Background: There is a general outcry that too many South African Foundation Phase (Grades 1–3) teachers do not know how to teach reading and are currently teaching reading in an ad hoc , unsystematic way. Objectives: In response to this, this study explored the Foundation Phase teachers’ perceptions of their role in teaching reading. The focus was on the relevance of the initial training, awareness of reading strategies and how these strategies were reflected in their classroom practice. Method: The study was qualitative in nature and a case study design was followed. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with nine teachers who were purposively selected from three public schools. Content analysis was used to analyse the data. Results: Regarding the initial training programme, teachers received at tertiary institutions, the findings of the study showed that the majority of teachers were not adequately prepared to teach reading and to deal with learners who experience problems in reading. Some teachers indicated that they were not even trained to teach in the Foundation Phase. The findings also showed that the majority of respondents doubted if their classroom practice would yield positive results as far as reading instruction is concerned. The findings further indicated that the majority of respondents only paid attention to oral reading (observing punctuation marks and pronunciation), without attending to reading comprehension. There was a general consensus that the new ways of teaching reading were necessary in order to improve the reading ability of learners. Conclusion: Recommendations based on the findings are that institutions of higher learning that train Foundation Phase teachers should do so in ways that adequately equip them to produce student teachers who are knowledgeable about research and theory regarding how individuals learn to read. Workshops on appropriate instruction of reading strategies are recommended for in-service teachers.

中文翻译：

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东开普省部分小学的教师对阅读教学的看法

背景：普遍的抗议是，太多的南非基础阶段（1-3年级）教师不知道如何教授阅读，并且目前正在以一种临时的，非系统的方式来教授阅读。目标：针对此，本研究探讨了基础阶段教师对他们在阅读教学中的作用的看法。重点在于初始培训的相关性，对阅读策略的意识以及这些策略如何在课堂实践中得到体现。方法：本研究是定性的，并进行了案例研究设计。对来自三所公立学校的9名教师进行了半结构化访谈。内容分析用于分析数据。结果：关于最初的培训计划，在大专院校接受了教师培训，研究结果表明，大多数教师没有做好充分的准备去教阅读和与阅读中遇到问题的学习者打交道。一些老师表示，他们甚至没有接受基础阶段的教学。调查结果还表明，大多数受访者怀疑就阅读指导而言，他们的课堂实践是否会产生积极的结果。调查结果进一步表明，大多数受访者只关注口头阅读（遵守标点符号和发音），而没有注意阅读理解。人们普遍认为，必须采用新的阅读教学方法来提高学习者的阅读能力。结论：基于这些发现的建议是，培训基础阶段教师的高等院校应该这样做，以使其具备足够的装备，以培养出对个人学习方式的研究和理论知识渊博的学生教师。建议在职教师参加有关适当的阅读策略指导的讲习班。