CHALLENGES ENCOUNTERED BY EFAL LEARNERS IN MASTERING A COMPREHENSION PASSAGE IN THE FET PHASE

Abstract

Learners’ performance in English first additional language (EFAL) reading comprehension among school learners at most schools in South Africa is a tremendous concern. The aptitude to interpret main ideas from the text constitutes the meaning-making process, which is the comprehension process that is required when reading comprehension passages. Deep comprehension is achieved when a reader progresses beyond literal comprehension to using the text combined with prior knowledge to construct understanding. English is used as a medium of teaching and learning in most South African public schools, although most of these learners are EFAL speakers. To counter this unease, reading comprehension passage strategies become useful. This study aimed to investigate the challenges encountered by EFAL learners in mastering a comprehension passage in the Further Education and Training (FET) phase and how to cope with those challenges in dealing with a comprehension passage. The study employed a qualitative research design to collect data. The sampling frame was 14 EFAL learners in South Africa. The results of the study show that EFAL learners need to use multiple reading comprehension passage strategies including inference to boost their understanding of any comprehension passage in an EFAL setting. Teachers’ immense input is required in equipping EFAL learners with the skills to cope with challenging comprehension passages.