PhD (English) / Department of English / It has been established, through research, that some first-entering science students display levels of under-preparedness for tertiary studies. One area in which this is seen is in students’ lack of academic reading ability. Although, some of these students read fluently they do not display competencies in other reading areas, such as to understand, interpret, infer or critique ideas expressed in science academic texts. This low academic reading proficiency has a negative effect on their studies. The aim of this study was to identify, through the National Benchmarking Tests (NBT), the reading competencies of all (100) students registered in the Science Foundation Programme (SFP) in the University of Venda. SFP caters for students who did not attain the required scores in Mathematics and Physical Science. These students’ overall scoring, including English competency, is less than the required (26) points, even though they obtained university entrance scores in their Matric Examination. A NBT was used to identify students’ reading competencies and based on these results, a reading profile of the students was drawn up and was used to design an intervention strategy to enhance existing competencies and to remedy any shortcomings. To achieve the study’s aim, a mixedmethod approach was used. The method was predominantly quantitative, because of the statistical aspects of the data from NBT, however, it had some elements of qualitative approach through the use of a case study and the designing of an intervention strategy in response to the profile. The results of the study indicated that the majority of students performed at the basic and lower-intermediate levels. This kind of reading profile means that students on SFP do not possess the academic reading skills needed for them to succeed with their required academic reading activities, without some kind of structured intervention. The design of such a tool (appendix 5) forms the second part of this study

A thesis submitted to the School of Education, Faculty of Humanities, University of the Witwatersrand in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Master of Arts In Applied Language Education and Literacy Studies , Johannesburg 2016 / Using English as a medium of instruction or the Language of Learning and Teaching (LoLT) can be a very difficult task especially if the children do not speak the language and are multilingual. It affects reading, writing and oral language skills. This study seeks to examine the impact of exposing underperforming grade 8 and 9 learners of English to a Literacy Club. The study is a follow up of the study that was done in 2013. The main difference between the current study and the previous study is that, participants in the first study were already readers and volunteered to join the Literacy Club. Although school rules were relaxed, only English was used to discuss the read texts. In the current study, because I was working with weak readers, learners who have been identified as at risk of failing and had all been invited to join the Literacy Club as a form of language enrichment programme, the participants will be allowed to use all the linguistic skills at their disposal for both discussion of texts and reflecting in their journals. This is based on the premise that being multilingual should not be viewed as a barrier but a resource for learning. Underpinned by the socio-cultural approach to learning and drawing intensively from different theoretical views of language learning and learning to read, a case of 16 learners in grade 8 and 9 participated in this study. The study adopted a qualitative approach where a number of methods were used for the purposes of data collection. The study discovered that Literacy Clubs are a good vehicle to impart reading skills as they motivate learners to read. Literacy Clubs also have a positive impact on attainment in language tests. The study also discovered that allowing learners to use all the linguistic repertoires available to them boosts their confidence to talk about the literature they have read and improves the quality of their discussions. The study recommended that reading should be allocated time within normal school hours for each grade, children should be given an opportunity to write reading journals which should be marked and commented on by the teacher to encourage free writing and develop writing skills, the context of the school should be considered when deciding on the language policy to adopt and lastly but most importantly, translanguaging should be seriously considered as a pedagogical tool when teaching a second language. / MT 2018

Thesis (M. Ed. (Language Education)) -- University of Limpopo, 2022 / The purpose of this study was to investigate reading challenges experienced by Intermediate Phase learners at Mamothibi Lower Primary school and Molemole Lower primary school at Sekgosese West Circuit, Limpopo province. The study used qualitative research method investigate reading challenges experienced by Intermediate Phase learners. The population consisted of 42 Intermediate Phase learners and four English First Additional Language teachers. Non-probability and probability sampling procedures were used to generate the sample as well as purposive and convenient sampling due to the qualities respondents possess. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews and class observation. Data was analysed thematically. The findings of the study indicate that there are various factors that cause poor reading among learners such as poor command of vocabulary because learners do not practice extensive reading; no interest to learn creativity in reading but the goal to pass examination; lack of confidence to practice how to read in class; poor motivation and interest from teachers and parents to help develop the interest in learners; learners lack knowledge of reading strategies and teachers‘ inadequate knowledge on using reading strategies to teach reading skill. The study recommends that the Department of Basic Education should arrange on-going training on reading strategies for teachers and subject Advisors should continuously give teachers support on reading strategies.

