Abstract:
English reading comprehension is an
educational challenge worldwide, and
South Africa is no exception. English
as First Additional Language (FAL) is
very significant in South Africa. Learners
require specialised support by teachers
to overcome the language barrier and
comprehend what they read in English as
their first additional language. This aspect
of overcoming the language barrier in EFAL
lead to the study which was conducted
to investigate the teacher perspectives
and practices in teaching English reading
comprehension to Grade 2 First Additional
Language Learners. This qualitative study
was undertaken through the interpretive
paradigm and a case study research design
was used. The research sites included
three independent English schools in the
Gauteng Province, South Africa. The data
collection strategies included individual
semi-structured interviews and classroom
observations of the teachers teaching
English reading comprehension. In
addition, a reflective journal was kept by the
researcher to document the participants’
body language during the interviews and
observations. The data were analysed by
making use of thematic coding. Findings
revealed the pre-comprehension strategies,
classroom practices, resources used in
teaching English reading comprehension
and ways to make reading fun that teachers
use to teach English reading comprehension
to Grade 2 FAL learners. These strategies
and practices are discussed in light of the
various stages of the reading process –
as reflected in a reading comprehension
teaching framework. Teachers can use this
framework to address the key challenges in
teaching FAL learners.
