A comparative assessment of grade one learners’ initial reading achievements between speakers and non-speakers of the language of instruction in multilingual classes vis-à-vis monolingual classes of Lusaka and Katete districts of Zambia.
| dc.contributor.author | Mkandawire, Sitwe Benson | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2025-01-22T06:32:00Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2025-01-22T06:32:00Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2022 | |
| dc.description | Thesis of Doctor of Philosophy in Literacy and Language Education. | |
| dc.description.abstract | This study compared learners’ initial reading achievements in letter knowledge, phonics and decoding skills on their entry and at the end of Grade One in Nyanja language of Lusaka and Katete districts. Speakers and non-speakers of the language of instruction in multilingual classes vis-à-vis monolingual were assessed and their results compared. A pre-test was given on entry into Grade One to determine pupils’ initial understanding of the assessment items and to ascertain the knowledge level at which they were, when starting Grade One. A post-test was administered to determine how many pupils learned reading skills (letter knowledge, phonics and decoding skills) between the pre-test and post-test in Grade One. The study also sought to establish the pedagogical strategies that Grade One teachers were using to help non-speakers of the language of literacy instruction in multilingual classes to learn. The study further looked at the views of teachers about teaching multilingual classes and addressed the phonics instructional approaches for teaching reading in monolingual and multilingual classes. The study was guided by the philosophy of pragmatism ingrained in both positivism and post-positivism paradigms where the mixed-method research approach particularly the Concurrent Embedded Research Design was used. Pre-test and post-tests question papers were the quantitative data collection instruments, while interviews, lesson observation and focus group discussions were qualitative means through which data was collected. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) and Stata software were used to analyse quantitative data where both descriptive and inferential statistics were generated. Qualitative data was analysed through data coding and thematic analysis. The population was all Grade One pupils, teachers and schools that offered Grade One classes with traits of either multilingualism and monolingualism in Lusaka and Katete districts of Zambia. Typical case sampling of purposive sampling and simple random sampling were used in this study. The sample size was four hundred and eleven (411) participants comprising three hundred and seventy-five (375) learners and thirty-six (36) in-service teachers sampled from ten (10) schools; five (5) monolingual classes and another five (5) multilingual classes. The study was guided by the theory of binaries, the three-language orientation and the translanguaging theory. Findings on the first research question showed that 16.2% of the learners that were unable to read on entry into Grade One, completed the first grade able to read three-syllable words in Nyanja while 83.8% of learners that were unable to read on entry into Grade One, completed Grade One unable to read three-syllable words in Nyanja. This meant that while there was evidence of learning in Grade One, very few learners (60 learners out of 370) broke through to reading by the end of Grade One. Furthermore, 80.4% of non-speakers of the language of instruction (Nyanja) and 81% of speakers of the language of instruction (Nyanja) in multilingual classes, completed Grade One unable to read three-syllable words. However, 15.3% of non-speakers of the language of instruction started Grade One unable to read but completed this first grade able to read three-syllable words. Similarly, 17.7% of speakers of the language of instruction started the first grade unable to read but completed Grade One able to read three-syllable words. The Mann-Whitney U Test statistics for differences in performance between speakers and non-speakers of the language of instruction showed that there was no significant difference in performance between the two groups of learners. This means that, while speakers of the language of instruction may have had an advantage in learning by following instructions, their overall performance was not statistically significant to those that were not familiar with the language of instruction. This implies that the language of literacy instruction when teaching phonics and decoding skills in schools of Lusaka was not a major factor. Multilingual classes of Lusaka performed (17.1%) slightly better in comparison to monolingual classes of Katete (14.6%) in reading three-syllable words. However, the test statistics showed that there was no significant difference in performance between monolingual and multilingual classes. Findings on research question two about instructional strategies that teachers in multilingual classes were using to help non-speakers of the language of instruction learn included translanguaging, remedial work, use of improvised bilingual materials, use of visual and practical instructional materials, use of guardians and parents, use of peers or fellow learners and teachers in the school as resources for multilingual classes. Findings on research question three showed that multilingual classes were difficult to teach. Some teachers felt that more languages could be used in classes for teaching, learning and assessments, while others believed that assessments of diverse learners can be in one designated official language. Other teachers believed that both Nyanja and English can be used at the same time in classes as main languages. Some teachers believed that multilingual classes should not be overcrowded and that a class teacher needed to create a favourable environment for all languages available in class to thrive. On the fourth research question, the findings of the study revealed that multiple phonics instruction approaches and literacy teaching approaches were observed. These included synthetic phonics, analytic phonics, embedded phonics, multisensory approach, look and say, syllabic method, the New Break Through to Literacy (NBTL) approach and aspects of general mixed instructional methods. The study recommended that the Ministry of Education should allow translanguaging practices during teaching and assessment so that learners can be free to interact with others in class using multiple languages. The Teaching Service Commission of Zambia should be deploying early grade teachers to places where they are familiar with the language of literacy instruction so that they are not burdened by the language. The Ministry of Education should diversify phonics or literacy teaching strategies so that teachers are not just confined to pre-scripted literacy lessons which use synthetic phonics. Teachers in primary schools should make a deliberate effort in understanding what the policy demands and what is involved in each of the big five key competencies. | |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://dspace.unza.zm/handle/123456789/9118 | |
| dc.language.iso | en | |
| dc.publisher | The University of Zambia | |
| dc.title | A comparative assessment of grade one learners’ initial reading achievements between speakers and non-speakers of the language of instruction in multilingual classes vis-à-vis monolingual classes of Lusaka and Katete districts of Zambia. | |
| dc.type | Thesis |