Exploring how language teachers’ employment of Reading to Learn (RtL) pedagogy enhances Grade 10 learners’ reading skills
- Authors: Gazide, Sydney
- Date: 2024-04-05
- Subjects: Uncatalogued
- Language: English
- Type: Academic theses , Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/436442 , vital:73272
- Description: The study aimed to explore how language teachers’ employment of the Reading to Learn (RtL) pedagogy enhances Grade 10 learners’ reading skills. The RtL was designed to address challenges regarding learners’ literacy development which other methods could not successfully address. Unfortunately, poor reading skills in English First Additional (FAL) and home languages (HLs) continue to be a challenge among learners from schools situated within poor socio-economic communities in South Africa. The study employed the six-stage curriculum cycle advocated by RtL pedagogy as a scaffolding interaction cycle in the teaching practice reading development sequence to bridge the gap in acquiring reading skills. The main research question for the study was: How can the language teachers’ employment of the RtL pedagogy enhance the teaching of reading? The study was located within the critical education paradigm which encourages critical thinking, creativity, freedom to appreciate and critical awareness in students. This study generated data through focus group discussions, interviews, and document analysis. The research was a case study involving four teachers selected from a secondary school in an informal settlement with low socio-economic standards. A sample of four grade 10 classes with 45 learners in each class for English First Additional Language (FAL), Sesotho Home Language (HL) and Isizulu Home Language (HL) were used in the study. Purposive sampling allowed the researcher to choose participants who were willing to be part of the project. The Reading to Learn pedagogy developed by Rose was drawn from Vygotsky’s, Bernstein’s, and Halliday’s theories. The findings revealed that RtL was used for the professional development of teachers and a methodology that supported learners to improve their reading skills. Even though the study was conducted when South Africa was hit by the COVID-19 pandemic with concomitant learning losses, evidence shows that the Reading to Learn pedagogy improved the sampled Grade 10 learners’ reading skills. It was also highlighted that the department of education (DoE) should create conducive teaching and learning conditions through infrastructural development and provision of resources. , Thesis (MEd) -- Faculty of Education, Institute for the Study of Englishes in Africa, 2023
- Full Text:
Exploring grade 8 teachers’ code-switching in teaching orthographic drawing in the Khomas Educational Region, Namibia
- Authors: Iita, Gabriel
- Date: 2023-10-13
- Subjects: Uncatalogued
- Language: English
- Type: Academic theses , Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/424041 , vital:72118
- Description: Studies in learner English proficiency in Namibia have shown that a considerable number of learners in primary and high schools have low proficiency. Naturally, this will be problematic for both learners and teachers who operate under a policy that dictates that from Grade 4 upwards, English is the medium of instruction in government schools. Literature has shown a general bias towards English as a medium of instruction from both the Namibian government and Namibian parents, despite the broader level of low English proficiency among learners. Research reviewed within this study has outlined the multiple benefits of code-switching for both learners and teachers. In fact, a recent study on the perceptions of code-switching in classrooms among Namibian learners indicated a positive attitude towards code-switching as a learning tool. Grade 8 Technical Drawing classes tend to be challenging due to the complexity and novelty of some of the concepts and terminologies used when teaching the subject. This makes it particularly difficult for learners whose first language is not English. Learners struggle to understand and make meaning of the concepts and objects used in Orthographic Drawing. Code-switching has been seen as a beneficial pedagogical tool. The study was therefore conducted to explore the Grade 8 teachers’ code-switching when teaching Orthographic Drawing in the Khomas educational region, Namibia. The study used the Matrix Language Frame Model by Myers-Scotton as the theoretical framework which focuses on two crucial language aspects of participating in code-switching and the matrix and embedded language, which guided this study. The qualitative approach employed a case study design which was used to gain first-hand experience in the Technical Drawing classrooms. Semi-structured interviews and an observation checklist were the research instruments that were used to generate data on the use of code-switching in Orthographic Drawing. Two schools, two Technical Drawing classes with 40 learners and two teachers in the Khomas region, Namibia were conveniently and purposively sampled. The data were analysed using coding, descriptive statistics and thematic data analysis. The primary and secondary results indicate that code-switching occurrence has constructive effects. Consequently, recommendations have been made on the effective use of code-switching along with other pedagogical tools based on the research insights into code-switching when teaching and learning Orthographic Drawing. , Thesis (MEd) -- Faculty of Humanities, Study of Englishes of Africa, 2023
- Full Text:
Investigating pedagogical practices of English First Additional Language educators in Grade 12 short stories: a case study
- Authors: Jabe, Sizwe
- Date: 2023-10-13
- Subjects: Uncatalogued
- Language: English
- Type: Academic theses , Master's theses , text
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/424052 , vital:72119
- Description: The focus of this study was to investigate pedagogical practices of English First Additional Language educators in teaching Grade 12 short stories. An interpretive qualitative case study of three educators from three high schools in Chris Hani West district, in Eastern Cape were purposefully selected. Lesson observations, semi-structured interviews, and document analysis (lesson plans) with three English FAL educators were used to collect data. Shulman’s (1986) Pedagogical Content Knowledge was used as the theoretical framework and analytical tool for the study. Data revealed ineffective teaching strategies and on-the-surface subject matter knowledge that hampers the critical teaching of short stories. It also showed that educators have limited knowledge of learners’ learning difficulties and how to address them. The study recommends less teacher talk that was observed in many classes, to be replaced by extended discussions on the part of the learners. Educators should establish a variety of contemporary teaching strategies which put critical thinking and active learning before examination preparation. Lastly, educators, in their teaching of short stories, should consult various resources and attend content workshops to keep subject knowledge up to date. , Thesis (MEd) -- Faculty of Humanities, Study of Englishes of Africa, 2023
- Full Text: