Towards overcoming poor readership and building reading culture of in schools

Abstract

The cornerstone of academic achievement and the foundation for success across the curriculum is learning to read and write proficiently. In view of this, the purpose of this paper is to find strategies that can overcome poor readership in schools. Teaching reading to EFAL from different backgrounds can be a challenging task in the world in general and South Africa in particular. In confirmation of the above, very little research has been carried out in the teaching of reading from a constructivist perspective, the rationale for this study. The main aim of this paper therefore is to come up with different approaches that may entice learners into the act of reading.The paper is based on a longitudinal project which set out to build a culture of reading among high school learners in De Vos Malan in King William’s Town District in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. The qualitative method through a case study design was applied. The study is interpretive in nature. The study revealed that learners can be enticed to read through helping them to enjoy reading by providing appropriate text and approaches to reading. It concluded that learning to read can result easily to reading to learn. It is recommended that reading should be thought as a social practice to curb fear and anxiety.

Keywords: English First Additional Language, Writing Skills, Spelling Errors, Error Analysis, Mother Tongue Interference.