The need for profiling the reading of learners and the use of socio-cultural instructional reading model to improve their reading.

Abstract

Recent research findings from PIRLS (2017) provide shocking statistics about the state of reading among Grade 4 learners in South Africa. Out of 50 countries surveyed, South Africa came lastwith 78% of its Grade 4 learners who cannot read for meaning. The inference is that the readingchallenges of learners could be overcome when teachers employ a systematic approach to the teaching of reading that establishes a way to learn about their learners’ reading challenges and following a specific process to eradicate the challenges of reading for meaning. This study strove to determine reading challenges which Grade 8 learners experience, generate strategies that could assist Grade 8 learners overcome their recurring reading challenges and subsequently design and develop a reading model that could be used during the teaching and intervention phase in a Grade 8 class. Five schools were selected, two from a township setting and three from rural settings. In each school, five learners were randomly selected and each read five theme-based comprehension texts and wrote a short test at the end of each reading session. One Grade 8 teacher per school was purposively selected to participate in this study, making a total of five participant teachers. Data were generated through a mixed method design, specifically classroom observations, a reading programme as well as a questionnaire for teachers. sampling technique was purposive. The study established that most learners struggle with word recognition and ultimately reading for comprehension of texts.