Academic literature on the topic 'Reading comprehension – Namibia'

Predictions derived from the central processing and script dependent hypotheses were assessed by measuring the reading ability of 116 Grade 2–5 Herero–English bilingual children in Namibia ranging in age from 7 to 12 and investigating possible predictors of word reading among measures of cognitive/linguistic processes. Tasks included measures of word reading, decoding, phonological awareness, verbal and spatial memory, rapid naming, semantic fluency, sound discrimination, listening comprehension and non-verbal reasoning. Faster rates of improvement in literacy within the more transparent language (Herero) supported the predictions of the script dependent hypothesis. However, the central processing hypothesis was also supported by evidence indicating that common underlying cognitive-linguistic processing skills predicted literacy levels across the two languages. The results argue for the importance of phonological processing skills for the development of literacy skills across languages/scripts and show that phonological skills in the L2 can be reliable predictors of literacy in the L1.

PURPOSE: The study aimed to explore and describe the knowledge of women regarding health promotion in the prevention of breast and cervical cancer. This study was carried out in the Oshakati district at the Intermediate Hospital Oshakati.
 
 METHODOLOGY: A quantitative approach was used for this study. This approach was chosen in order to provide a comprehensive picture and understanding of the women’s knowledge or awareness of health promotion in the prevention of breast and cervical cancer. The study population consisted of all women of child-bearing age, aged 15 to 49, in the Oshakati health district, that is, 41,985. The research sample was identified as 10% of the study population, thus numbering 419 respondents. The researcher personally distributed 419 questionnaires to every second woman of child-bearing age admitted to the Intermediate Hospital Oshakati.
 
 RESULTS: The findings indicate that awareness of information relating to breast and cervical cancer exists in Oshakati Health District. However, overall knowledge on the causes of breast and cervical cancer, risk factors for breast cancer and warning signs of cervical cancer was very poor. The findings also revealed that while many respondents were informed about breast self-examination (BSE) and had practised it, very few respondents acknowledged clinical breast examination (CBE) attendance once a year, or the use of mammography and sonar attendance as additional screening methods.
 
 RECOMMENDATIONS & CONCLUSION: Based on the findings the study recommends that women should share information with their peers; in addition, radio should be used to disseminate such information as it is the most reliable source of information in the rural areas. Information, education and communication materials on the prevention of breast and cervical cancer should be developed and disseminated to the public. Women should be encouraged to develop a reading culture in order to increase their knowledge.

This study was conducted in order to understand to what extent Grade 2 teachers use books (or other forms of extended text) in their reading lessons in Oshindonga where very little published material is available, and, if so, whether they engage in shared reading with these materials or not. The study also explored ways to introduce more books (or other forms of extended text) into Oshindonga classrooms. The study took the form of an interpretive case study. It was conducted in two primary schools in Otjiwarongo district in the Otjozondjupa region of Namibia. Two qualified Grade 2 teachers were selected. The purpose of this sampling was to gain an in depth understanding of how these two selected teachers taught reading in Oshindonga. The data was gathered by using semi-structured interviews with open-ended questions, as well as lesson observations and stimulated recall with each individual teacher after each lesson. The purpose of this was to gain clarity in areas that were not clear during lesson presentations. A focus group interview was also conducted in order to generate ideas about how to introduce more extended texts into the classroom. The key fmdings are that both schools in the study lacked books in Oshindonga, and the teachers lacked an understanding of the importance of using books (or other forms of extended text). Other key findings are that teachers had a problem in choosing appropriate texts to read with their learners; teachers understand reading more as decoding than reading for meaning and pleasure; children were not asked any comprehension questions and the two teachers had different views on the value of shared reading. The research data revealed that there are problems in teaching literacy in Namibian African languages.

Though research has been conducted on many issues since Namibia's independence in 1990, none of these studies has investigated how English Second Language (ESL) teachers teach and support struggling adolescent readers (SARs) to read. Utilising qualitative research techniques such as classroom observations, semi-structured interviews and document analysis, this case study looked at strategies, methods, and resources used by five ESL secondary school teachers to teach SARs to read in two regions in Namibia, Caprivi and Otjozondjupa regions. Two of the five participants were male teachers. The presence of SARs in the classes observed was established by using informal methods such as the ESL teachers' experience (Caprivi region), while a sample of questions from PIRLS 2001 (Mullis, Martin, Gonzalez, & Kennedy (2003) was compiled to form a test used in the Otjozondjupa region. The findings show that despite undergoing initial teacher training and majoring in English, the five ESL secondary school teachers were not trained to teach SARs either how to read or how to support them. In addition, the study found that there was a shortage of reading materials in all five selected schools.

