The Reasons Why Your Child Struggles With Reading And Spelling
Reading and spelling difficulties plague South African primary school pupils, whether or not we choose to admit it. The reasons for this are plentiful. The first is poor phonemic awareness. The letters of the alphabet are used to represent individual speech sounds in the English language. Phonics is a way of teaching children how to read and write. It teaches students how to hear, identify, and employ distinct sounds that distinguish one word from another in the English language. Furthermore, it entails associating spoken English sounds with specific letters or groups of letters. Unfortunately, due to a lack of skills and training, many teachers fail to allocate enough time to teaching phonics and phonetics (the study of speech sounds and pronunciation).
This brings me to the second reason. A staggering number of teachers in South Africa are unqualified, inexperienced, and have inadequate English competence. (Click here to read more: Article 1, Article 2, Article 3, Article 4). Angie Motshekga, South Africa's minister of education, also provided a breakdown of the number of unqualified and underqualified teachers by the province in 2022. (Click here to read more on that.)
The third reason is that under the current curriculum (CAPS) teachers do not accentuate the importance of spelling, nor do they make it a daily life practise for learners. While I was growing up, the South African curriculum at the time was OBE (Outcome Based Education). OBE is education in which the emphasis is placed on a clearly articulated understanding of what pupils are expected to know and be able to do. Back then, reading and spelling were daily activities at school and at home. In grades 1 and 2, we had spelling tests every morning. Oh, how I used to dread writing those tests. But, they helped me tremendously. Today, children in grades 4-6 continue to struggle with spelling, which is troubling.
The necessity of reading at home is not stressed enough by teachers, which brings me to the fourth reason. Even though parents should play their part, many don't. The importance of homework must be emphasized, and parents must make sure that their children fully understand it and turn it in on time. In addition, parents should also practise reading comprehension exercises at home. It's one thing to be able to read; it's quite another to fully comprehend what you've read. Teachers must instil a reading regimen in the classroom and encourage parents to do the same at home.
The painful reality of poverty is the fifth reason. South Africa has a poverty rate of 55.5%, according to the World Bank (April 2020). What’s more, families living in extreme poverty struggle to provide for their children, let alone send them to school. Because of this, many South African children who do go to school can only afford to do so at lower-quality institutions. The saying, "some education is better than no education" is often used to describe this situation.
So what can be done to assist kids with reading and spelling?
1. The government must see to it that competent teachers are hired in public schools and that they attend workshops every month to broaden their knowledge and abilities.
2. Phonics and phonetics should be taught for extended periods of time. Schools can film recordings of teachers teaching for parents to emulate and practise with their children at home.
3. For spelling, teachers and parents could implement the "look, say, cover, write, check" method, among others. Typically, children begin with a list of spellings written on paper. They then proceed with the following steps:
5. Parents should make it a routine to read to their children before bedtime, and then switch it up and let the children read as well. A schedule can be established for children and parents to take turns reading, ensuring that children read more than adults. Parents can select books that their children will enjoy reading.
6. When students are practising spelling, teachers can break words down into syllables for emphasis on the letters in the words.
7. Games like "Treasure Hunt" (for reading) and "Hangman" (for spelling) are effective tools for teaching reading and spelling to students.
2. Phonics and phonetics should be taught for extended periods of time. Schools can film recordings of teachers teaching for parents to emulate and practise with their children at home.
3. For spelling, teachers and parents could implement the "look, say, cover, write, check" method, among others. Typically, children begin with a list of spellings written on paper. They then proceed with the following steps:
- Look at the word.
- Say the word aloud.
- Cover the word with their hand.
- Write the word.
- Check the answer letter by letter.
5. Parents should make it a routine to read to their children before bedtime, and then switch it up and let the children read as well. A schedule can be established for children and parents to take turns reading, ensuring that children read more than adults. Parents can select books that their children will enjoy reading.
6. When students are practising spelling, teachers can break words down into syllables for emphasis on the letters in the words.
7. Games like "Treasure Hunt" (for reading) and "Hangman" (for spelling) are effective tools for teaching reading and spelling to students.
Learn English with Bathabile (LEWB) is a registered, South African-based organisation that provides corporate and educational services locally and internationally. To sign up, contact us here or email us at bathabile89@icloud.com
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