3.1 Initial reading in Zambia
3.2 Initial reading in Malawi
3.3 Beyond initial reading
3.4 Reports on reading lessons observed
3.5 Observations on lessons
Initial reading in Zambia is carried out in English, a language that most children have very little or no knowledge of when they start school. From the early seventies to the early nineties the Zambia Primary Course (ZPC) was used. The principal approach to reading was the look and say (whole word and whole sentence) approach, with a certain amount of phonics in the second year (see Appendix A for an explanation of the various approaches to initial reading). From the early nineties the new Zambia Basic Education Course (ZBEC) was introduced. In this course "the main method used in Grade 1 is the "look and say" method, as in the former course, but phonics is also introduced in a very simple way" (Grade 1, Teacher's Guide A, p. 72).
In the early stages there is a great deal of matching single words to pictures of objects and labelling of aspects of the classroom (chair, wall etc.). Reading and writing are integrated in the sense that pupils write down words and sentences that they have read. However, despite the new course paying more attention to reading as a "meaning making" process, observation suggests that many teachers continue to require children to learn by heart entire sentences without knowing what they mean. Furthermore rather than looking at written words, recognising them, then reading them aloud, many pupils memorise sentences as sequences of sound which they utter when cued by a memorised visual sequence.
Thus in one classroom a child correctly recalled the sentence "They are cooking" while looking at the ceiling, only to be admonished by the teacher who said "When you say the words, you have to look at them. That is what reading is." In fact, true reading is not saying the words while simultaneously looking at them, but rather looking at the words, and recognising them, which implies understanding. Simply saying words while simultaneously looking at them, may, to a casual observer, be indistinguishable from "real" reading aloud. However, it is no more than a "reading- like" activity, where there is no real processing of meaning. It is doubtful whether this activity contributes to the eventual acquisition of the reading skill, especially if pupils do not understand what they have memorised.
Initial reading in Zambian languages appears to occur extremely infrequently. Where it is taught, the main method employed, after letter formation and approximate sound values have been established, is the syllabic method as in Malawi (see below).
In contrast to Zambia, where initial literacy is taught almost exclusively in English, the situation in Malawi is that for the most part the teaching of reading and writing begins in Chichewa. Learners work on letter formation and the approximate sound values of letters, then move on to the syllabic approach (see Appendix A), and before the end of the first year to the reading of whole words and whole sentences.
When learners move on from the syllabic method, the approach to word and sentence reading in Chichewa is largely "look and say", but it is more meaningful than the "look and say" approach to English in Zambia, since Malawian learners have through the syllabic approach to Chichewa, already learned that written letters represent sounds. In addition, Malawian learners understand what they are "looking at and saying" provided they are Chichewa speakers. Even if they are not Chichewa speakers, they will speak a related Bantu language, and hence Chichewa will certainly be more accessible to them than English.
As far as beginning reading in English is concerned, the official Malawian approach is embodied in the Teacher's Guides for the new course Activities with English which replaced English for Malawi from the early nineties. The guide says that reading should be mainly carried out through the "look and say" approach in year 1, with elements of the phonic approach added in year 2. Despite the fact that the skills of letter recognition and formation, and the approximate sound values of letters, have apparently already been taught in Chichewa, the English course books appear to be still teaching letter formation in year 2 English. It would appear somewhat superfluous to teach letter formation once in Chichewa and once in English.
Once learners have acquired the basics of reading in a language, i.e. they know "how to read", and also have adequate proficiency in the language(s) concerned, then Malawian and Zambian teachers generally move on to "reading comprehension" of short passages which appear in the course books. This typically consists of an explanation of "new" words by the teacher, then a "model reading aloud" of the text sentence by sentence, either by the teacher, or a few pupils known to be competent, followed by choral repetition of the text by various combinations of the class. Finally there are oral questions, which are again generally answered by the more able pupils and chorally repeated by the class; pupils may then be required to write the answers to the questions already answered orally.
Reading comprehension work of this kind aims primarily at increasing the language proficiency of the learners, through expanding their vocabulary, and providing practice in grammatical structure (so-called "pattern reading" where learners are supposed to internalise structure through reading lists of structurally identical sentences; this is exemplified in the year 2 lesson transcript in Appendix B)
Learning to read, and carrying out reading comprehension, as described above, appear to be the main reading activities carried out in the primary school classes. Listening to stories read by the teacher never seems to occur, while the reading of stories by pupils (apart from the short passages in the course book), whether as a class or in terms of individual self access, was until very recently almost never practised. In recent years, however, class sets of simple readers have been funded by UNESCO in Zambia, while class boxes of supplementary readers have been introduced into both Zambia and Malawi, funded by the DFID).
This section reports on a selection from a total of 27 English reading lessons observed in 1992, 14 in Malawi, and 13 in Zambia. Classes were observed at all years except 7, in both rural and urban locations.
