Reading for Meaning Among Grade 9 Sepedi Home Language Learners: A Case Study of a Selected School in the Mankweng Circuit, Capricorn South District, Limpopo Province, South Africa

Reading is crucial for the development of a young mind. The inability to read affects the failure rate of learners in schools, as most subjects require that a learner have reading skills to understand the content. What contributes to these learners failing is the manner in which reading is taught in the classroom. The aim of the study was to investigate the challenges faced by grade 9 Sepedi Home Language learners when attempting to read text for meaning. The study is underpinned by Vygotsky’s Theory of Social Constructivism, which contributes to social learning and teaching. The study adopted the qualitative research approach, with an interpretivist paradigm. Six learners were purposefully sampled to conduct the study through semi-structured interviews. The thematic analysis method was used in the form of non-participatory observation, whereby the learners should identify the errors in a text. The findings revealed that learners lack reading skills, are unable to identify words and cannot read for meaning. This is due to the lack of reading strategies being implemented during the lesson. There are, therefore, no pre-reading, reading and post-reading activities that the teacher uses in the classroom. The recommendations suggest the use of pre-reading, reading and post-reading strategies to help learners understand what is being read and therefore be able to engage with the text. The research will contribute greatly to both the study of teaching reading and writing with comprehension, as well as to the study of factors contributing to the failure rate among Grade 9 Sepedi Home Language learners.