In the context of the Foundation Phase, where I currently teach, Du Plessis and Louw (2008) observe that young Foundation Phase learners in South Africa are often enrolled in multilingual schools without considering whether they will use the language of instruction and learning understand or not. . The study comes in light of disappointing research results examining the reading levels of South African learners.
Focus and purpose of the study
Recent studies revealed that the preference for English as a language medium is based on the perception of this language as a tool for success in business, post-secondary education, education, employment and global interaction (Gabela, 2007). In a letter to parents, the principal stated his reasons as follows: the importance of English as a language for.
Rationale for the study
This study is therefore an attempt at a holistic understanding of reading in a South African multilingual context. How EFL teachers teach reading to third graders in multilingual contexts.
The significance of the study
As already established in the previous paragraphs, it is very difficult for learners to read, regardless of their linguistic backgrounds. These questions seek to understand whether teachers understand the need to support learners for reading purposes and also for linguistic reasons.
Structure of the study
The next section presents the literature review and theoretical framework of this study. But before I get into the above sections, I want to explore the theoretical underpinnings of this study.
Theoretical framework
These scholars argue that the top-down model allows learners to ask for whatever information they need whenever they need it. Top-down model allows learners to correct reading errors immediately by the teacher, for example if the child reads horse instead of house.
What is reading?
- Types of reading
- Reading focus time
- Reading in multilingual contexts
- How to teach reading
- Shared reading
- Word-attack skills
- Paired or independent reading
- Phonics approach
- Daily or weekly word lists approach
- Cloze method
Brown (2007) points out that intensive reading is usually a classroom activity in which students focus on the linguistic (i.e. language structure; grammar) or semantic (i.e. the connotation of words, symbols, signs and what they stand for). details of a passage under the guidance of the teacher. Landsberg (2005) supports this by saying that ESL learners find it difficult to break words into syllables and mispronounce words, for example 'the' being read as 'the'.
Importance of supporting learners struggling with reading
They maintain that it is the teacher's duty to be aware of this and ensure that reading material is at the right level for his class, is enjoyable and also makes sense to the child. Likewise, Alyousef (2005) points out that it is the teacher's responsibility to motivate learners by choosing the appropriate material, especially for those early stages of learning to read.
Basic principles in teaching reading
Basic Principles of How Children Learn to Read (pictured from Burnham & Jones, 2007) Van Duzer (1999) states that good readers are expected to understand what they read in most cases. This can be done by paying more attention to the basic principle of how children learn to read, so that they can teach reading successfully.
Steps in teaching reading
Before reading
Drucker (2003) suggests the following procedure that teachers can carry out before the reading process takes place. This scholar recommends that teachers can relate the passage for students to read to something familiar to them or provide a short discussion question that will engage students. In addition, Drucker (2003) also recommends that teachers can provide an overview of the section they are reading, or introduce the characters and describe the plot (up to but not including) the climax, lead students to read the story. and look for special information.
During reading
Post-reading activities should always depend on the purpose of reading and the type of information extracted from the text. Barnett (1988) says that post-reading exercises are intended to check learners' understanding and then lead learners to a deeper analysis of the text. After discussing a variety of reading activities used by teachers in teaching reading and in the ways in which they help learners understand what they are learning, I proceed to examine the literature and to find out when and how remedial reading can be undertaken.
Remedial reading
This scholar adds that proofreading can take the form of various activities, such as discussing the text orally, summarizing it, answering questions orally or in writing, linking the content of the text to one's own experiences or opinions of students, and remembering new words and their meanings when you see them in a different context.
Conclusion
Introduction
Qualitative research design
Denzin and Lincoln (2000) echo this sentiment by stating that the qualitative approach can examine complex issues that may be impossible with quantitative methods. Therefore, the qualitative approach was particularly suitable for this study as it allowed me to collect, explain and find meaning in social behavior (Merriam, 1998). Conducting research using the qualitative approach allowed me to gather rich information from the real participants.
Interpretive paradigm
Methodology
This able scholar acknowledges that, but argues that this is not the purpose or intent of case study research. Case study is rather aimed at gaining more insight and understanding into the dynamics of a specific situation. In terms of this research, the case study methodology was chosen because it allowed me to collect as much data as possible to answer my research questions.
The research site
The choice of the school context was driven by the need to gather relevant information to answer the critical research questions. Duckling Primary School' has a stable staff, where most of the staff have been at the school for over twenty years. In 1992, the school was opened to all other cultural/population groups (non-white students were enrolled for the first time in South African history).
Sampling
Purposeful sampling
In this case, teachers who speak English as a first language were selected based on their experience teaching reading to third graders in multilingual classrooms. She taught for 11 years and eight months and taught reading to three students in multilingual classes. She taught for 3 years and six months and taught reading to third grade students in multilingual contexts for 1 year and 6 months.