Many L2 students in Namibia are not adequately prepared for the academic demands of university courses, mainly because of poor reading skills in the L2. University students reading below their maturational levels, can mainly be attributed to their print-impoverished backgrounds, as reading is a skill that develops mainly through reading. Without any assistance, poor readers at university will continue to read poorly and as a result perform weaker in their academic courses compared to their peers who are better readers. The overall aim of this study is to explore the effects of a reading intervention program on a group of university students in Namibia. A quasiexperimental method with a control and an intervention group was employed. The effect of reading ability on academic performance was also investigated. In addition, through a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods, the pre-literacy experiences of students, the differences between good and poor readers at university, their views about the reading intervention program as well as the attitudes and practices of university lecturers towards reading instruction at tertiary level were examined.<br>Linguistics<br>M.A. (with specialisation in Applied Linguistics)

Summaries In English, Xhosa and Afrikaans<br>The aim of this study was to carry out a reading comprehension intervention to empower teachers with knowledge and strategies for teaching reading, with the ultimate goal of improving the low reading comprehension of Upper Primary learners in Grade 5. The intervention was carried out for about four months, in which teachers were provided with teaching and learning resources, guidance on how to utilise the resources, and coaching on instructional practices. The intervention involved two control and two intervention schools. A modest interventionist approach was applied in which the six quality criteria for formative assessment as proposed by Nieveen (2007) were adopted to guide the study. The study was carried out in three phases. Phase 1 was concerned with the context and problem identification in which the relevance of the study, the first quality criterion, was addressed. A baseline study was conducted and the results showed that learners had low decoding and reading comprehension skills. The baseline study also revealed that teachers and principals had limited knowledge about reading and comprehension and how to teach them, and the schools were poorly resourced. Considering the low reading levels and academic performance of the learners, there was a need to improve the learners’ reading comprehension levels through teacher empowerment to enhance their literacy practices and change their attitudes. The study was underpinned by two theories of change, namely Guskey’s (1986, 2002) theory of teacher change and Fishbein’s (2000) Integrative Model of Behaviour Prediction. Phase 2 was concerned about the design, development and implementation of the intervention in which four quality criteria were addressed: the consistency, expected practicality, actual practicality, and the expected effectiveness of the intervention. Phase 3 addressed the actual effectiveness of the intervention, and the analysis of the pre- and post-intervention scores showed that the intervention schools improved significantly more than the control schools in decoding tests. The results also showed that the grade-appropriate age groups (10 and 11-yearolds) performed significantly higher than the older learners, and that girls had a slightly better performance than boys in all the assessments. The findings suggest that quality teaching and learning can happen if teachers receive ongoing support to enhance their instructional practices.<br>Injongo yolu phando ibe ikukuqhuba umsebenzi wokungenelela kufundo ngokuqiqa kwanokuqonda intsingiselo equlethwe kumagama abhaliweyo, ukuze kuxhotyise ootitshala ngezakhono nangeendlela emabafundise ngazo abafundi, khon’ukuze bakwazi ukufunda nokuqonda okubhaliweyo. Eyona nto lujonge kuyo olu phando, kukukhuphula izinga lesakhono sokufundwa kwamagama abhaliweyo ngabafundi bebanga lesi-5, ukuze bafunde ngomoya wengqiqo nokuqonda intsingiselo yoko bakufundayo. Olu phando lulungenelelo olwaaqhutywa isithuba esingangeenyanga ezine, apho ootitshala baanikwa izixhobo zokufundisa, kunye nemigaqo yokusetyenziswa kwazo, baza baqeqeshelwa ukumilisela imiyalelo yokwenza oko bakufundisiweyo. Olu phando lubandakanya amaqela amabini ezikolo. Elokuqala, lelezikolo ezimbini apho abafundi bebandakanywe kuphando njengokuba benjalo. Oko kuthetha ukuthi, aba bafundi abanalo ifuthe longenelelo esingalo esi sifundo. Elesibini, lelezikolo ezimbini ekwenziwe kuzo ungenelelo. Xa kwakuqhutywa olu phando, kwaasetyenziswa uhlobo longenelelo oluzothileyo (i-modest intervention approach). Kulapho kwaaphakanyiswa khona ukuba kusetyenziswe imigaqo emithandathu ekumgangatho ophezulu, apho kuqhutywa uvavanyo olusekwe phezu kweentlobo-ntlobo zeemvavanyo, ngokwengcebiso kaNieveen (2007). Olu phando lwaaqhutywa kwizigaba ezintathu. Kwisigaba soku-1, lwalujongene nokubona ingxaki kunye neemeko eyenzeka phantsi kwazo, Kulapho olu ngenelelo lufuneka khona, nalapho umgangatho ophezulu nowokuqala waathi waphicothwa ngokubanzi. Isiseko sophando saaqhutywa, zaza iziphumo zaso zabonisa okokuba izinga lesakhono sokufunda kwabafundi liphantsi ngokubhekiselele kufundo lwamagama abhaliweyo, kuba bengenaso isakhono sokuhlalutya ngokupheleleyo instingiselo yamagama abhaliweyo, nesakhono sokufunda amagama ngomoya wengqiqo. Isiseko sophando sikwadize okokuba iititshala neenqununu