Literacy development and self-concept of English second language learners: an exploratory study

English: This work comprises an exploratory study concerning the literacy development of English Second Language (ESL) learners and the influence of their literacy skills on their self-concept. The present state of affairs concerning the poor quality of the literacy skills of especially the ESL learners in South Africa formed the starting point of this study. A review of theoretical perspectives underlying literacy development and self-concept provided the basis for the study. An empirical examination regarding the challenges faced by primary school ESL teachers assisted in identifying some of the important factors countering well-developed literacy skills of ESL learners. The research involved Grade 4 ESL learners in the Intermediate Phase who experience literacy backlogs. An intervention in the form of interactive storybook reading was developed and administered to an experimental group of Grade 4 ESL learners. Lastly, the interplay between self-concept and literacy achievement was examined. The summary and findings of each article are discussed in the following paragraphs: Article 1 explored the interrelationship between the intrinsic and extrinsic barriers to the development of adequate literacy skills of ESL learners. This article explored how Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory relates to the plight of the ESL learner within the South African education context. Scholastic and socioeconomic challenges characteristic of the scenario of the average learner in South Africa were discussed. In the light of the interplay between the different systems in the individual ESL learner’s life, the implications of Cummins’s Interdependence Theory on the literacy development of ESL learners were considered. The effect of ESL learning without a well-developed mother-tongue basis was scrutinized. The influence of the interaction between different intrinsic and extrinsic factors in the various systems surrounding a learner was addressed, in combination with the poor literacy in L2 due to the implications of Cummins’s Linguistic Interdependence Theory on the self-concept of ESL learners in South Africa. The Reciprocal Effects Model (REM) of self-concept posits that academic self-concept and achievement reinforce each other. The literature examined show strong interactions between Bronfenbrenner’s Bioecological Systems Theory, the Linguistic Interdependence Theory proposed by Cummins and the status of a person’s self-concept. The researcher thus argues that the interaction of intrinsic and extrinsic factors within the different systems wherein the ESL learner functions, in combination with the implications of Cummins’s theory, is likely to have an impact on the self-concept of ESL learners in South Africa. Article 2 determined and described the challenges that ESL teachers experience in their quest to create responsive literacy environments for ESL learners. The qualitative research design enabled the researcher to identify five overall themes posing as obstacles preventing ESL learners from optimal academic progression. It included the LOLT that is not the mother tongue of the learners, the gap between the curriculum of the language of learning and teaching in Grade 3 and Grade 4; disciplinary problems; self-concept and emotional problems; and the lack of time and structure to provide essential individual support to learners. English, as the LOLT for learners with another mother tongue proved to be not only a major challenge for teachers teaching ESL learners, but it also seemed to be the underlying cause for the poor literacy quality of many of South Africa’s ESL learners. The participating teachers agreed that literacy and associated academic problems had a negative effect on the self-concept and motivation of ESL learners. In this article, the importance of mother tongue education was emphasized by a theoretical study and verified by qualitative research. In the light of the variety of mother-tongue speakers in classrooms in South Africa, it is recommended that language supportive learning and translanguaging as teaching strategies in classrooms where the LOLT is not the mother tongue of the learners must be examined. In exploring the challenges ESL learners in South Africa face regarding literacy skills, Article 3 sought to determine the development of the literacy skills of an individual. The importance of emergent literacy skills in literacy development was highlighted. Phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics and pragmatics as components of language form the underlying structure of any language. Forthcoming from this foundation are the skills essential for the development of reading skills, including phonological awareness, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension. Based on the Sociocultural Learning Theory, a literacy intervention incorporating a wholelanguage approach in the form of storybook reading was applied to support the literacy development of the participating ESL learners. Literacy exercises accompanied the story reading to improve the word reading, reading fluency, vocabulary, reading comprehension and spelling of these learners. Utilising an experimental pre-test/post-test research design, the results emphasize the value of interactive storybook reading in creating responsive literacy environments to develop the literacy skills of ESL learners. The findings from this study indicated a significant improvement in the literacy skills of the experimental group by taking the pre-test and the post-test measures into account. The scores for speed-reading improved from 56.57(pre-test) to 74.71 (post-test); for word reading it improved from 29.5 to 41.8; spelling scores improved from 17.33 to 23.90; the average scores for vocabulary improved from 12.54 to 17.19; and reading comprehension scores improved from 9.61 to 13.23. Article 4 explored the interplay between self-concept and literacy achievement. The selfconcept of an individual includes the perception of one’s abilities in a certain context. In the context of the ESL learner’s literacy skills, it indicates the learner’s academic self-concept. The literacy ability of a person plays an important role in academic success. The practice concerning a large part of ESL learners in South Africa learning through a LOLT that is not their mother tongue largely has a negative effect on their literacy skills. In Article 4, the impact of a literacy intervention programme on the self-concept development of Grade 4 ESL learners was examined. Secondly, possible correlations between global selfconcept and the following self-concept dimensions Behavioural Adjustment (BEH), Intellectual and School Status (INT), Physical Appearance and Attributes (PHY), Freedom from Anxiety (FRE), Popularity (POP), and Happiness and Satisfaction (HAP) were established. Thirdly, the possible relationship between literacy abilities and self-concept of these learners was explored. The Piers Harris Self-concept scale was administered prior to and after the literacy intervention programme to establish the relationship between ESL learners’ literacy abilities and their selfconcept development. With regard to the first aim, pre-test/post-test results yielded small, but significant improvements in the total self-concept score (p = 0.000), as well as four of the six domains as measured with the Piers-Harris self-concept scale, namely for BEH (p = 0.007), PHY (p = 0. 000), POP (p = 0.000) and HAP (p = 0.03). Pearson Product Moment correlation analyses were performed to investigate the second and third aims. With regard to the second aim, the results have shown a significantly positive correlation between the Piers-Harris selfconcept scale’s Total (TOT) scale and self-concept before and after the intervention (r = 0.61), as well as yielded significant positive correlations between global self-concept and all six selfconcept domains. The results further show that the correlation coefficients show an increase from the pre-test to the post-test occasion. Results pertaining to the third aim demonstrated significantly positive correlations between self-concept and the following literacy measures: Reading comprehension (r = 0.67); Vocabulary (r = 0.58); Word reading (r = 0.55); Reading fluency (r = 0.55) and Spelling (r = 0.50). The effect of the intervention on the self-concept of ESL learners thus indicated noteworthy improvement. Concluding the interplay between the different systems - as described by Bronfenbrenner's’ Bioecological Systems Theory, in combination with the consequences of Cummins’s Linguistic Interdependence Theory on the literacy acquisition of a person, resulting in a negative influence on the academic self-concept of the ESL learner - was confirmed. The Reciprocal Effects Model self-concept, which proposes that academic self-concept both affects and is affected by academic achievement was considered as a contributing factor to the self-concept of the individual. The quality of an individual’s literacy skills as a prerequisite for academic success and future socio-economic independence stands central in the formation of one’s academic self-concept. The plight of many ESL learners, who have a LOLT other than their mother tongue, in combination with the effect of the interaction of different systems within which they function, resulting in poor literacy skills, is emphasized by the results of this mixed-method study. Emanating from the study, a literacy intervention in the form of storybook reading with accompanying literacy development exercises was developed and applied with positive results.