Table 3: Lesson Observation in Malawi
|
Year |
Urban |
Rural |
Total |
|
1 |
0 |
2 |
2 |
|
2 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
|
3 |
0 |
2 |
2 |
|
4 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
|
5 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
|
6 |
2 |
1 |
3 |
|
7 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
8 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
|
Total: |
5 |
9 |
14 |
Table 4: Lesson Observation in Zambia:
|
Year |
Urban |
Rural |
Total |
|
1 |
3 |
1 |
4 |
|
2 |
2 |
1 |
3 |
|
3 |
2 |
2 |
4 |
|
4 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
|
5 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
|
6 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
7 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Total |
9 |
4 |
13 |
These observations were recorded, and a running record kept of pupil and teacher behaviour. Selected lessons, which attempt to be representative, are briefly described here. All lessons lasted approximately 30 minutes. For complete transcripts of two lessons (year 2 in Malawi, and a year 3 in Zambia), see Appendix B.
Year 1
(Teacher: trained, 86 pupils): The class opened with the teacher drilling the children in "I am washing my face", demonstrated by miming. A girl was then selected to come out and remained in front of the class for almost twenty minutes while the class chanted after the teacher "I am washing my face" "She is washing her face" "I am washing my hands" "She is washing her hands". Questions to individual pupils followed, which revealed confusion on the part of many learners as to the difference between "I" and "she", "her" and "my", (e.g. Teacher: What is she doing? Pupil: I am washing my face.)
The teacher made no attempt to clarify the differences in the meaning of the pronouns, but merely told those who committed errors to sit down, and made the whole class chant the correct response. There seemed very little evidence of sequencing or progression of language or activities, and the teacher went backwards and forwards over the same sentences. The new words, basin and soap, were written on the board and chanted aloud by the class, but no attempt was made to check on understanding of the words.
Year 2
(Teacher: trained; 128 pupils): Here a long section describing a shopping episode was copied from the book onto the board (Book 2, p 46: see Appendix C). Chanting after the teacher ensued, with variations in grouping e.g. boys, girls, back row, front row etc. There was no attempt at presenting meaning and little checking of understanding of the text. Although the teacher asked questions, if they were wrongly answered there was no explanation from the teacher (e.g. when a pupil misinterpreted where as wear the teacher did not clarify). The teacher occasionally aided understanding of her questions by translating them into Chichewa. Some children were asked to spell words on the board; a child who made a mistake was simply dismissed. The predominant impression is that the children spent too long in repetition, and that when not repeating, they were being tested rather than taught. (For a transcript of this lesson in Appendix B.)
Year 3
(Teacher: trainee; 32 pupils). The text (River Fishing) was written on the board, and some new words were repeated; the word caught in particular was drilled at length with a flashcard. Sentences from the text were chanted in various combinations, (by the whole class, boys only, girls only, different rows), and questions asked and answered orally. Pupils were then asked to write answers into their exercise books. The lesson was characterised by complete absence of attention to meaning. Questioning a group of 8 girls in Chichewa at the end of the lesson revealed that they did not know what caught meant, despite the extensive drilling with the flashcard. (The girls' lack of response did not appear to be due to shyness, as they readily answered standard questions about themselves.)
Year 4
(Teacher: trained; 118 pupils). This class took place outside, a few yards from a dusty road, with vehicles passing at intervals. In contrast to most other lessons observed, this one gave attention to the presentation of the meaning of words. The teacher skilfully used the fact that this very large class was being taught next to a road to demonstrate "tyre" "rolling" and "lorry", words which all occurred in the text. The text of some 170 words had been entirely written out on the blackboard. After the presentation of the new words, the pupils read the text following the teacher's model, in various groupings and individually. The teacher kept up a fairly lively pace, but paid attention consistently to the presentation of meaning, though there was little checking of understanding.
Year 1
(Teacher: trained; 42 pupils): The teacher was engaged in pre-reading activities. Pupils were sitting in groups around tables or desks. The class was lively, with children drawing, and walking around pointing to colours and objects. The teacher gave careful attention to the presentation of meaning, and was responsive to the pupils' difficulties. Different groups of pupils were given different tasks, and the teacher moved from group to group giving individual attention. The pace of the lessons seemed well matched to the children's attention span, and they were not overloaded with language. There was a limited amount of chanting. The teacher was using the old ZPC material but she demonstrated how well that could be used in the hands of a competent teacher. However, this school was an "elite" urban school with a relatively privileged pupil population, and clearly above average in material provision.
