Early reading skills related to Grade 1 English Second Language literacy in rural South African schools

Maxine Schaefer,Janeli Kotzé

doi:10.4102/sajce.v9i1.644

Abstract

Background: Many South African children attend African language medium of instruction (MOI) schools, learn English as an additional language and switch to English MOI three years later. There is still much to be researched about how a child’s first and second language literacy develops over time in South Africa. Aim: This study aims to outline the first and second language skills at the start of Grade 1, which are associated with English Second Language literacy at the end of Grade 1 through the use of a longitudinal design. Setting: Data was collected from 80 predominantly rural no-fee isiZulu and Siswati MOI schools in Mpumalanga. Methods: A total of 1347 learners were randomly selected from these schools and were individually assessed on various first language (isiZulu or Siswati) and English skills at the start and end of Grade 1. Results: The data show that learners begin school with varying first and second language oral language proficiency levels, and most learners are pre-literate. Decoding skills improved over the year, but 45.7% and 35% of learners were still unable to read a first language or English word correctly in 1 min. Conclusion: The data confirm the importance of first language phonological awareness and letter–sound knowledge for later word-reading abilities in isiZulu, Siswati and English, as well as their importance for English spelling. The study highlights the importance of the systematic development of English oral proficiency during the Foundation Phase especially for rural children who are not exposed to English in their communities.

Highlights

Literacy has taken centre stage as one of the most important aspects in ensuring sustained learning throughout an individual’s schooling career
Literacy rates with respect to all languages are very low in South Africa, with 78% of Grade 4 learners not having reached the low international benchmark in their first language (L1) in the Progress in International Reading Literacy Studies (PIRLS) assessment in 2016 (Howie et al 2017)
Using the data collected through the evaluation of the Second Early Grade Reading Study (EGRS II), this paper focuses on the language and literacy abilities of learners in L1 and English as a second language (ESL) at the start of schooling, and how these L1 and ESL competencies influence their first year of language and literacy development in formal schooling

Summary

Introduction

Literacy has taken centre stage as one of the most important aspects in ensuring sustained learning throughout an individual’s schooling career. Literacy rates with respect to all languages are very low in South Africa, with 78% of Grade 4 learners not having reached the low international benchmark in their first language (L1) in the Progress in International Reading Literacy Studies (PIRLS) assessment in 2016 (Howie et al 2017). The South African language policy promotes the teaching of reading in learners’ L1 during the first three years of schooling, further learning from the fourth grade will most likely take place in English (ESL) for the majority of learners. This implies that learners do need to be able to read for meaning in their L1 and in English. There is still much to be researched about how a child’s first and second language literacy develops over time in South Africa

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