How is their word knowledge growing? Exploring Grade 3 vocabulary in South African township schools

Abstract

In this article, we report on a study that examined the active and receptive English vocabulary of two different groups of Grade 3 learners in South African township schools. The groups consisted of English Home Language (HL) learners in the Western Cape and Xhosa HL and English First Additional Language (FAL) learners in the Eastern Cape. The purpose was to document their different vocabulary trajectories during Grade 3. The Woodcock-Muñoz Language Survey was used to measure the active vocabulary levels of 118 learners at the beginning and the end of the school year. Another 284 learners from the same eight Grade 3 classes participated in a receptive vocabulary test at the end of the year. This test assessed their knowledge of the 60 most frequent words that occur in South Africa Grade 4 English textbooks. Results showed that although the HL learners knew almost double the number of words their English FAL peers did, both groups of learners increased their active word knowledge through the year by about 9%. Regarding their receptive vocabulary, the English FAL learners on average only knew 27% of the most frequent words at the end of their Grade 3. No significant gender differences were found. Learners in both language groups who were above their grade age had significantly lower scores than their younger peers. This confirms findings that children who start school with weak language skills tend to stay weak. Finally, initial active vocabulary knowledge was found to be a strong predictor of vocabulary development during the school year.

English vocabulary exposure in South African township schools: Pitfalls and opportunities

“…In this study, the following important conditions for incidental vocabulary learning to occur were identified: emphasis on written English exposure in Grade 3 classrooms, rather than on oral exposure, and compliance with the sequential order of graded reading schemes. We know that learners in South African township schools are capable of increasing their active word knowledge by about 9% per year (Pretorius & Stoffelsma 2017). Through the current study, we are now beginning to understand what the opportunities are for incidental vocabulary exposure from graded readers and teacher talk.…”

“…One way to prepare learners for this linguistic challenge is to ensure that they have a sufficient level of English vocabulary by the end of Grade 3. A recent study found that English HL learners in Western Cape township schools had a receptive vocabulary knowledge of only 61% of the most frequent words by the end of Grade 3, whereas their English Foreign Additional Language (FAL) counterparts only knew 27% of these words (Pretorius & Stoffelsma 2017). This not only shows that there are vast differences between English HL and FAL learners, but it also shows that they are not adequately prepared for the vocabulary level of Grade 4.…”

“…By taking a linguistics perspective on school resources, the study aims to gain a better understanding of the potential contribution of graded readers and teacher talk to incidental vocabulary development. The emphasis on English exposure in Grade 3 is relevant because more than 70% of learners in South Africa shift from an African Home Language (HL) in Grade 3 to English as the medium of instruction in Grade 4 (Fleisch 2008) and many of these learners are not adequately prepared to meet the English requirements in the intermediate phase (grades 4-6) (Pretorius & Stoffelsma 2017;MacDonald & Burroughs 1991). Before we proceed further, a brief overview of oral and written language exposure in relation to vocabulary development in the early school years is presented.…”

Reading With and Against Curriculum

“…The language demands placed on learners are not taken seriously enough by CAPS , which results in the unrealistic expectation that students who cannot be assumed to “have any knowledge of the language when they arrive at school” are able to reach “a high level of competence in English by the end of Grade 3” (DBE, 2011b, p. 8) in a stipulated minimum of 180 curriculum hours and a maximum of 400. Both research (Macdonald, ; Pretorius & Stoffelsma, ; Sibanda, ) and PIRLS test results (Howie et al., ) have shown that these curriculum requirements are not attainable. English determines school success or failure, and anglonormativity (McKinney, ) remains unchallenged.…”

Learning new words from an interactive electronic storybook intervention

“…Children with a limited vocabulary not only lag behind their peers at school entry, but the gap widens as they progress through school. Pretorius and Stoffelsma ( 2017 ) found that a group English First Additional Language learners in the Eastern Cape only knew 27% of the most frequent words in their textbooks by the end of Grade 3.…”