This article explores South African high school teachers’ experiences of teaching poetry to English Second Language learners. Using a qualitative approach and case study design, the study worked with ten purposively sampled teachers from three schools in one education district. Data were generated using semi-structured interviews. The study, underpinned by the theory of constructivism, found that the participating teachers could recognise their positive and negative experiences of teaching poetry. They experienced poetry as useful for language and vocabulary development, critical thinking, widened worldviews, and sources for imagination and social tolerance. However, they also experienced poetry as a source of confusion because of its often complex language and structure, and they tended to depend on teaching materials from colleagues, teacher development workshops, and the Department of Education. While the teachers found the teaching of poetry challenging, they recognised its potential for learners’ English language development.
Research in South Africa indicates that 81% of learners in Grade 4 struggle to read with comprehension (Department of Basic Education, 2023). The early graders’ reading difficulties hinder their ability to read and to learn other subjects. This study explores the reading challenges experienced by SiSwati home language speakers when reading English First Additional language and the strategies teachers employ to mitigate them. This paper presents findings of the Early Grade Reading Assessment (EGRA), which was utilised to assess learners' reading proficiency, and the Facilitative Orientation to Reading Teaching (FORT), which was used to assess classroom interactions. Conducted in 2021 at a primary school located in a high-density suburb in Mpumalanga, the research involved four teachers and two classes each of Grades 2 and 3. Results revealed that only four Grade 2 learners met the expected threshold of 30 words correct per minute (WCPM), while only eight learners in Grade 3 surpassed the threshold of 50 WCPM. Most learners fell below these thresholds, highlighting significant literacy challenges. The lack of standardised teaching strategies among teachers is evident. The study recommends a single across-the-curriculum programme as an intervention, as well as improved pre-service training and ongoing support for in-service teachers.
UKUFUNDISA UKUFUNDA NOKUBHALA ISIZULU NGOBULIMIKUSHINTSHANA: IMIBONO-NKULUMO YOTHISHAABAQEQESHELWA UKUFUNDISA AMABANGA AYISISEKELO Indlelasu yokufundisa ngobulimikushintshana inconywa ngabacwaningi abehlukene ngokuthuthukisa ubuliminingi, ukunqanda ukuqonela nokuphakamisa ulwazi lwezilimi zomdabu zama-Afrika cishe kuwona wonke amabanga. Izingcwaningo ezivulelekile ezicwaninga ngotho ngendlela esabalele ziveza ukuthi abafundi abafundiswe kusetshenziswa indlelasu yobulimikushintshana baba nokuqonda okuthe thuthu ngomehluko othi awube yisithupha kunalabo abafundiswa kusetshenziswa ulimi olulodwa, olukhethelwe ukufundisa. Noma kunjalo, emaBangeni asesiGabeni esiyiSisekelo, abafundi kumele bafundiswe ukufunda nokubhala ngolimi lwabo lwaseKhaya. Umbuzo-ke odinga ukuphendulwa ngolwazi locwaningo yilowo othi “ngabe isu lokuxuba izilimi kufanele yini lisetshenziswe emabangeni ayiSisekelo lapho kufundwa ukufunda nokubhala ngolimi lwaseKhaya kubafundiâ€. Kusemqoka ukubheka imibono-nkulumo yothisha abaqeqeshelwa ukufundisa la mabanga ngobumqoka nobuthaka bokusebenzisa le ndlelasu. Lolu cwaningo-ke beluphokopheke ukuhlaziya imibono-nkulumo yothisha abaqeqeshelwa ukuyofundisa amaBanga ayiSisekelo ngokusetshenziswa kwendlelasu yobulimikushintshana lapho kufundiswa ukufunda nokubhala. Indlela-kubuka yomhumusho kanye nomdwebo-mumo wocwaningo lwesimo kuye kwasetshenziswa ukuqoqa nokuhlaziya ulwazi kubafundi abayishumi abakhethwe ngenhloso esikhungweni esithile esinophiko-nhlaka oluqeqesha othisha. Imibono ehlaluka ocwaningweni lukaClandinnin noConnelly (2014) kanye nasocwaningweni lukaCreese noBlackledge (2015) iye yalunjaniswa ukubumba uhlaka lwemicabango, olusetshenziswe njengensizakuhlaziya kuleli phepha. Ngokusebenzisa indlela yokuhlaziya ulwazi ngezindikimba, kuye kwatholakala ukuthi othisha abasaqeqeshwa bancoma indlelasu yobulimikushintshana lapho kufundiswa ukufunda nokubhala onhlamvu-mbili nonhlamvu-ntathu. Lolu cwaningo luhlaluke nokuthi othisha abasaqeqeshwa bancoma ukusetshenziswa kwendlelasu yobulimikushintshana lapho kufundiswa ukubhala kuphela, hhayi ukufunda. Iphepha lethula uhlaka-sibonelo lokufundiswa kokufunda nokubhala kusetshenziswa indlelasu yobulimikushintshana olukhiqizwe ilolu cwaningo. TEACHING ISIZULU LITERACY THROUGH TRANSLANGUAGING: THE NARRATIVES OF PRE-SERVICE FOUNDATION PHASE TEACHERS The translanguaging strategy is commended for its role in promoting multilingualism, decolonization, and intellectualization of African indigenous languages across grades. Large scale studies reveal that the performance of learners who are taught through the translanguaging strategy is six standard deviations above the performance of the counterparts who are taught through one language which is recommended as the Language of Learning and Teaching. However, research recommends the use of learners’ Home Language in the