There is a need for information regarding the relationship of phonological awareness to reading and spelling in the multilingual learner in South Africa. The speech-language therapist has a role to play as part of the collaborative team assessing and treating the learner with reading and spelling difficulties. The aim of the study was to examine the relationships that exist between phonological awareness, written spelling and oral reading abilities in four groups of school-aged learners. A quantitative research design was employed in the form of a descriptive survey. Twenty test subjects were selected randomly from Grade 2 classes at an English-medium inclusive school in Pretoria, South Africa. Their class teachers on their final school report of the year had rated the learners as having good or poor literacy ability. They were organized into four research groups which differed with respect to their home language (English or English as Additional Language) and with respect to their literacy ability as judged by their teachers (Good or Poor literacy ability). A questionnaire was designed to ascertain parental perspectives pertaining to the learners’ case history and literacy development. A test battery composed of the Goldman-Fristoe Test of Articulation (Goldman&Fristoe, 1986), the Phonological Assessment Battery (Frederickson, Reason&Frith, 1997), the ESSI Reading and the ESSI Spelling Test (Esterhuyse&Beukes, 1997), and the TOLD-P: 2 (Newcomer&Hammill, 1991), as well as a Class Spelling List and a Reading Comprehension Task developed by the researcher, was administered to all test subjects. Findings of subjects’ performance in this study supported international findings regarding the strong relationship between phonological awareness ability and performance on reading and spelling measures. In addition, multilingual learners in this study were found to have delays in language development that negatively impacted on their literacy rating. The language development of the English-speakers with poor literacy ability in this study also negatively affected their reading and spelling performance. The test battery used in this study, with the exception of the Reading Comprehension Task, proved useful in differentiating subjects with good and poor literacy abilities and appears to be applicable for use in the South African situation. The results provide useful insights for the assessment and treatment of these learners. Furthermore, relevant research topics in the field of literacy development in an inclusive education setting were presented. / Dissertation (M (Communication Pathology))--University of Pretoria, 2005. / Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology / unrestricted

Rationale: The importance of well developed phonological awareness and the effect of poor phonological awareness skills on reading and spelling have long been recognised. However, a dearth of research exists regarding populations in multi-cultural, multi-lingual contexts both nationally and internationally. This issue is of particular importance in the South African context where many Black learners in the school setting have no other choice than English as the Language of Learning and Teaching (ELoLT). Aim: The purpose of the study was to explore the effect of a multi-cultural, multi-lingual context on the English phonological awareness skills of a group of Black Grade 4 learners in a primary school setting in South Africa. Method: An exploratory, descriptive and contextual research design was implemented, which incorporated both quantitative and qualitative paradigms. An assessment battery consisting of formal and informal assessments was used to determine levels of development. The researcher endeavoured to find statistical correlations between the participants' phonological awareness skills on the one hand, and their phonological abilities, their expressive and receptive language abilities, and their reading and spelling abilities in ELoLT on the other. Participants: Fifteen Black Grade 4 learners, each with a Black language as mother tongue, who attended a mainstream school where English was the language of learning and teaching (ELoLT), participated in the study. The participants' ages ranged between 9 years 11 months, and 10 years 11 months. Results: The participants’ phonological abilities in English as LoLT showed that 47% of the participants produced the target consonants with a consonant approximation, and vowel approximations were produced by all of the participants in single words. All fifteen the participants’ expressive and receptive language abilities in English as their LoLT, were on a below-average level and their expressive language abilities were more advanced than their receptive language abilities. All the participants evidenced problems in terms of their phonological awareness skills. Based on the results obtained for reading decoding abilities, only one third of the participants could be considered to be readers of an average standard. The reading comprehension abilities of all the participants were on a lower level than those of first language speakers of Standard South African English. Furthermore, the participants’ spelling abilities in English as LoLT were not age-appropriate. Even though no significant correlation could be determined between the participants’ reading comprehension and phonological awareness skills (due to the fact that memory probably played a role in their reading comprehension), it was statistically determined that their poor phonological awareness skills could be associated with their below-average phonological, receptive and expressive language, reading decoding, and spelling abilities. Conclusions: The results of this research have implications for the role of speech-language therapists in terms of collaboration, prevention, assessment, and intervention where the development of these learners' phonological awareness skills is concerned. Clinical implications focus on the dissemination of information, therapy planning, and EAL learner support. The need for further research in this field is emphasised. / Dissertation (M (Communication Pathology))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology / M (Communication Pathology) / Unrestricted