azinalwazi luphangaleleyo malunga nendlela ekufundwa nekuhlalutywa ngayo amagama izivakalisi kunye neentetho ezibhaliweyo. Kananjalo, isiseko sophando sikwadize okokuba iititshala neenqununu azinazo izakhono zokufundisa abafundi ukufunda nokuhlalutya okubhaliweyo ngengqiqo, kwaye izikolo ziswele izixhobo zokukhuphula izinga lokufunda okubhaliweyo ngabafundi. Ngelokuthathela ingqalelo amazinga aphantsi ngokubhekiselele kwizakhono zabafundi ekufundeni amagama abhaliweyo, nakwimpumelelo yabafundi kwizifundo zabo ngokubanzi, kwaabakho imfuneko yokokuba kuphuculwe amazinga ekufundwa ngawo ngabafundi xa befunda okubhaliweyo. Ngokolu phando, konke oku kuyakwenzeka ngokuthi kuxhotyiswe ootitshala ngezakhono zokuphucula indlela abaqhuba ngayo xa befundisa abafundi ukubhala nokufunda okubhaliweyo, ukuze kananjalo batshintshe indlela ababona ngayo. Olu phando luxhaswe ngemibono emalunga notshintsho, nekuyimibono yeengcali ezimbini, u-Guskey’s (1986, 2002) ngombono wakhe osihloko sawo sithi “Utshintsho kwititshala” ‘Teacher change’ kunye no-Fishbein’s (2000) ngombono wakhe omalunga nokuphicotha ngokubanzi indlela zokutshintsha okanye ekunokwakhiwa ngazo izimilo okanye indlela ezithile zokuziphatha (NgesiNgesi yi-“Integrative Model of Behaviour Prediction). Isigaba sesi-2 sasijongene noku kulandelayo: izicwangciso zokungenelela kwingxuba kaxaka ethe yaphawulwa kolu phando, ukusebenzisa olu phando njengelinge lokungenelela ekukhuphuleni izinga lokufunda okubhaliweyo, nasekumiliseleni olu ngenelelo kwinkqubo zokufundisa okubhaliweyo. Kwesi sigaba kuyakuphicothwa ngokwemigqaliselo emine ekudidi oluphezulu ekuyile ilandelayo: Ungenelelo lwenziwa rhoqo okanye ngamaxesha athile; kulindeleke ukuba lwenzeke kangakanani olu ngenelelo? Kanti lona eneneni lwenzeke kangakanani? Utshintsho olulindelekileyo ngenxa yolu phando olungenelele kwingxaki ekhoyo yezinga eliphantsi lokufundwa kwamagama okanye okubhaliweyo ngokubanzi. Kwisigaba sesi-3, kuphicothwe kwabekwa elubala eyona nto iye yenzeka okanye umahluko oye wabonakala ngenxa yolu ngenelelo xa abafundi befunda amagama abhaliweyo. Ukuze kubonakale oku, kuphicothwe amanqaku athathwe phambi kokuba kungenelelwe nasemva kokuba kungenelelwe. Laa manqaku aye abonakalisa okokuba kwizikolo ebekwenziwe kuzo uphando longenelelo, inqanaba lokufunda amagama abhaliweyo ngomoya wokutolika ngengqiqo, likhuphuke ngaphandle kwamathandabuzo, laba ke ngoko libhulele amasaka ezo zikolo bezingakhange zichatshazelwe lungenelelo. Iziphumo zolu phando zikwabonakalisa okokuba amaqela abafundi (abaminyaka ili-10 ne-11 leminyaka ubudala) ngokwamabanga abakuwo esikolweni ngokufanelekileyo, bababhulele amasaka abafundi abadala kunabo ngeminyaka xa kuthelekiswa amanqaku angokufunda ngengqiqo. Ngaphezu koko, amanqaku amantombazana abe bukhuphuka xa kuthelekiswa nawamakhwenkwe kuyo yonke imisebenzi yokuvavanywa kwabo. Iziphumo zophando zibonakalisa okokuba ukufundisa nokufunda okusemgangathweni kungenzeka xa iititshala zisoloko zifumana inkxaso engagungqiyo ukuze zikwazi ukukhuphula nokuphucula imisebenzi yabo yemihla ngemihla, yokufundisa abafundi.<br>Die doel van hierdie studie was om 'n leesbegripsintervensie uit te voer om onderwysers te bemagtig met kennis en strategieë vir leesonderrig, met die uiteindelike doel om die lae leesbegrip van Hoër Primêre leerders in graad 5 te verbeter. Die intervensie is vir ongeveer vier gedoen maande, waarin onderwysers onderrig- en leerhulpbronne, leiding oor hoe om die hulpbronne te benut, en afrigting oor onderrigpraktyke voorsien is. Die intervensie het twee beheer- en twee intervensieskole behels. 'N Beskeie intervensionistiese benadering is toegepas waarin die ses kwaliteitskriteria vir formatiewe assessering, soos voorgestel deur Nieveen (2007), gebruik word om die studie te lei. Die studie is in drie fases uitgevoer. Fase 1 het gehandel oor die konteks en probleemidentifisering waarin die relevansie van die studie, die eerste kwaliteitskriterium, aangespreek is. 'N Basisstudie is uitgevoer en die resultate het getoon dat leerders oor lae vaardighede beskik oor dekodering en leesbegrip. Die basisstudie het ook aan die lig gebring dat onderwysers en skoolhoofde beperkte kennis gehad het oor lees en begrip en hoe om dit te onderrig, en dat die skole nie genoeg hulpbronne gehad het nie. Met inagneming van die lae leesvlakke en akademiese prestasie van die leerders, was dit nodig om die leerders se leesbegripsvlakke te verbeter deur bemagtiging van onderwysers om hul geletterdheidspraktyke te verbeter en hul houding te verander. Die studie is ondersteun deur twee teorieë oor verandering, naamlik Guskey (1986, 2002) se teorie oor onderwyserverandering en Fishbein (2000) se integrerende model van gedragsvoorspelling. Fase 2 was besorg oor die ontwerp, ontwikkeling en implementering van die intervensie waarin vier kwaliteitskriteria aangespreek is: die konsekwentheid, verwagte praktiese, werklike praktiese en die verwagte effektiwiteit van die intervensie. Fase 3 het die werklike effektiwiteit van die intervensie behandel, en die ontleding van die voor- en na-intervensie-tellings het getoon dat die intervensie-skole aansienlik meer verbeter het as die beheerskole in dekoderingstoetse. Die resultate het ook getoon dat die graadtoepaslike ouderdomsgroepe (10 en 11-jariges) beduidend hoër presteer as die ouer leerders, en dat meisies in al die assesserings effens beter presteer as seuns. Die bevindinge dui daarop dat gehalte-onderrig en -leer kan gebeur as onderwysers deurlopend ondersteuning kry om hul onderrigpraktyke te verbeter.<br>Linguistics and Modern Languages