foundation phase. The question then, of “Why translanguaging should be used as the pedagogical strategy in theteaching of home language literacy in the foundation phase” is a worthwhile question. This research sought to investigate the narratives of pre-service foundation phase teachers on the use of translanguaging in the teaching of isiZulu literacy. The interprevist epistemological stance was employed and the study was framed within the case study research design to generate and analyse data from ten purposively sampled pre-service foundation phase teachers within the context of one selected university that has the education faculty. Clandinnin and Connelly (2014) as well as Creese and Blackledge’s (2015) scholarly perspectives were used to architecture the framework of concepts, which was subsequently used as lens in the analysis of data. The thematically analysed data revealed that pre-service teachers opt for the use of translanguaging strategy in the teaching of isiZulu two-lettered and three lettered phonemes. The paper further revealed that pre-service teachers employ the translanguaging strategy solely for the teaching of writing, not reading. Based on the findings, the model for the teaching ofisiZulu literacy through translanguaging in the foundation phase is presented.
Using structural equation modeling method, this study examined factors that promoted linguistic insecurity among high school students in Ghana. Data were obtained from 560 high school students in the Cape Coast metropolis. The results show that language attitude (β = -0.240), parental coercion (β = 0.303), and student victimization (β = 0.479) statistically predict students’ sense of linguistic insecurity. The R2 value of 0.322 indicates that 33.2% of the variations in linguistic insecurity were accounted for by the three predictors. We recommend, therefore, that policymakers consider prohibiting certain school-related practices that threaten the maintenance of children’s inherited languages.
Addressing the well-publicised literacy crisis in the countrys' primary schools has rightly been identified as a national imperative. The causes of systemic underachievement have been variously attributed to teacher pedagogy and the absence of a culture of reading, among other factors. The role of language textbooks is integral to the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS), but is under-explored. Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) is a key language teaching approach endorsed by CAPS. This paper analyses the realisation of CLT in a series of Intermediate Phase English Home Language textbooks by investigating a two-week teaching plan in each of the three textbooks. The philosophical paradigm of interpretivism underpins this desk study, which constitutes a specialised form of qualitative research, characterised by its exclusive use of document analysis. The study finds that CLT is only partially realised across the three textbooks. The development of communicative competence is highly uneven; there is an over-reliance on didactic texts, a paucity of opportunities for varied interaction and negotiation of meaning, and somewhat limited integration of the four language skills. The inescapable conclusion is that this series of CAPS-compliant language textbooks necessitates a more principled application of the communicative approach if it is to help address the literacy crisis.
The translanguaging strategy is commended for its role in promoting multilingualism, decolonization, and intellectualization of African indigenous languages across grades. Large scale studies reveal that the performance of learners who are taught through the translanguaging strategy is six standard deviations above the performance of the counterparts who are taught through one language which is recommended as the Language of Learning and Teaching. However, research recommends the use of learners' Home Language in the foundation phase. The question then, of "Why translanguaging should be used as the pedagogical strategy in the teaching of home language literacy in the foundation phase" is a worthwhile question. This research sought to investigate the narratives of pre-service foundation phase teachers on the use of translanguaging in the teaching of isiZulu literacy. The interprevist epistemological stance was employed and the study was framed within the case study research design to generate and analyse data from ten purposively sampled pre-service foundation phase teachers within the context of one selected university that has the education faculty. Clandinnin and Connelly (2014) as well as Creese and Blackledge's (2015) scholarly perspectives were used to architecture the framework of concepts, which was subsequently used as lens in the analysis of data. The thematically analysed data revealed that pre-service teachers opt for the use of translanguaging strategy in the teaching of isiZulu two-lettered and three lettered phonemes. The paper further revealed that pre-service teachers employ the translanguaging strategy solely for the teaching of writing, not reading. Based on the findings, the model for the teaching of isiZulu literacy through translanguaging in the foundation phase is presented.
