Teaching reading comprehension to Grade 3 Tshivenda-speaking learners

Abstract

The main objective of the study was to explore how teachers teach reading comprehension to Grade 3 Tshivenda-speaking learners. This qualitative study was prompted by the low levels of reading amongst these Grades 3 learners in South Africa. Three schools, each with two Grade 3 classes, were selected in this study. Data from individual interviews with teachers, focus group interviews and classroom observations revealed that there were a number of factors that contributed to the Grade 3 learners‟ poor performance in reading comprehension. It is recommended that teacher education programmes should be improved and that Tshivenda reading resources be made available, as these are currently extremely limited. The study also indicated that the best way to teach reading comprehension is by teaching learners a variety of strategies that they can use in order to self-regulate their comprehension when reading.