The main objective of the research was to explore how teachers use formative assessment to enhance the teaching of reading comprehension to Grade 3 siSwatispeaking learners. While the research also sought to determine whether teachers’ practice of formative assessment supported learners’ comprehension of written text, it did not attempt to measure the learners’ achievements. The research was prompted by the low reading performance levels of South African Grade 3 learners, including Grade 3 learners in Mpumalanga. The study was qualitative in nature and was a case study of seven teachers from four primary schools. The paradigmatic position of the study was interpretive. Data was collected through individual semi-structured interviews, lesson observations and analysis of learners’ workbooks. Interviews were taped and transcribed. Data from the three sources was analyzed and reported in an integrated way through themes. The study developed a conceptual framework from the literature review. Various theories and concepts were identified, namely Vygotsky’s theory of learning and socio-cultural perspective (1978), Engeström’s activity system model (1987) and the formative assessment process (Harlen, 2000; Ruiz-Primo, 2011; Birenbaum, Kimron, Shilton & Shahaf-Barzilay, 2009). It was clear that effective use of formative assessment for reading comprehension requires collaboration between teachers and learners. Teachers should involve learners in the five phases of formative assessment of reading comprehension. The conceptual framework also implies that teachers should have pedagogical knowledge of the teaching of reading comprehension. Findings of this study revealed that participating teachers lacked knowledge of formative assessment; consequently they did not plan to use formative assessment to support the teaching of reading comprehension. Teachers did not communicate clear learning objectives and assessment criteria to the learners. As a result, learners did not know what they should achieve in a lesson and did not know how they should achieve it. Teachers did not develop learning activities that supported learners’ comprehension of the written text. Teachers often used literal and closed questions to assess reading comprehension. Teachers did not provide constructive feedback based on the learning objectives, and they did not comment on weaknesses and strengths with regard to the learning objectives. Teachers did not encourage learners to assess their own work or that of their peers. Therefore learners did not develop skills in assessing their own work; they relied on the teacher’s assessment. Furthermore, this study found that teachers were not trained in the teaching and formative assessment of reading comprehension. They did not have a variety of materials to teach reading to siSwati-speaking learners. Some schools did not receive the workbooks from the Department of Basic Education (DBE) and had to make do with copies from the DBE workbook on a daily basis. Recommendations ensuing from this research are that the Department of Basic Education and the Mpumalanga Department of Education should equip Foundation Phase teachers with knowledge of and skills in formative assessment applicable to the teaching of reading comprehension. In addition, the Mpumalanga Department of Education should provide a variety of reading material for siSwati-speaking learners to support the teaching and learning of reading comprehension. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2014. / gm2014 / Early Childhood Education / unrestricted

字彙學習是語文能力重要的一環，許多教學也都是以提升孩童單字量之目的設計的，其中，故事閱讀活動就被推崇為是能以提供豐富情境的方式來增進孩童語文能力的有效策略。本研究主旨在探討繪本共讀對EFL國小學童字彙學習的影響，主要的研究方向有：(1) 圖文標指與引導問答教學對學童運用繪本學習字彙的影響; (2)不同教學引導方式對學生字彙保留量的影響; (3)不同教學引導方式對不同程度學生所產生的影響。 受試者為五十四位台北縣五年級國小學童，其字彙測驗成績則為資料分析來源。本研究主要發現有下列幾點。第一，圖文標指和引導問答教學對國小學童運用繪本學習字彙皆有助益。第二，圖文標指和引導問答教學對學童字彙保留量都有正面的影響。第三，英語學習高成就學生在運用繪本學習字彙上收穫比低成就學生多，其中，圖文標指教學對高成就以及低成就學生皆有助益；此外，總括來說，引導問答教學對高成就學生的字彙學習幫助最大。 最後，本文提供了教學者以及日後研究者相關建議，並期盼研究結果能帶給台灣英語老師一些字彙教學上的參考。 / Vocabulary plays an important role in children’s emergent literacy. Many instructions were developed to build children’s word knowledge. Among them, storybook reading is promoted to be an effective strategy that enhances children’s literacy by providing rich contexts. The purpose of the present study aims to examine the effects of the techniques of labeling (L) and labeling plus questioning (L+Q) for vocabulary teaching with storybook reading in EFL elementary school. The study is mainly concerned with three aspects: (1) the effects of L and L+Q on student’s vocabulary learning during shared storybook reading; (2) student’s retention of learned vocabulary affected by the two techniques; (3) the influence of the two techniques on students with diverse English proficiency. Participants were 54 fifth-grade elementary school students in Taipei County, and the data analysis was based on their performance of the Picture Vocabulary Test (PVT). The findings of the study are as follows. First, L and L+Q techniques were both beneficial for student’s receptive vocabulary learning during shared storybook reading. Second, both L and L+Q techniques were effective in retaining student’s word knowledge. Third, overall performance of students with high English proficiency (HEP) in PVT improved more significantly than that of students with low English proficiency (LEP). Besides, L technique was helpful for HEP and LEP’s receptive vocabulary learning, but not for HEP’s word retention. Moreover, HEP were most influenced by L+Q technique in vocabulary learning during shared storybook reading. Based on the findings of the present study, pedagogical implications and suggestions for future study were provided at the end of the thesis.