Types of interviews
- Structured interviews
- Semi-structured interviews
Lankshear and Knobel (2004) emphasize that when researchers use unstructured interviews, they begin the interview with a topic to be discussed in mind, but let the interviewees decide the direction of the interview and the ground to be covered in the discussion. In terms of the purpose of this study, during the interview process I was fortunate enough to use a boardroom that was much quieter than classrooms. The question lists were printed out in advance and were ready for use during the interview period.
Reliability
The schedule contained two sets of questions: the first set of questions focused on the school, the teachers, their qualifications, their experience, as well as their challenges in teaching reading to third graders in multilingual contexts.
Validity
Data analysis
The comparison of codes was done to select main codes, important codes and the remaining codes that may be relevant at a later stage. Finally, the last step is to continue to refine the coding system: I continued to refine the coding system by the number of codes that were necessary to analyze, interpret and reflect on data (after key issues identified, which were generated themes). These steps (suggested by McMillan and Schumacher, 2007) were used in this study to arrive at key findings.
Ethical issues
Participants were given the choice to either participate or not participate and were informed that they had the right to withdraw from the study at any time (Leedy & Ormrod. Bearing this in mind, data in this study were treated with confidentiality and only presented for the research I also explained that data collected during interviews would be stored securely at the university for a period of five years, and would only be used for the research.
Limitations of this study
I therefore ensured that the participants did not experience physical or emotional distress as a result of participating in the study. This chapter outlines the main aspects of the research design and the methodology used in this study. The research instruments and data collection plan were also discussed, along with the rationale for the choices made.
Introduction
Research findings
Theme 2: Comprehension of teachers’ role
The use of these strategies suggests that the teachers studied had an understanding of their roles as reading teachers, as well as the processes involved in teaching reading. The importance of the teachers' role was further emphasized in the interviews with the teachers. The teacher's role is more of a facilitator, she will sit back and help the students more who need it, and only when they are having a hard time will she step in and get involved in the reading process itself.
Theme 3: Complexities of teaching reading in multilingual classroom
From the above captions, it was clear that the number of students in the classroom contributes to the challenges teachers face in teaching reading. Ms. Cat went on to say that due to the large number of students in her class, she did not get much one-on-one time. One of the biggest problems is that second language learners of English do not understand sounds easily.
Theme 4: Strategic coping with the challenges in multilingual classrooms
The amount of paperwork placed on teachers is too much while they need more interaction with the learners. From the above narrative, it became clear that cooperation between teachers is a working strategy that they used to deal with the problems with reading instruction. Furthermore, the teachers attempted to establish strategies to help each other face the challenges.
Theme 5: Prioritisation of child in the reading process
As a team, they go the extra mile in listening to the students they are not teaching so they can help each other to make sure each student is in the right group. As can be seen in the above discussion, the teachers had the same views in terms of how they dealt with the challenges they encountered in teaching reading. That the students came first was evident in the discourse of reading that prevailed in the school and also in the impressive reading levels of the students as mentioned above.
Theme 6: Whole school approach to reading
These teachers were excited to talk about the kind of support they receive from the School Management Team (SMT). Mrs Joy and Mrs Jelly agreed that the school management plays an important role by providing mutual support when they need help. The school vision was shared by all stakeholders, making the teaching of reading an easier process for the teachers.
Conclusion
Mrs Jelly emphasized that as a new teacher she found it useful to be assisted by management for the benefit of the learner. I begin by outlining the research questions, aligning them with the findings of the study. I do this to show how each of the research questions was addressed in this study.
Discussion of findings
Implications and Recommendations
It is important for students to read independently, and this can only be done if they have access to books. Schools should allow students to take home class reading and fun reading books to expand opportunities for students to practice reading at home and become better readers and also improve reading skills. Teachers who teach reading should be competent and should have knowledge of how to teach reading.
FURTHER STUDY
LESSONS TO BE LEARNT FROM THIS STUDY
Conclusion
I WN Msimango am currently studying for a Master of Education in the School of Education at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Edgewood Campus under Mr Thabo Msibi. I am seeking permission to observe and interview third-grade teachers who speak English as a first language for third-grade students in multilingual classrooms in the Durban district. No respondent's personal data will be mentioned in the survey results.
Birthday Chart 5. Letter of the alphabet
CLASSROOM LAYOUT
READING BAG)
Class Reading Book 2. Two Fun Reading Books
GROUP READING
Tell me about students who struggle with reading in your class and how you support them. What forms of support do you offer to students in general and those with reading difficulties, particularly those who may not speak English as a first language. What do you think are the ways in which the DoE can support teachers in multilingual contexts.
