This study aimed to explore the knowledge, perceptions and skills of Foundation Phase
English Second Language educators as determinants for developing a support
programme for educators to improve their phonological awareness teaching skills.
Phonological awareness skills are the most important precursor to reading skills,
meaning that there is a strong correlation between phonological awareness and reading
ability. However, research indicates that many educators do not have the necessary
knowledge or skills to teach phonological awareness effectively. All Foundation Phase
learners are compelled to have English as a First Additional Language from Grade 1 in
order to prepare them for when English becomes the LoLT from Grade 4. It is therefore
critical that all the language skills (including phonological awareness skills) necessary
for learning are well established in the Foundation Phase.
This qualitative study utilised a multiple case study with five ESL Foundation Phase
(FP) educators in two rural schools in the Hartbeespoort area in the North West
Province. These schools were quintile 1 government schools and all educators were
employed by the Department of Basic Education.
Data were collected in two phases. The first phase involved collecting data on educator
knowledge, perceptions and teaching skills of phonological awareness, using open
questionnaires, individual interviews, classroom observations and document analysis.
Based on the findings of phase 1 a support programme was compiled to enhance the
effective teaching and assessment of phonological awareness in ESL Foundation
Phase classrooms. The second phase involved conducting a training workshop for the
educators on phonological awareness and the support programme, to enable them to
implement it in their classrooms after training. During implementation data were
gathered via classroom observations and a focus group interview was conducted
afterwards to determine the value of the support programme.
The findings of this study revealed that, as a result of various factors, but especially
because of FP educators’ own limited proficiency in English and inadequate training
with regard to phonological awareness, they did not have sufficient knowledge and
teaching skills to purposefully develop learners’ phonological awareness. After receiving
focused and comprehensive training and follow-up in-service support, the FP educators
seemed to gain an in depth understanding of phonological awareness, as well as
improved skills in the teaching thereof.
These findings were addressed in recommendations for the DBE and schools,
emphasizing that pre-service, as well as in-service, educators need accurate training
and constructive in-service support with regard to phonological awareness. This is
essential in order to ensure that all learners learning English as a second language in
the Foundation Phase, have developed sufficient phonological awareness skills to
enable optimal learning in English as LoLT from Grade 4.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:NWUBOLOKA1/oai:dspace.nwu.ac.za:10394/17031 |
| Date | January 2015 |
| Creators | Schaffler, Deborah |
| Source Sets | North-West University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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