6.1 INTRODUCTION
My study was designed to appreciate good support strategies which could enhance the acquisition of CALP for Grades 8 and 9 ESL learners. Through this study guidelines on good support strategies were developed for educators, the ISS unit and the DBST to enhance the CALP of ESL learners.
I organize this chapter by first restating the purpose of the study followed by the research questions, a summary of the literature review, research design and the findings. I then present the implications of the study, the recommendations for future research as well as the significance of the study and final conclusions.
6.2 THE PURPOSE OF THE STUDY
The purpose of my study was to determine and define the good support strategies used by the Grade 8 and 9 educators in two good performing, ex-Model C secondary schools in Ekurhuleni North District, that have resulted in positive outcomes and to generate guidelines on support strategies based on my findings, for educators to enhance CALP for Grade 8 and 9 learners.
6.3 RESEARCH QUESTIONS
This study answered the following research questions:
What good support strategies are implemented in two identified ex-model C secondary schools in the Ekurhuleni North District that can enhance the acquisition of CALP for ESL learners in Grade 8 and 9?
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What guidelines on support strategies can be developed for educators and the DBST to enhance the CALP of ESL learners?
6.4 SUMMARY OF THE LITERATURE REVIEW
My study has been grounded on the key principles of inclusive education as a way to create a system that is about belonging, nurturing and educating all students, regardless of their differences in ability, culture, gender, language, class and ethnicity (Engelbrecht, et.al. 2015;1)
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Barriers to learning refers to difficulties that arise within the education system as a whole, the learning site and/or within the learner him/herself which prevent both the system and the learner needs from being met (DBE, 2014:7).
The inadequate cognitive academic language proficiency of second language learners is seen as a key barrier to learning in South Africa. According to the Annual National Assessment that was done in 2014, the national average performance for literacy (Home language) Grade 9 stands at 48 % and for first additional language 34% (ANA Results Grade 1 to 6 & 9. DBE, 2014).
In order to address the fact that alarmingly few learners in South African schools can read and write competently, exemplary language policies have been formulated to protect linguistic diversity and promote language equity and develop the historically marginalised African languages (Heugh 2013, 1). The LiEP stresses non-discriminatory language use and the internationally accepted principle of mother tongue education in the context of a bilingual or multilingual framework (DNE, 1997). The National Curriculum Statement (NCS) for Languages (DNE, 2002:4) states that learners should become competent in their additional language while their home language is maintained and developed.
Additional to the above policies, the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statements (CAPS) states that a maximum of eight hours and a minimum of seven hours are
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allocated for home Language and a minimum of two hours and a maximum of three hours for Additional Language in Grades 1 and 2. In Grade 3 a maximum of eight hours and a minimum of seven hours are allocated for home Language and a minimum of three hours and a maximum of four hours for First Additional Language (DNE, 2011:5). Despite this policies and the results of the ANA, only the minority of South African learners are educated in their L1 and parents still believe that English is the best choice of LoLT for their children and they enrol them into ex-model C schools from Grade 1 (Heugh, 2011:128; Nel & Theron, 2008: 1). Their L1 is thus not maintained and it may lead to learning difficulties (Nel & Theron, 2008:1).
According to Cummins’s work since 1979, ESL learners can quickly acquire considerable fluency in the dominant language in society when they are exposed to it. However, despite this rapid growth in conversational fluency, it generally takes a minimum of about five years for them to catch up to L1 learners in academic aspects of the language. This refers to his distinction between surface knowledge and deeper conceptual-linguistic knowledge. Surface knowledge draw attention to the skills required for ordinary relaxed conversation, not cognitively demanding, and enables one to communicate in everyday situations. He refers to this as BICS. Deeper conceptual-linguistic knowledge refers to skills that are needed when reading and/or writing an advanced text which he calls the CALP.
As the main argument of this study was that CALP is necessary for academic success, I have focused on the identification of good support strategies to support ESL learners to achieve their full potential within an inclusive environment (Cummins, 2000; DBE, 2014:9).
157 6.5 SUMMARY OF THE METHODOLOGY
I chose to use AI Inquiry as research methodology as it may help educators to recognize their strengths, achievements and optimal experiences and then build on it to create positive change (Cooperrider et.al. 2003:106).
Appreciative Inquiry" is a research method that allows the researcher, in collaboration with the research members (in this case the educators), to discover the elements and factors in an organization (schools) that enabled it to achieve success in the past, and then builds upon those elements and factors to help the organization create a positive future (Troxel, 2002: 3; Shuayb et.al., 2009:3).
AI views language and words as the basic building blocks of social reality. The most crucial aspect of AI is the interview. Questions are asked that strengthen the system’s capacity to identify, anticipate and heighten positive potential. AI interviewing is different from traditional interviews because rather than asking facts and opinions, AI interviews seek examples, stories and metaphors (Bushe & Kassam, 2005: 176). The purpose is to find the best moments, events and stories
Troxel (2002:4) stated: “Our questions determine the results we achieve.” Therefore I have used affirmative language and questions to motivate the research participants to explore better teaching strategies to accelerate the acquisition of CALP for ESL learners in Grade 8 and 9.
In the case of this study, reliability of data was ensured through sensitivity towards the research data and results. I strived to stay objective and unbiased (Mertler & Charles, 2005:18). All interactions with the educators focused on the support strategies that were implemented to enhance the acquisition of CALP.
All documentation of the research was kept, including original transcripts of interviews, as well as any relevant documentation, which allows fellow researchers and supervisors to access information and provides assurance of the credibility and reliability of the study.
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Member checks with the participants were done in order to ensure that what they wished to express on the topic had been understood and recorded correctly (Merriam, 1998:204). Credibility was established through triangulation, a process of collecting data in as many different ways and from as many diverse sources as possible (Terre Blanche & Kelly, 2002:123; Hendricks, 2006:72). I used individual interviews, focus group interviews, photos, and artefacts to ensure triangulation. Credibility was further enhanced through allowing the educators in the schools to view the research findings and judge them as meaningful and applicable or not, in terms of their experience.
6.6 SUMMARY OF THE FINDINGS
I have used AI as research methodology to identify good practices used by educators in two selected schools. These good practices were then used to develop guidelines to enhance the acquisition of CALP for ESL learners, based on differentiating the curriculum content, creative ways of teaching, multilevel teaching, scaffolding, differentiated learning and alternative assessment methods, as described by Bormann and Rose (2010: 242, DBE, 2011:4-12) for educators, the ISS unit and the DBST.
Firstly I focused on the general school- and classroom strategies (cf. par.5.2.3 (a)) which