The ability to read, lays the basis for learning, and should form part of every personâs
education. A competent reader is a capable human being, well prepared to face the
challenges of life. Consequently, it is extremely important that all schools see to it that
learners exiting the foundation phase have mastered the required reading skills.
Despite daily instruction in reading during the foundation phase by well-qualified
teachers, learners are still experiencing too many problems. This observation gave
rise to this study and prompted the researcher to look anew at all factors (external as
well as internal) contributing to reading problems. It also provided the stimulus to
investigate the various approaches to reading currently used by schools, with a view
to determining possible shortcomings/deficiencies.
A review of the relevant literature gave valuable insight into the following facets of
reading: the nature of reading; the fundamental skills needed for reading; the phases
of reading development; and the possible underlying reasons for some learnersâ
struggle to master reading skills.
It became clear that in cases where the fundamental reading skills have not been
thoroughly entrenched/fixed, reading problems could be expected. Reading problems
may present as a result of external or internal factors, but the former usually play the
more prominent role.
The researcher also took a penetrating look at the various approaches to reading.
The differences of opinion among experts as to the applicability of specific
approaches to reading, as well as the advantages and disadvantages associated with
the different perspectives on reading, is noteworthy. This lead to the following
questions: Is any consideration ever given to the unique learning style of individual
readers when decisions about reading approaches are made? Are teachers making proper use of learnersâ physical senses to enhance the learning experience? Is it
possible that learners who enjoy mastering reading skills learn to read any faster? Are
there any other aspects contributing to successful reading instruction that should also
be taken into account?
The above-mentioned questions drew the researcherâs attention to the multisensory
approach to reading â an approach especially effective for learners who are already
experiencing reading problems. Accordingly, it was the main aim of this study to
design, implement and evaluate a multisensory reading programme that could play a
significant role in the process of mastering reading skills.
After the programme was designed, an empirical investigation followed. A quantitative
research design was applied, and One-way and Factorial Analysis of Variance
(Anova) were used, together with Scheffé tests and T tests to provide post hoc
analyses.
The collection of data went through four phases. During the first phase, a
questionnaire was designed and sent out to teachers currently engaged in the
foundation phase in Bloemfontein and environs. In the second phase, questionnaires
were sent out to foundation phase education students in their final year at the
University of the Free State. During phase three, the multisensory reading
programme was implemented at four primary schools in the Heidedal area. In phase
four, the ESSI as standardised exploratory medium was used to determine the effect,
if any, of the multisensory reading programme on learnersâ reading skills. After the
four phases were completed, the data was statistically processed.
Generally speaking, the aim of this study was to focus on the advantages associated
with applying the multisensory learning approach in practice. The researcher trusts
that this study will broaden the horizons of all those involved in teaching learners the
fundamental skills of reading, and that it would contribute to raising the standard of reading - something that is enormously problematical in this country at the time of
writing.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:ufs/oai:etd.uovs.ac.za:etd-12102007-082140 |
| Date | 10 December 2007 |
| Creators | Venter, Annelize |
| Contributors | Dr BF Huysamer |
| Publisher | University of the Free State |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | en-uk |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | http://etd.uovs.ac.za//theses/available/etd-12102007-082140/restricted/ |
| Rights | unrestricted, I hereby certify that, if appropriate, I have obtained and attached hereto a written permission statement from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis, dissertation, or project report, allowing distribution as specified below. I certify that the version I submitted is the same as that approved by my advisory committee. I hereby grant to University Free State or its agents the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible, under the conditions specified below, my thesis, dissertation, or project report in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis, dissertation or project report. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis, dissertation, or project report. |
Page generated in 0.0021 seconds