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between the literacy environment at home, at school and in the community and the development of voluntary reading and thus a reading habit. This research is relevant as there is an alarming drop out rate, poor matriculation results and low scores in reading performance tests in South African schools. Many factors and possible causes can contribute to this, but a major problem is the lack of a reading habit, low literacy levels and an environment that is not supportive of literacy. As a result, many children are still leaving school functionally illiterate. In order to develop a reading habit, learners must get maximum support and encouragement from their literacy environment, as children learn from what is going on around them. The major role players in the learner's literacy environment, are the home and family (microstructure), the school and teachers, and his community which includes libraries (macrostructure). A literature study on the foundations, contexts and practices of literacy, voluntary reading and environmental factors that affect reading provides the theoretical basis and a conceptual framework for this study. The research method used is a case study with the focus on a sample of learners from Grade 3 - 7 from schools in the Highveld Ridge and Gauteng East area. Due to budgetary and logistical constraints, rural areas are not included. The empirical survey investigates various aspects of the literacy environment. The survey method, with questionnaires for learners, teachers and headmasters, was used. Both quantitative and qualitative methods are used to generate data. The findings are that many learners experience difficulties which hinder the development of a reading habit, for example: schools and communities do not have libraries, or access to them is limited; appropriate reading materials are not available; or learners do not have access to them; multilingualism is a major problem in a country with eleven official languages, as many learners have to learn and teachers have to teach in a language other than their mother tongue; parents are not literate and cannot help their children; socio-economic conditions are not conductive to reading; there is a lack of support from governmental at various levels. Although findings in a case study cannot be generalised, certain conclusions and suggestions can guide teachers, parents and librarians to create a more supportive literacy environment to encourage voluntary reading. / Information Science / M.A. (Information Science)

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between the literacy environment at home, at school and in the community and the development of voluntary reading and thus a reading habit. This research is relevant as there is an alarming drop out rate, poor matriculation results and low scores in reading performance tests in South African schools. Many factors and possible causes can contribute to this, but a major problem is the lack of a reading habit, low literacy levels and an environment that is not supportive of literacy. As a result, many children are still leaving school functionally illiterate. In order to develop a reading habit, learners must get maximum support and encouragement from their literacy environment, as children learn from what is going on around them. The major role players in the learner's literacy environment, are the home and family (microstructure), the school and teachers, and his community which includes libraries (macrostructure). A literature study on the foundations, contexts and practices of literacy, voluntary reading and environmental factors that affect reading provides the theoretical basis and a conceptual framework for this study. The research method used is a case study with the focus on a sample of learners from Grade 3 - 7 from schools in the Highveld Ridge and Gauteng East area. Due to budgetary and logistical constraints, rural areas are not included. The empirical survey investigates various aspects of the literacy environment. The survey method, with questionnaires for learners, teachers and headmasters, was used. Both quantitative and qualitative methods are used to generate data. The findings are that many learners experience difficulties which hinder the development of a reading habit, for example: schools and communities do not have libraries, or access to them is limited; appropriate reading materials are not available; or learners do not have access to them; multilingualism is a major problem in a country with eleven official languages, as many learners have to learn and teachers have to teach in a language other than their mother tongue; parents are not literate and cannot help their children; socio-economic conditions are not conductive to reading; there is a lack of support from governmental at various levels. Although findings in a case study cannot be generalised, certain conclusions and suggestions can guide teachers, parents and librarians to create a more supportive literacy environment to encourage voluntary reading. / Information Science / M.A. (Information Science)

MEDCS / Department of Curriculum Studies and Education Management

The continued underperformance of many L2 students at primary, secondary and tertiary level is a cause for grave concern in South Africa. In an attempt to better understand the cognitivelinguistic conditions and processes that underlie academic performance and underperformance, this study looks at the problem of differential academic performance by focussing on the inferential ability of undergraduate L2 students during the reading of expository texts. The study works within a constructivist theory of reading, where the successful understanding of a text is seen to involve the construction of a mental representation of what the text is about. Inferencing plays an important role in constructing meaning during reading because it enables the reader to link incoming information with already given information, and it enables the reader to construct a mental representation of the meaning of a text by converting the linear input into a hierarchical mental representation of interrelated information. The main finding showed that the ability to make inferences during the reading of expository texts was strongly related to academic performance: the more inferences students made during the reading of expository texts, the better they performed academically. This relationship held across the making of various inferences, such as anaphoric inferences, vocabulary inferences, inferences about various semantic relations, and thematic inferences. In particular, the ability to make anaphoric, contrastive and causal inferences emerged as the strongest predictors of academic performance. The study provides strong empirical evidence that the ability to make inferences during reading enables a reader to construct meaning and thereby also to acquire new knowledge. Reading is not only a tool for independently accessing information in an information-driven society, it is fundamentally a tool for constructing meaning. Reading and inferencing are not additional tools that students need to master in the learning context- they constitute the very process whereby learning occurs. / Linguistics and Modern Languages / D.Litt. et Phil. (Linguistics)

