Additional resources and activities

In terms of resources other than visual aids and media, the only classroom where the researcher saw books was in Control Group B, which had a ‘reading corner’. It had a small bookcase with books that learners could page through and look at when they were finished with their work. These books were both in English and Afrikaans and were mainly picture books with large illustrations and few written words. Teacher CB explained that these were books donated by parents. Neither school had a library.

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Follow-up activities consisted of colouring the pictures, drawing key concepts (such as ‘my family’ – one of the few ways in which there was a focus on word meaning) and using the stickers in the workbook. Instructions and explanations were given in Afrikaans by Teacher EG and Teacher CA, while Teacher CB spoke to her learners mainly in English interspersed with some Afrikaans words. Learners seemed to enjoy these follow-up activities, but they did not always serve to reinforce the meaning of the vocabulary. While learners were busy with their work sheets Teacher EG played nursery rhymes and did English sing-along songs. This created a peaceful atmosphere in the classroom, while learners worked individually.

Another follow-up activity that was used by two of the teachers (in the Experimental Group and Control Group A) was to ask learners to look for pictures of certain words in the magazines available in class. Learners were expected to look for pictures of ‘fish’, ‘sand’ and ‘sun’ and, once found, cut the pictures out and paste them into their workbooks. While looking for pictures learners were allowed to interact and talk to each other. Learners of all three groups spoke to each other in Afrikaans. The researcher observed, that during the English lessons, when learners spoke to each other they did so in Afrikaans (with the exception of the ‘talk time’ activity discussed in 4.2.2.2).

Apart from the explicit and implicit vocabulary teaching that took place during AL classes the researcher was also particularly interested in any storybook reading that took place in the classrooms. The following section will briefly discuss these practices, as observed by the researcher.

4.2.2.11 Storybook reading

Apart from the structured vocabulary lessons, another main focus of this study is the use of storybook reading. Therefore the researcher was particularly interested in any story book reading that took place during the English lessons, as well as any vocabulary instruction that took place in conjunction with the reading (the latter is discussed in 4.2.2.12). As discussed in 2.4.2, storybook reading is an opportunity to be an interactive reading and learning experience where learners and teachers share the reading of an enlarged text. The CAPS document specifically stipulates that shared reading should take place during the Foundation Phase (DBE, 2011a:13). The document goes on to say that the purpose of shared reading is to “expose

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learners to their additional language in a meaningful, supportive context”, and so develop their emergent literacy.

The researcher observed that the CAPS document promotes developing emergent literacy in Grade 1 (refer 2.8.1 for discussion on emergent literacy). Essentially, it entails that children develop knowledge of reading and writing before they learn to read and write; it is thus a process that starts before pre-school, possibly as early as at birth (Whitehurst and Lonigan, 1998), but definitely before Grade 1. In this sense the CAPS document seems to be in conflict with the theoretical approaches to emergent literacy. Generally one assumes that a degree of emergent literacy and developing “concepts of print” (DBE, 2011:13) are already in place when learners reach Grade 1 and that the focus of storybook reading in Grade 1 should rather be on developing vocabulary, oral language and word recognition. Unfortunately, as the researcher observed in the Experimental Group and Control Group A, for a variety of reasons (low-SES status, poverty, print-poor home environment, poorly educated parents), emergent literacy is not always developed when learners reach Grade 1, even more so as far as the L2 is concerned. Accordingly, teachers need to spend (valuable) teaching time developing the basic concepts of print and literacy. One such way is through storybook reading.

Despite the fact that the CAPS document recommends that teachers read or tell stories to learners twice a week (Department of Basic Education, 2011a:24), it was observed that only two of the teachers (Teacher EG and Teacher CB) made use of storybook reading as a way to expose learners to the L2 vocabulary. Teacher CA, the teacher from Control Group A, only read to her learners in their Home Language (Afrikaans). She did not make use of storybook reading in the Additional Language (English) classes. Story book reading observations could therefore not take place for Control Group A.

Both Teacher CB and Teacher EG used Big Books during the storybook reading sessions. A Big Book is an enlarged text with a simple and clear story, repetitive phrases and plenty of big illustrations (refer 2.6.2). The pictures and the illustrations in the Big Books were large enough for all the learners to see them clearly. Teacher CB also read other interesting, although basic, English stories to her learners. These included Flying friends (Jarman & Parker-Rees, 2002) and Amelia Bedelia goes

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camping (Parish & Sweat, 1985). These books contained more advanced and unfamiliar vocabulary than the Big Books and Control Group B was consequently exposed to more challenging L2 vocabulary.

The storybook reading sessions took place while learners sat on the carpet in front of their teacher. Teachers would read the story, pointing to the pictures of various objects mentioned in the text. By using this labelling strategy word meaning is enhanced, as learners can associate any unfamiliar words with the pictures. In this way leaners’ understanding of the text is improved, without unnecessarily interrupting the flow of the story too much.