Text in English<br>This study examined the vocabulary and academic literacy levels of undergraduate students at the University of Namibia, as well as the effects of an explicit and an implicit vocabulary programme on vocabulary development and academic literacy. The study also sought to determine the effects of the programmes on students’ attitudes about vocabulary and explicit vocabulary strategies. The relationship between students’ vocabulary size, academic literacy levels, and their self-assessment of their vocabulary knowledge was examined. Many students had not reached the desired word mastery and did not have adequate academic literacy skills to cope with the demands of university. Students in the explicit group modestly improved receptive vocabulary knowledge at the end of the intervention but there was no significant improvement in academic literacy skills. Overall, students showed an increase in positive responses regarding their attitudes to vocabulary.<br>Linguistics and Modern Languages<br>M.A. (Applied Linguistics)

This chapter foregrounds the Lab-On-Line project, a technological innovation developed to enhance visual processing skills, improve memory and vocabulary, and increase reading fluency with the explicit aim of improving comprehension. Thirty (30) 3rd year students at one of the University of Namibia campuses participated in the pilot study. A pre-test was conducted for placement purpose. Subsequently, the selected sample commenced with the Lab-On-Line program that consists of 20 lessons that were carried out twice a week over a period of five months. Thereafter a Standardized Reading Evaluation was performed to determine their language proficiency, reading speed per minute and comprehension ability. Results show that the majority of participating students had improved their perceptual development and reading speed (VPF), cognitive development and comprehension skills (CDF), and relative reading efficiency (AIUF).