Grade 9 learner's translingual reading competencies of a history text

Abstract

Various studies report that South African learners find it challenging to read with comprehension. However, most recent studies focus on the foundation and intermediate phases. This study, therefore, evaluates the reading competence of South African senior phase learners in Grade 9 and additionally captures the influence of multilingualism on their reading competence. The theoretical framework that underpins this study is Cummins’ Threshold Hypothesis, which stipulates that a weak first language (L1) will lead to a weak second language (L2) (Cummins, 1979a). The primary reason for selecting Cummins’ Threshold Hypothesis as a theoretical framework is that most South African high school learners attend school in their L2. This study used a mixed-method approach consisting of a quasi-experiment followed by semi-structured interviews to collect data. The population is Grade 9 learners in South African urban settings, with the sample being taken from a school in Johannesburg, South Africa. In the quasi-experiment, this study found that Grade 9 learners understand only half of what they are reading and that they can extract explicit information, but not enough to be able to extract implicit information. Further, learners are not as competent in their home languages as in English, their second language. This leads to the generalisation that Grade 9 learners have not obtained high enough home language levels to act as a foundation for second language acquisition. In terms of multilingualism, this study found that learners’ home languages are underdeveloped, leading to the low reading competency of Grade 9 readers. This study discusses factors that lead to the diminishment of home languages, such as urbanisation, language attitudes and power dynamics of languages. At the end of the study, I recommend various avenues that can be followed to improve South African learners’ access to home language education.