This study aims to investigate how grade 1 isiZulu teachers teach reading in the foundation phase of schooling. The focus and purpose of this study will be discussed in the next sections.
Focus and purpose
None of the current policy, curriculum or curriculum support documents put these communicative and whole-language approaches to literacy into practice or explain exactly what it is that teachers need to do in the classroom to ensure that students can read. It is the purpose of this research study to find out what exactly happens in the three grade 1 classrooms during the isiZulu reading lessons.
Rationale for this study
The personal and contextual rationale that motivated the conduct of this study is provided in this chapter, while a brief discussion of what is expected in all five chapters of this study is also provided. Chapter five contains the findings and recommendations for teachers and parents, the school and the Ministry of Education.
Conclusion
Conceptual Framework and Literature Review
Introduction
A brief history of reading
Analyzing Stern's (1983) model of language teaching, it can be said that he placed students within the school environment where language learning takes place. She argued that school and community have a direct impact on a student's language learning.
What is reading?
Similarly, Joubert Bester and Meyer (2008) argue that reading is one of the most powerful ways of receiving ideas, information and stories. Although, according to the Ministry of Education (2007), some vocabulary can be learned incidentally from the context of the text the student is reading, there is a need to teach vocabulary in a planned and deliberate way.
The Revised National Curriculum Statement and Reading Literature
The Department for Education's Revised National Curriculum Statement (RNCS) (DoE, 2002) introduced the learning outcomes to be developed at both Foundation and Middle Stage levels. This study reveals what actually happened within each of the first grade isiZulu classrooms during the reading lessons.
The National Reading Strategy
- Teacher competency
- Teaching conditions
- Print environment
- Language issues
- Inclusive education
- Purposes of the National Reading Strategy
For years, many teachers believed that they did not have to 'read' reading, but simply 'facilitate' the process. 24 (DoE, 2008), the National Reading Strategy is the response of the Minister and Department of Education to promote reading in schools in South Africa.
Components of teaching reading
- Phonemic awareness
- Comprehension
- Vocabulary
- Fluency
- The pre-reader stage
- The emergent reader stage
- The early reader stage
It is an important building block in teaching reading, which is the creation and understanding of meaning. During this stage the reader, as in the early reader stage, uses pictures to make meaning.
Methods of teaching reading
- Shared reading
- Reading aloud
- Pre-reading stage
- During reading stage
- After-reading stage
- Group-guided reading
- Independent Reading
- The look-and-say method
- The top-down approach
The reader repeats the beginning, middle and end of the story in a little more detail. In response to the critical question, "How do isiZulu first grade teachers teach reading in their classrooms?" This study investigated the methods and strategies used by first grade teachers in teaching reading in their classrooms. Children are aware of print and the relationship between print and story.
Cunningham (2005) argues that teachers' reading aloud has been shown to be one of the most important motivators for children to read. During the reading phase, teachers motivate learners by asking questions about the cover and the title of the book. Teachers should ask learners some questions to ensure that they are following the logic of the story.
They further state that the look-and-say method uses a three-pronged approach: the word, the sentence and the story. Writing the letters of the sounds that form the word, in the air or on the ground. In the top-down model, the reading process begins in the mind of the reader, who makes hypotheses about the meaning of the text to be read.
Conclusion
According to Jourbert, Bester, and Meyer (2008), the bottom-up approach, also known as skill acquisition theory, emphasizes the development of subskills that gradually lead to complex reading skills. Approaches to reading based on bottom-up theory can be classified into synthetic and analytical approaches to reading. Bottom-up models begin with the recognition and decoding of letters, groups of letters, and words, with the reader gradually processing larger units of print to sentence, paragraph, page, and finally the entire text.
The assumption is that meaning is acquired in a step-by-step manner going from letter to meaning as a sequence. In a top-down approach, Joubert, Bester, and Meyer (2008) state that the premise is that reading forms a meaningful whole in which meaning and meaning underlie. It focuses primarily on associating students with real books and authentic text, and on reading for meaning.
The third model of reading, which is the combination of bottom-up and top-down models, is called the interactive model.
