Improving higher-order comprehension skills of Grade 3 learners in a second language at a quintile 2 school, in Cape Town, South Africa

Abstract

Background: Developing higher-order comprehension skills of learners in primary schools is a challenge that faces many countries. South Africa is no exception. Primary school learners in South Africa have particularly low literacy and comprehension skills: many learners struggle to read for understanding. There is little published scholarship that focuses on developing the comprehension skills of Grade 3 learners in a second language. A lack of practical classroom knowledge in this area is what this article seeks to address.Objectives: To improve the higher-order comprehension skills of Grade 3 learners in a second language.Method: A qualitative approach, using a case study design, within an interpretivist paradigm was devised and deployed. Five struggling Grade 3 learners were purposively selected to participate in an intervention programme. Their parents or guardians and two current Grade 3 teachers were interviewed. Data were collected over a 10-week intervention programme. The first and last weeks were devoted to pre-testing and post-testing. The entire intervention lasted for 10 weeks.Results: All the five Grade 3 learners showed significant improvements in their comprehension skills when comparing their pre-test and post-test scores.Conclusion: The post-test scores revealed the importance of a structured intervention programme for improving the four comprehension skills highlighted. Mediation and scaffolding in the Zone of Proximal Development were employed while concurrently developing their cognitive, social and language skills.

The role of explicit teaching of reading comprehension strategies to an English as a second language learner

“…During the process of reading, the teacher will actively voice her opinions and concerns regarding the text so that the learner is able to hear her and begin to think critically in the same manner. The teacher role models the process (Fatyela et al 2021). The 'think aloud' strategy similarly encouraged predictions of word meanings and storyline outcomes, understanding inferences and actively thinking about each sentence as LG read.…”

‘It's like a compass which I use to find direction’: Findings and learning from an evaluation of an App designed to support the teaching of reading comprehension in rural and township schools in South Africa

“…Researchers in both the Global North and South recognise comprehension as a complex construct, involving a range of cognitive and linguistic skills. These skills are integrated alongside the readers' knowledge of the world and understanding of how texts work and so is a dynamic and active process, requiring the reader to constantly adjust thinking as each new word, sentence and paragraph is read (Duke and Cartwright, 2021; Fatyela et al, 2021; Pretorius and Lephalala, 2011). The reader's knowledge of the world and text is situated in the context in which reading takes place and this further impacts on the meaning making process (Cekiso et al, 2022; Hogan et al, 2011).…”