4.2. Themes
4.2.5. Resources
From the data collected from all the participants, it became clear that there were common factors that made it very difficult for the participants to conduct reading lessons in their classrooms; for example there was the lack of resources, large numbers, age-related factors and home background.
53 From the participants’ point of view overcrowding made grouping and class control very difficult for a class of more than 50 learners. Resources became the second factor of concern.
Participants revealed that there was a shortage of reading books especially the big books. Fleisch (2008) states that most international studies of achievement can be linked to the family background of school children while Darling and Westberg (2004) mention that parent involvement has a great impact on children’s acquisition of reading. Parents are encouraged to listen to their children reading. One participant mentioned that the school was not strict when it came to admitting learners to the Grade One class. This results in some parents admitting their children to school before they (the children) reached the required age, which is six years. Such learners are immature. Another point made was a lack of parental support. Most learners are from poor families and most of them are orphans.
To the question, “What problems, if any do you encounter in the teaching of reading in Grade One isiZulu? The third participant responded:
One of the problems is that learners tend to pretend to be reading when in fact, they are not. They memorise the story and one may think they read from their books but
they are not. Sometimes materials are not enough. There is no reading stuff.
Responding to the very same question, the second participant answered:
Sometimes I send parent some materials to use in helping their children to read, but all in vain. Parents do not help their children at home. Some children are orphans and as a result they lack home background. Large numbers are also a problem. Sometimes words used in the texts are above the level of Grade ones.
Darling and Westberg (2004) emphasize the importance of teacher-parent interaction in children’s reading acquisition. They say parents play an important role in teaching children to read.
54 4.2.6. Traditional vs OBE and beyond
A split of difference of opinion emerged when participants were asked how they taught reading before and after the implementation of Outcome-Based Education (OBE). In her response the second participant said:
Before the implementation of OBE learners were taught words first then the sentence strips followed. From the sentence strip actual books were used. It was the teacher who did a lot of reading. After the introduction of OBE teachers now use a variety of methods for teaching reading. Learners have vocabulary lessons and they predict by looking at the picture. To me, OBE is the best. It allows for many skills and strategies to be used by teachers while teaching reading in Grade One
.
The Revised National Curriculum Statement (DoE, 2002) introduced guidelines that provided teachers with a balanced approach to reading development to be introduced in the Foundation Phase, but as Long and Zimmerman (2008) point out, South Africa, when compared with other countries, is still behind in introducing appropriate reading skills and strategies in different grades.
The first participants answered:
I was not a teacher before OBE was introduced, but I remember how my Grade One teacher used to teach us reading. I think, it was a bit clumsy. I missed OBE when it started. I think I need training like other teachers. With enough training, it will be good.
To teach reading I depend much on the “Teacher’s Handbooks” which were only introduced last year.
To the same question the third participant said:
There was no variety of methods used. With the introduction of OBE, teachers use many different methods and strategies to teach reading. But, my concern is, those learners I taught reading before OBE was introduced, almost all of them, could read isiZulu fluently. Only a few can read isiZulu fluently now
55 From what the first participant said, it is clear that the way teachers teach, has an impact on how one teaches our learners at school. Flesch (2008) point out that the purpose of the implementation of the new curriculum was to do away with the use of outdated teaching methods. But contrary to expectations, classroom teaching methods have not changed. According to The Revised National Curriculum Statement (DoE, 2002) the most important task of the Foundation Phase teacher is to ensure that all learners learn to read. It goes on to say that it is recommended that all learners need to be taught strategies that help them to read with understanding and which help them to unlock the code of written text. It is the aim of this study to find out how Grade One isiZulu teachers teach reading in the Foundation Phase in order to ensure that all learners are taught to become competent readers.
Choosing reading books for the Grade Ones, according to all the participants, needed special attention. They all believed that teachers must choose readers that are at the level of the learners.
Moore and Cunningham (2003) agree when they say that teachers provide access to print written at various levels of difficulty so learners can be taught from and experience materials within their range of experience. They go on to say that when using the reading-aloud method, they should take special care to select passages that are within learners’ capabilities. The third participant was asked the following question: What criteria do you use when choosing reading books for your Grade One isiZulu learners?
She responded:
“I always choose books/material with simple written material, a book that has the correct shapes of the letters, a book that has pictures that can easily be interpreted.
The second participant’s response to the above question was:
“I consider their environment and background information i.e.knowledge. I look for books that are interesting especially for using the reading-aloud method and “shared reading”. These books must be colourful and must have a lot of pictures for the learners to match pictures with the story.
Fleisch (2008) indicates that textbooks, readers and other materials have become an essential feature of classrooms worldwide. For many teachers they are the core of the content that is
56 taught and the key to successful reading. Drawing from what Fleisch (2008) has said, it is important that teachers should choose appropriate books for their children. For all the participants this question of choosing appropriate books for their learners to read from, was problematic since there was not much to choose from. They complained of the lack of resources.
As the ringmaster, the teacher, (as referred to by Van der Host and Mc Donald (2003), must make it a point that everything in his/her class is as it should be. The choice of reading books for his/her learners lies on his/her shoulders. Hichman, Pollard-Durodola and Vaughn (2004) stresses that teachers should choose storybooks that are at the learners’ level of proficiency.