Research Design and Methodology
- Introduction
- Qualitative approach
- Characteristics of qualitative research
- Interpretivist Paradigm
- Sampling
- Stratified purposive sampling
- Interviews
- Types of Interviews
- Unstructured or open-ended interviews
- Structured interviews
- Advantages of using interviews
- Observation
- Types of observation
- Structured observation
- Unstructured observation
- Advantages of observation
- Data analysis
- Limitation for the study
- Conclusion
The researcher is present with the respondent so that he or she can clearly clarify the question. During the interview process, the researcher ensured that the interview took place in a relaxed environment. It is used to enable the researcher to gain a deeper insight and understanding of the observed phenomenon.
This method of data collection (observation) allowed the researcher to collect "live" information from the three observed first grade isiZulu teachers. In the initial stages of observation, the researcher must assume a relatively passive role. The researcher should never aggressively search for data, but observe events as they occur in nature.
It is important that the researcher remains a researcher and does not become a therapist, and always protects the integrity and anonymity of the participants. For the context of this study, the researcher observed participants' interactions with students, the methods and resources they used during the reading lessons. Regarding the purpose of this study, participant observation is relevant because the researcher was part of the study.
Chapter Four
Analysis of data
- Introduction
- Themes
- Teachers’ understanding of the concept ‘reading’
- The importance of teaching reading in the Foundation Phase
- The policy document and the teaching of reading
- Strategies teachers use for teaching reading in Grade One
- Resources
- Observation
- Indicator: teachers use appropriate methods and resources
- Table
- Observing participant 3
- Indicator: Teachers concentrating on teaching reading
- Analysing documents
- Document analysis
According to the Department of Education (DoE, 2008) if children do not learn to read and write in the first three years of school, it is very difficult for them to ever catch up. The data collected also revealed that it is the feeling of all the participants interviewed that reading plays an important role in learning IsiZulu at the Foundation Stage of schooling. Seeking clarification from the third participant, the question was asked: "How does reading increase students' vocabulary?" She replied,
One of the participants pointed out that there was no good guidance from the government regarding reading education in the Basic Phase. The question was: “What does the policy document say about reading education in the Basic Phase?”. Before the introduction of OBE, teachers read a lot themselves, which meant that students could not read.
To the question, “What problems, if any, do you encounter in teaching reading in first grade isiZulu. The purpose of this study is to find out how isiZulu first grade teachers teach foundation stage reading in order to ensure that all students are taught to become competent readers. It became clear that all participants considered reading as an important tool that could increase students' vocabulary.
CHAPTER FIVE
Findings and recommendations
- Introduction
- Summary of Findings
- Recommendations
- Conclusion
All participants revealed that the best way to teach first graders to read is to use large picture books. All participants felt that first graders need picture books and that these books should be within their reading abilities. This study found that there is a need for support from the Ministry of Education to help teachers become excellent reading teachers.
This study shows that the lack of resources hinders reading progress for Grade 1 students. When choosing reading books for Grade 1 students, teachers should consider the skill level of their students and environmental factors. It is recommended to be strict in principle in admitting students into a Grade 1 classroom so that effective teaching can take place.
It is recommended that first graders should have received pre-primary education before being admitted to first grade. From the data generated in the previous chapter (Chapter Four) it is clear that there are different opinions about the teaching of reading in the first grade. It is recommended that the Department of Education ensure that education policies are strengthened.
Reading outside the lines: developing the higher reading skills of South African primary phase students (electronic version). Making a case and a place for effective content area literacy education at primary school age. The Reading Teacher,59(1),…. Reading skills and academic achievement in South Africa: Are we playing while Rome burns?
TRANSCRIPTS
This is a skill that teachers must develop in learners using different methods and strategies. Before the introduction of OBE teachers talked a lot by themselves and did not allow learners to read. I think OBE is the best because it came with it, many types of reading methods e.g.
Before any reading takes place, we read from the sentence strips of words found in the story. Giving the 1st grade students reading is like a revision exercise, because from the passage read, the students recognize words they have learned previously. From the piece or book the student is reading, he or she will come across new words that the teacher will explain as the reading continues.
What the policy document says about teaching reading at the Foundation Stage. Do you think OBE has anything to do with students not being able to read isiZulu fluently? They memorize history and one might think they read from books, but they don't.
Appendix A
Appendix B
Appendix C
Appendix D
Observation Schedule 1
Appendix E
Observation Schedule 2
Appendix F
Observation Schedule 3
PHENDUKA PRIMARY SCHOOL GRADE 1 TIME TABLE - 2009
