A comparative study of L1 and EFL reading abilities amongst junior primary students using different reading schemes in black schools

Duncan, Kenneth Foster

Title: A comparative study of L1 and EFL reading abilities amongst junior primary students using different reading schemes in black schools
Creator: Duncan, Kenneth Foster
Subject: Black people -- Education (Primary) -- South Africa
Subject: English language -- Study and teaching (Primary) -- Foreign speakers -- South Africa
Subject: Native language and education
Subject: Reading (Primary) -- South Africa
Subject: Molteno Project
Date Issued: 1995
Date: 1995
Type: Thesis
Type: Masters
Type: MA
Identifier: vital:2346
Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002628
Identifier: Black people -- Education (Primary) -- South Africa
Identifier: English language -- Study and teaching (Primary) -- Foreign speakers -- South Africa
Identifier: Native language and education
Identifier: Reading (Primary) -- South Africa
Identifier: Molteno Project
Description: This thesis examines the development of children's reading skills, in both the mother tongue and English as a foreign language, during their first four years of school. It is an attempt to enter the reading world of very young learners in underdeveloped, mainly rural communities in search of practical insights into the teaching of reading in the junior primary classroom. The research focuses specifically on two approaches to reading instruction. The first is the approach traditionally used in black South African schools, characterised by teacher-centredness and rote-recall techniques. The second is a more progressive and communicative approach encapsulated in the language courses of the Molteno Project. Both approaches, and their theoretical underpinnings, are described in some detail. The context of language-in-education policy in South Africa is also reviewed. The research then tests the hypothesis that a communicative approach to reading pedagogy produces measurably better results in pupils than more traditional methods. The research explores the use of quantitative methods of evaluation, giving justification for their use, and examines the practicability of standardised EFL tests at junior primary level. Existing tests are evaluated and found wanting. The process of developing and administering original hybrid-communicative tests is described. The results of these, which were administered over four years to a total of some 6 000 pupils across the first four years of school, are assessed. Implications for testers, teachers, educational administrators and educational NGOs are extrapolated.
Format: 362 leaves
Format: pdf
Publisher: Rhodes University
Publisher: Faculty of Humanities, English Language and Linguistics
Language: English
Rights: Duncan, Kenneth Foster

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