Teachers’ Perspectives on Mitigating Barriers to English FAL Comprehension in Primary Schools

Abstract

English as a First Additional Language (EFAL) plays a central role in primary education within multilingual contexts, yet many learners experience persistent difficulties in reading comprehension. The researchers adopted an interpretive qualitative approach. In this light, data were generated from ten Grade 6 EFAL teachers through face-to-face semi-structured interviews and non-participatory classroom observations. The study was conducted in rural primary schools in the Nquthu circuit, uMzinyathi district in KwaZulu Natal, South Africa. The findings revealed that teachers face interconnected challenges, including learners’ poor pronunciation and weak phonics skills, limited vocabulary, inadequate professional development opportunities and shortages of EFAL reading resources such as textbooks and dictionaries. These barriers significantly constrain learners’ ability to decode texts, construct meaning and engage meaningfully with comprehension activities. Despite these constraints, teachers employed a range of responsive strategies, including reading-aloud techniques, vocabulary games, dictionary use, scaffolding through guided explanation and the incorporation of supplementary reading materials from home. It was recommended that improving EFAL comprehension outcomes requires sustained teacher professional development, adequate resource provision and structured, learner-centred reading pedagogies.