The impact of poor reading skills on Grade 12 isiXhosa Home Language exam results

IF 0.4 0 LANGUAGE & LINGUISTICS South African Journal of African Languages Pub Date : 2023-05-04 DOI:10.1080/02572117.2023.2248753
Pumla Cutalele-Maqhude
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Abstract

AbstractIsiXhosa is one of the 11 official languages offered as a subject in the South African school curriculum at Home Language (HL) level. The examination of this subject in grade 12 (the school-exit year) consists of three papers: Paper 1 (P1), which focuses on reading for understanding and language usage; Paper 2 (P2), which focuses on reading for analysis using prescribed genres; and Paper 3 (P3), which focuses on writing. The Department of Basic Education (DBE) publishes a diagnostic report after every examination session, following the completion of marking of the final examinations, detailing the performance of the grade 12 learners in each subject written. The 2018 and 2019 reports show that the performance of candidates in isiXhosa HL is poor and suggests that they cannot read for understanding. This study sought to analyse the impact of poor literacy skills on grade 12 candidates’ performance in the isiXhosa HL final examinations. This was done by analysing the DBE’s 2018 and 2019 isiXhosa HL Diagnostic Reports for P1 and determining how a lack of reading skills affects learners’ comprehension and analysis skills. The South African Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statements (CAPS) emphasise the importance of reading for different purposes. The findings of this study suggest that learners do not have a solid foundation in reading and textual analysis and that reading is not given priority in the classroom, which ultimately leads to poor performance. The article concludes that reading and academic performance go hand in hand and that learners should be exposed to different texts; this can be achieved when teachers prepare well for their reading lessons and use not only the prescribed works. Furthermore, every learner should be given a chance to read, as no learner will ever perform well in their academics if their reading skills are poor.
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阅读能力差对12年级科萨族家庭语言考试成绩的影响
西克霍萨语是南非学校家庭语言(HL)水平课程中作为一门科目提供的11种官方语言之一。在12年级(毕业那年),这门学科的考试包括三篇论文:第一篇论文(P1),侧重于阅读理解和语言使用;论文2 (P2),其重点是阅读分析使用规定的体裁;论文3 (P3)侧重于写作。基础教育部(DBE)在每次考试结束后,在期末考试完成后发布一份诊断报告,详细介绍12年级学生在每个科目上的表现。2018年和2019年的报告显示,候选人在isiXhosa HL中的表现很差,表明他们无法阅读以理解。本研究旨在分析读写能力差对12年级学生在isiXhosa HL期末考试中的表现的影响。这是通过分析DBE 2018年和2019年针对P1的isiXhosa HL诊断报告来完成的,并确定缺乏阅读技能如何影响学习者的理解和分析技能。南非课程和评估政策声明(CAPS)强调为不同目的阅读的重要性。本研究的结果表明,学习者在阅读和文本分析方面没有打下坚实的基础,并且在课堂上没有优先考虑阅读,最终导致表现不佳。文章的结论是,阅读和学习成绩是密切相关的,学习者应该接触不同的文本;当教师为阅读课做好充分的准备,并不仅使用规定的作品时,这一点就可以实现。此外,每个学习者都应该有机会阅读,因为如果他们的阅读技能很差,学习者就不会在学业上取得好成绩。
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来源期刊
CiteScore
0.50
自引率
0.00%
发文量
30
期刊介绍: The South African Journal of African Languages is a peer-reviewed research journal devoted to the advancement of African (Bantu) and Khoi-San languages and literatures. Papers, book reviews and polemic contributions of a scientific nature in any of the core areas of linguistics, both theoretical (e.g. syntax, phonology, semantics) and applied (e.g. sociolinguistic topics, language teaching, language policy), and literature, based on original research in the context of the African languages, are welcome. The journal is the official mouthpiece of the African Language Association of Southern Africa (ALASA), established in 1979.
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