Research in South Africa indicates that 81% of learners in Grade 4 struggle to read with comprehension (Department of Basic Education, 2023). The early graders' reading difficulties hinder their ability to read and to learn other subjects. This study explores the reading challenges experienced by SiSwati home language speakers when reading English First Additional language and the strategies teachers employ to mitigate them. This paper presents findings of the Early Grade Reading Assessment (EGRA), which was utilised to assess learners' reading proficiency, and the Facilitative Orientation to Reading Teaching (FORT), which was used to assess classroom interactions. Conducted in 2021 at a primary school located in a high-density suburb in Mpumalanga, the research involved four teachers and two classes each of Grades 2 and 3. Results revealed that only four Grade 2 learners met the expected threshold of 30 words correct per minute (WCPM), while only eight learners in Grade 3 surpassed the threshold of 50 WCPM. Most learners fell below these thresholds, highlighting significant literacy challenges. The lack of standardised teaching strategies among teachers is evident. The study recommends a single across-the-curriculum programme as an intervention, as well as improved pre-service training and ongoing support for in-service teachers.
Poetry teaching in South African English Second-Language classrooms still challenges many teachers. Teachers complain about learners' lack of motivation and their inability to master figurative language. These classrooms are mainly teacher-centred and lack constructivist approaches. This article explores South African high school teachers' experiences in teaching poetry to English Second Language learners. Using a qualitative approach and case study design, the study worked with eleven purposively sampled teachers from three schools in one education district. Data were generated using semi-structured interviews. The study, underpinned by the theory of constructivism, found that the teachers had mixed experiences of teaching poetry. They regard poetry as beneficial for language and vocabulary development, critical thinking, broadening worldviews, and as a source of imagination and social tolerance. However, they also experienced poetry as a source of confusion due to its often complex language and structure, and they tended to depend on teaching material from colleagues, teacher development workshops, and the Department of Education. It is evident that ongoing teacher development, aligned with teachers' specific needs, is required to address teachers ' pedagogical knowledge deficits. Such deficits include the necessary knowledge and skills to recognise the language resources inherent in poetry and the potential for poetry to engage learners'critical thinking skills, creativity and understanding of worlds other than their own.
This paper explores how the attitudes and emotions of English additional language pre-service teachers influence their ability to engage orally in English as a tool for learning interaction during lectures and micro-teaching lessons. This study adopted a case study method in an interpretative framework, using four data collection instruments: the participants' individual drawings, two unstructured interviews, lesson observation checklists, and self-assessment questionnaires. The study used the participants' drawings to elicit further details about their emotional state during oral communication in lectures. The participants conducted a micro-teaching lesson in English and completed a self-assessment questionnaire based on their ability to use English for teaching effectively. Data generated from the four instruments gave insights into how emotions and attitudes affected participants' abilities to interact in English. All participants believed that being able to interact and teach in English was important for teachers, which was a motivating factor for them to continue understanding and developing their English oral abilities. The participants also indicated several negative emotions during lectures; notwithstanding these emotions, the participants remained motivated to develop their oral confidence and competence, substantiating the critical role of teachers' attitudes.
This research aimed to examine the use of linguistic markers and mitigation devices in expressing disagreement, as well as the influence of the power, rank, and severity of disagreement on the frequency of different types of disagreement among Iranian EFL students. The study involved 90 participants, including advanced-level students and teachers, who took part in six free discussion classes. The data analysis based on the models of disagreement by Brown and Levinson (1978) and Miller and Spencer-Oatey (2018) showed that most participants expressed disagreement in a softened manner. Female participants predominantly expressed softened disagreement, while male participants expressed aggravated disagreement. In addition, female participants often used positive comments to express disagreement, whereas the males employed judgemental vocabulary and intensifiers. The paper discusses further detailed findings. The results of this study have implications for English instructors, syllabus designers, and English institutes working with EFL learners regarding their use of disagreement strategies.