Year 3
(Teacher: trained; 45 pupils) This lesson followed the pattern that was established for the reading class in the then current textbook, namely explaining new words or discussing a picture, followed by reading and answering questions. A frequent problem, as here, is that the explaining of words consisted of pupils merely repeating words, while in the question and answer session the teacher addressed only the most competent pupils or answered the questions himself. The reading was largely chanting, with sections of the class and individuals repeating after the teacher. The entire lesson was spent on a text about hippos and crocodiles, but at the end of the lesson only 6 pupils out of 45 knew what a hippo was (The text and transcript for this lesson appear in Appendices B and C)
Year 4
(Teacher: trained; 33 pupils) After brief repetition of new words, this class repeated in chorus and individually a text that had been written on the board. Oral questions then followed which the teacher answered himself for the most part. Only 3 pupils volunteered answers. Despite the fact that the pupils seemed to have problems in answering questions about the small section of the story which was written on the board, the teacher continued by reading the whole story twice from the book (which only he had). He then asked children questions on his oral reading which none of them could answer. During the reading my impression was that only some 6 pupils had appeared to be attending; judging from their reaction to questions, the reason for this was that they had not been able to understand it.
Year 5
(Teacher, trained; 29 pupils) The lesson began with the teacher distributing the books (1 between 2 or 3 pupils), then asking a series of questions about a picture. Pupils were nominated to answer. If they could not do so the question was rephrased more simply, and if necessary the pupil was helped to formulate an answer. The pupils then went on to read the text, first following as the teacher read, then reading silently by themselves. Further questions were asked including a number which did not appear in the book, and also "Why?" questions, which had been absent in most other lessons. Pupils who appeared to be confused (as one was by the difference between "knew" and "know") received clear explanation and exemplification. Pupils were finally asked to write the answers to the questions in their books; while they did so the teacher circulated among them giving individual attention.
The most striking feature of the reading lessons in Malawi and Zambia, with a few notable exceptions, is the lack of attention to the presentation and checking of meaning, at the level of vocabulary and structure. While some lessons appeared to be well taught by teachers who had a clear idea of what they were doing (e.g. Malawi year 4, and Zambia, years 1 and 5 above), the majority of lessons observed were characterised by the teacher going through steps prescribed in the Teacher's Guide but without apparent understanding of their purpose and without sensitivity to or feedback from, their learners.
The predominant classroom method of teaching of reading in the lessons observed is the drilling of words and sentences through repetition. The principles behind this are those of the "look and say" approach to teaching reading, allied to the behaviourist "pattern drill" approach to foreign language teaching. The approach devotes minimum attention to meaning, first because "look and say" reading was intended for English-speaking children in the USA or UK who were learning to read in English (and therefore were assumed to understand); second because the behaviourist "pattern drill" approach to the learning of foreign language was primarily intended to reinforce structural patterns rather than to attend to the meaning (this purpose is reflected in the use of the term "pattern reading" in Malawi and Zambia). However, in fairness to the textbook writers in these countries, it should be pointed out that the Teachers Books advocate more attention to meaning than is reflected in the lessons.
It should also be born in mind that most teachers are working in exceptionally difficult circumstances in both countries: the schools are dilapidated, classes are often huge, books are scarce, pupil attendance may be erratic, and teachers themselves are poorly paid, sometimes after long delays.
However, even within the current unsatisfactory conditions, one major advance for the teaching of reading in English in Malawi and Zambia would be for all teachers to appreciate that reading does not simply consist of saying words while looking at them, but that it is concerned primarily with apprehending meaning. Ensuring that pupils understand sufficient language to make sense of what they are reading is crucial for teachers, and so is having a range of techniques to check on understanding.
The reading lesson has for many teachers become an occasion for little more than "reading aloud". I would not condemn reading aloud out of hand. There may be roles for it in the early stages, as far as Grade 3, and in certain cases beyond. However, teachers need to ask why it is being done on each occasion. Purposes put forward by those in favour of reading aloud include:
(a) reading aloud for individual pupils:(i) to check that the individual is able to decode
(ii) to give the individual practice in decoding
(iii) to answer a question(b) reading aloud for individuals and groups:
(i) to practice pronunciation
(ii) to reinforce grammatical patterns
(iii) to reinforce recognition of written words(c) reading aloud for groups:
(i) to enable the individual to carry out the above without being the focus of the teacher's attention(ii) to carry out the above more economically
(iii) to provide a change of activity
The only purpose where reading aloud is crucial is (a) (i). In all other cases there are ways other than reading aloud of achieving the same purpose, and, while reading aloud may used for these other purposes, it should not be the exclusive means. Furthermore, whatever the purpose of reading aloud, pupils should always understand what they are saying.
A synchronised reading performance by a class is no guarantee of understanding, and neither is "perfect" pronunciation. At its worst, excessive choral repetition is simply a performance which masks a lack of real competence. Reading aloud should be kept within limits and used for clear purposes.
In brief what is crucial is that, irrespective of the degree of reading aloud in a class, attention to meaning and understanding is essential. It may be that the new English coursebooks which are being introduced in both countries will help in this respect, but whatever materials may be employed, teachers must be aware of the importance of pupils understanding what they read.
