Background: Literacy education in the foundation phase is a global concern. Studies have shown that mastering literacy in the first three years of school ensured academic success and lack of it had negative effects academically, socially and economically. This research study sought to explore teachers’ instructional practices for literacy in English in Grade 1 in the Shiselweni region of Eswatini. Objectives: The objectives of the study were to establish what instructional practices teachers used in their literacy classrooms, why they used those instructional practices, and how they experienced the teaching of literacy in English in Grade 1. Method: A qualitative case study design was followed where three teachers from two urban schools were purposively sampled and participated in semi-structured interviews and classroom observations. Focus group discussions with teachers who had experience teaching literacy in English in Grade 1 in each school were conducted, and document analysis was done. Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory was used as a lens to understand teachers’ instructional practices in literacy. Results: Data were analysed using thematic content analysis. The findings of the study showed that teachers’ instructional practices reflected their lack of pedagogical knowledge for teaching literacy in English in the foundation phase. The study also found that the teachers’ experiences were their rationale for their instructional practices. Conclusion: The study showed that teacher resilience was important for teachers to thrive under trying school conditions; developing a positive attitude towards literacy teaching enabled teachers to develop strategies to improve literacy teaching and learning.

中文翻译：

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在一年级中对教师的英语读写教学实践进行考核：以埃斯瓦蒂尼（斯威士兰）Shiselweni地区的两所城市小学为例

背景：基础阶段的扫盲教育是全球关注的问题。研究表明，在学校的前三年掌握识字能力可确保学术成功，而缺乏识字能力则会在学术，社会和经济方面产生负面影响。这项研究旨在探讨教师在埃斯瓦蒂尼（Eswatini）的Shiselweni地区一年级英语读写方面的教学实践。目标：该研究的目的是确定教师在其扫盲教室中使用了哪些教学实践，为什么使用这些教学实践以及他们如何体验1年级的英语扫盲教学。方法：遵循定性案例研究设计目的是对来自两所城市学校的三名教师进行抽样，并参加了半结构化访谈和课堂观察。与每所学校的一年级英语经验丰富的老师进行了焦点小组讨论，并进行了文件分析。维果斯基的社会文化理论被用来理解教师的读写教学实践。结果：使用主题内容分析法分析数据。研究结果表明，教师的教学实践反映了他们在基础阶段缺乏英语读写素养的教学知识。研究还发现，教师的经验是他们进行教学实践的理由。结论：研究表明，教师的应变能力对于教师在艰难的学校环境中壮成长至关重要。