The current study attempted to build an empirical model that examines how particular linguistic factors and practices-specifically, language attitude, parental coercion, and student victimisation-explain high school students' linguistic insecurity related to using their native language. The analysis of data obtained from 560 students in four Category A schools in the Cape Coast metropolis revealed language attitude (beta =-0.240), parental coercion (beta = 0.303), and student victimisation (beta = 0.479) as significantpredictors of students' sense of linguistic insecurity. The R-2 value of 0.322 indicates that the three predictors account for 33.2% of the variations in linguistic insecurity. Per the results of the proposed model, the study recommends that policymakers consider prohibiting certain school-related practices (particularly student victimisation) because it appears harmful to the maintenance of children's inherited language.
Learning French as a Foreign Language (FLE) in a non-linguistic discipline requires a strategy for supporting learners to achieve the stated objectives. This study aimed to analyse the attitudes and perceptions of postgraduate students of international relations at the University of Ghana towards learning French. The introduction of French language courses in the Master's programme at this level strives to provide students with a linguistic basis in a language of international communication and to facilitate understanding of exchanges in French with francophone neighbours in performing job functions in diplomatic and international relations. However, most students struggle to master the structures of the French language. The study takes a functionalist approach, which is concerned with real language used by real people. Data were collected through a questionnaire sent to the students on Google Docs. The results show the students' differing attitudes. Some displayed positive attitudes towards French, and others felt obliged to do so, given the importance of inter-regional communication; moreover, some perceived French as a means to enhance their careers and should be learnt from primary school onwards. The findings demonstrate that despite the students' unenthusiastic approach to learning activities in class, they exhibited a positive attitude towards learning French as a foreign language.
Upon first entering the programme, Bachelor of Science (BSc) students are expected to adapt to a discipline-specific environment within a given university discourse community. Thus, writing within a scientific discourse convention becomes an important field of interest, especially for students who register for a BSc degree for the first time at a health science university in South Africa. However, language lecturers can approach assessment strategically to benefit science students. To this end, some assessment types can be used to assess integrated science subjects and language. That strategy would be ideal because it could determine students’ proficiency levels. Therefore, this paper discusses the results of a laboratory report-writing test written by students first entering HSU against this background. This paper is embedded in a study about the assessment of students’ laboratory report-writing skills upon first entering their courses. The study followed a quantitative approach with an exploratory research design. Purposive sampling was employed to select students who sat for a confirmative laboratory report writing criterion-referenced test before instruction could commence at the university. The students’ written laboratory reports were marked and analysed following a marking guide regarding the aim, approach, method and findings of an experiment conducted in Grade 12. The study found that the students performed poorly in the laboratory report-writing test.
The study sheds light on the second language reading development of primary school learners. Concerns have been expressed regarding primary school learners' inability to read using a second language. The situation is so dire that it impedes learners' easy progression to higher levels because they have not acquired the requisite communication and writing skills in the lower grades. This paper outlines milieu-enhanced factors contributing to the dilemma. The study was qualitative, constituting a case study of three primary schools to investigate the phenomenon. Purposeful sampling was used to select 15 primary school teachers, five from each school. Face-to-face individual interviews were held with 15 teachers, including two focus groups of six participants each and classroom observation of the same teachers to source data. The findings revealed that school factors, such as insufficient resources, teachers' lack of expertise, and preschool education, contributed to low levels of reading development in children at lower primary schools. The study thus recommends the provision of resources comprising reading material and teachers with the expertise to enhance teaching second language reading skills. Sending children to preschools would be an added advantage. This study could benefit teachers at primary schools, curriculum developers and national policymakers.
he study sheds light on the factors that contributes to the second language reading development of primary school learners. Concerns have been expressed regarding primary schools’ learners’ inability to read using second language. The situation is so intense that it impedes learners’ easy progression to higher levels because they have not acquired the communication and writing skills at lower classes. This paper outlines milieu enhanced factors that contributes to the dilemma. The study was qualitative in nature with a case of three primary schools used to investigate the phenomena. Purposeful sampling was used to sample 18 primary school teachers, six from each school. Face to face individual interviews were held with 10 teachers and two focus groups of nine participants each to source data. The findings revealed that school factors such as insufficient resources, teachers’ lack of expertise and preschool education contributed to low levels of reading development in children at lower primary schools. The study thus recommends the provision of resources in the form of reading material and teachers with expertise to enhance the teaching of second language reading skills. Sending children to preschools will be an added advantage. This study will be beneficial to teachers at primary schools, curriculum developers and the national policy makers.