Reading difficulties are of concern worldwide, as evidenced by a number of studies, including the Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA), the Centre for Evaluation & Assessment (CEA), and Progress in International Reading Literacy (PIRLS). In South Africa’s, Gauteng Province, in which this study was conducted, the Department of Education (DoE) launched campaigns, such as Foundations for Learning (FFL) and Annual National Assessment (ANA) to address this problem. The purpose of this study was to explore, explain and describe the use of Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) to support learners experiencing reading difficulties in two public primary schools. The study was influenced by Vygotsky’s socio-cultural theory of human learning that describes it as a social process and the origination of human intelligence in society or culture. It comprised skills, assumptions and practices that the researcher used when moving from paradigm to the empirical world. A qualitative approach was used to gain first-hand holistic understanding of the use of ICTs to support learners experiencing reading difficulties, with data collected using focus group interviews, individual interviews and observations. Participants were 18 members of the School Based Support Team (SBST) and two Learning Support Educators (LSEs) of the two selected primary schools. The use of ICTs as a support mechanism was explored, with a detailed view presented on the use of ICTs by the teachers during teaching and learning activities and how they supported learners experiencing reading difficulties. From the research findings, factors affecting learners experiencing reading difficulties were identified, including lack of resources (specifically ICTS) and lack of guidelines on identifying and providing support to the learners experiencing reading difficulties. Based on the findings, conclusions and recommendations were made and the researcher developed guidelines which could be used by teachers to provide ICTs support for learners with reading difficulties. / Educational Studies

Reading is an important skill that forms part of acquiring knowledge. It improves literacy levels, social skills, personal wellbeing and provides a sense of purpose. However, there are majority of learners experiencing reading difficulties around the world. The purpose of this study revolves around recent trends in academic underperformance that have led to a proliferation of studies which suggest that one of the greatest causes is reading difficulties. The Full-Service Schools (FSS) being part of the support strategy as denoted by Education White Paper 6 are primary schools that are equipped with most resources including Information Communication Technologies (ICTs). For this reason, they were selected so that the perceptions and experiences of their School-Based Support Team (SBST) members and Learning Support Educators (LSEs) can be explored, described and be explained when supporting learners experiencing reading difficulties. Through the concurrent triangulation mixed methods design data was collected using both quantitative and qualitative methods (that is the structured questionnaire, focus group interviews and official documents). The collected data was analysed through mixed analysis and merged to corroborate the findings from quantitative and qualitative data. Findings indicated that there was a small statistically significant difference in the reading performance of participants who were exposed to ICTs as a support mechanism for learners experiencing reading difficulties in the FSS. The slight improvement can be attributed to lack of ICTs guidelines for supporting learners experiencing reading difficulties, limited teacher training on ICTs and the limited use of the ICTs. In conclusion, the ICTs scaffolding guideline for teachers to support leaners experiencing reading difficulties was developed. The guideline incorporated the three theories that unpinned this study namely the social interaction part of Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory, the readers-response theory and e-reading theory. Throughout the ICTs scaffolding guideline, electronic text feature as part of the e-reading theory. It is the eradication of reading difficulties that can improve the learners’ confidence which in turn will have a positive effect on their academic performance on some or all of the subjects. / Psychology of Education / D. Ed. (Psychology of Education)

Reading difficulties are of concern worldwide, as evidenced by a number of studies, including the Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA), the Centre for Evaluation & Assessment (CEA), and Progress in International Reading Literacy (PIRLS). In South Africa’s, Gauteng Province, in which this study was conducted, the Department of Education (DoE) launched campaigns, such as Foundations for Learning (FFL) and Annual National Assessment (ANA) to address this problem. The purpose of this study was to explore, explain and describe the use of Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) to support learners experiencing reading difficulties in two public primary schools. The study was influenced by Vygotsky’s socio-cultural theory of human learning that describes it as a social process and the origination of human intelligence in society or culture. It comprised skills, assumptions and practices that the researcher used when moving from paradigm to the empirical world. A qualitative approach was used to gain first-hand holistic understanding of the use of ICTs to support learners experiencing reading difficulties, with data collected using focus group interviews, individual interviews and observations. Participants were 18 members of the School Based Support Team (SBST) and two Learning Support Educators (LSEs) of the two selected primary schools. The use of ICTs as a support mechanism was explored, with a detailed view presented on the use of ICTs by the teachers during teaching and learning activities and how they supported learners experiencing reading difficulties. From the research findings, factors affecting learners experiencing reading difficulties were identified, including lack of resources (specifically ICTS) and lack of guidelines on identifying and providing support to the learners experiencing reading difficulties. Based on the findings, conclusions and recommendations were made and the researcher developed guidelines which could be used by teachers to provide ICTs support for learners with reading difficulties. / Educational Studies