Reading Instructions In African Schools’ Transition To English Medium Education: Matters Emerging From Classroom Observations

Abstract

Reading ability is currently a matter of great concern in South Africa. Students in this country have difficulty in reading and writing and are often functionally uneducated. This study focuses on the beliefs, experiences and practices of teachers of reading in English to second language students in Grade 4. Grade 4 is the transitional grade from mother tongue to English as the medium of instruction. The shift to English makes teaching reading in that language especially challenging. The study used a qualitative method and is structured according to the case study mode of enquiry, with the target respondents comprising Grade 4 teachers. Classroom observation, interviews and document analysis were used as means of collecting data. The main findings revealed that beliefs and experience had an impact on the way in which reading was taught in this study. It emerged that the teachers’ childhood experiences of literacy and learning to read are maintained in their beliefs, their attitudes, their basic conceptualization of reading and their current practices, all of which directly affect the students in their classrooms. Recommendations arising from research indicate possible areas for improvement in the teaching of reading and offer guidelines to help teachers cope with the challenge.