This article spotlights the interconnection between poetry as performance arts and adolescents’ identity as performance. It does this through an analysis of four lesson observations conducted in a Grade 11 English First Additional Language (FAL) classroom in a black township school in Gauteng province, South Africa. The analysis aimed to assess what was lost when a teacher failed to apply a performance poetry pedagogy in the English FAL poetry classroom. Using Erikson’s work on adolescent identity development as a theoretical framework and drawing insights from existing literature on poetry as a performance art, the article demonstrates that a non-performance poetry pedagogy kills the dialogic quality of poetry, inhibits the political expressiveness of poetry, nullifies the enjoyment of poetry in the classroom, and provokes learner resistance. These findings point to a need to transform poetry education in South African schools by making the performance arts an integral part of teaching English FAL.
In response to historical inequalities in South Africa, higher education institutions are obligated to address issues around equitable access to students from previously marginalised backgrounds. Many of these students are underprepared for the transition from secondary to tertiary education, presenting a significant barrier to their academic success. The administration of standardised tests of academic literacy was disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic; the results of such standardised tests are typically used to place students in appropriate literacy support programmes. This situation highlighted the pressing need for alternative means to identify at-risk students needing literacy support. This study evaluates the appropriateness of an existing in-house test as an alternative measure of academic literacy levels. The study involved 2,292 first-year students at a South African university who had been identified as at risk by scoring below 64% on the National Benchmark Test (NBT) or through a machine-learning algorithm. The pilot results demonstrate the validity and reliability of the test as a viable alternative measure of academic literacy. Such in-house tests offer flexible and equitable testing solutions that can be tailored to meet diverse student needs.
The Department of Basic Education introduced the South African Sign Language Curriculum Assessment Policy Statement in schools for deaf learners in 2015. In 2017, a study explored the experiences of sign language teachers when implementing the curriculum. The study used a phenomenological theory to interpret teachers’ and teaching assistants’ narratives and understand their experiences during the curriculum implementation. The study used purposive sampling, whereby participants were selected based on research location and their teaching of South African Sign Language as a home language subject in Grades 1 and 9 at the time of the study. The themes generated during the coding process framed the analysis of the statements by the 26 participants. The study showed that teachers and teaching assistants were amenable to the curriculum and understood the need to introduce the curriculum in schools for deaf learners. Although teachers and teaching assistants reported positive experiences of teaching sign language as a subject, they mentioned factors inhibiting teaching the language. In this paper, we report on the factors inhibiting the implementation of a South African Sign Language subject in schools for deaf learners in Gauteng.
The rapid integration of online platforms into learners' academic lives has impacted their skills and competence, to which writing is highly connected. Spelling is among the most affected aspects. The current study explores and examines the indirect effects of digital tools, namely keyboard prediction, on EFL learners' spelling competency, where mobile phones are the most commonly used device among learners. Learners who depend too much on online platforms must use various digital devices. For this purpose, forty students from the English Department at Soran University, ranging from Stage One to Four, were randomly chosen to participate in the study. The study designed a special sheet containing questions and a writing area, which were then offered to participants. After answering some questions, the participants had to write eight sentences on paper from dictation. The sentences included at least one common challenging word in terms of spelling. Furthermore, using Cook's (1999) spelling error analysis framework, university students’ performances were evaluated in spelling errors. The results showed the shockingly negative effect of using keyboard prediction tools on EFL learners' spelling performance. Learners had an average of 23 misspelt words. The effect was mainly due to learners improperly using keyboard prediction and spell correctors on smartphones.
his paper explores the effects of translanguaging on learners’ ability to recall information when reading texts in isiXhosa as their home language and English as their first additional language. The study engaged a Solomon four quasi-experimental design with four groups of participants: two experimental groups and two control groups. Four rural Grade 4 schools comprising 215 learners aged between nine and 12 participated in the study. The results show a positive correlation between translanguaging techniques and learner performance on the ability to recall information in their home language. Regarding English, the results display a regressed but statistically non-significant performance. The study responds to concerns about the substandard reading abilities of African (Black) learners in elementary grades in South Africa and suggests an alternative multilingual approach, translanguaging, to enhance the reading abilities of multilingual learners. It demonstrates that substantial gains can be obtained in reading development in elementary grades when translanguaging techniques are exploited.
