Abstract
Storytelling has been a common practice throughout the ages. This oral tradition has been replaced with books and nowadays with electronic screens (Lawrence, Le Cordeur, Van der Merwe, Van der Vyver and Van Oort 2019:225). From the literature it becomes clear that these stories offer readers and listeners enjoyment, entertainment, relaxation, escape, broadening of knowledge and experience, stimulation of imagination and creativity, as well as the development of emotional and aesthetic perceptions. These functions of stories contribute to also the awareness of universality and cultivate respect for humanity, cultures and language (Van Coillie 2007:16–22; Lawrence et al. 2019:222, 226). Burger (2017:1–3) emphasises that readers of literary works can imagine other people’s experiences, empathise with certain circumstances, and therefore become more empathetic people, as sensitive registers of human experience are woven into literary works. From this it can be deduced that learners are so much poorer without stories, precisely because of their formative nature.
Learners who read literary texts are more proficient in language than learners who do not read them (Pretorius 2002:170). The National Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) furthermore expects that the literary, aesthetic and imaginative dimensions of Afrikaans Home Language learners must be developed (DBO 2011a:8; DBO 2011b:8). Despite these benefits that reading brings to learners (such as, among other things, academic performance), they still read less (Salzwedel 2017).
This situation highlights the inestimable value of teachers’ self-directed and meaningful preparation of prescribed youth literature. When youth literature is eventually taught successfully, it can contribute to learners’ reading motivation. This process involves the development and strengthening of teachers’ self-directed skills to analyse, interpret, evaluate and reflect on youth literature. In this regard, according to Petersen (2018:1123), self-directedness, such as higher cognitive skills (problem solving, critical and creative thinking) as well as taking ownership of their own learning, is required from teachers in the educational sphere, by analogy with Knowles (1975).
Obstacles in the teaching and learning reality of youth literature include a lack of teaching time, an overloaded curriculum (Van Oort 2018:256–84), the stress that comes with exam results, and too little funds for purchasing a variety of youth literature. Furthermore, learners are unable to identify with the content of prescribed literature (Lawrence et al. 2019:225). This situation leads to frustration among teachers and drives them to use commercial resources. The general attitude is that these resources will provide them with model analyses, interpretations, evaluations and answers, and teachers and learners accept that the youth literature analyses, answers to questions, motifs, theme and message are provided ready-made. Therefore, teachers are unmotivated to self-directedly prepare and teach youth literature effectively.
In this review article, two different data collection methods are involved, namely an extensive literature review, as well as document analyses of the CAPS for Afrikaans Home Language, Senior (DBO 2011a) and Further Education and Training (FET) Phase (DBO 2011b).
From the document analysis of the CAPS (DBO 2011a; DBO 2011b) it is apparent that prescribed prose is important for Afrikaans Home Language learners in the Senior and FET phases, yet teachers experience many problems with aspects of teaching the prescribed literature (Du Toit 2006:53). In the first place, teachers find self-directed preparation (analysis, interpretation and evaluation) of such literature challenging. This problem leads to teachers lacking self-confidence and self-directedness and turning to commercial resources for model analysis and answers of, among other things, prescribed youth literature. Le Cordeur (2010:77–89) is of the opinion that these teaching practices hamper the self-directedness of Afrikaans Home Language teachers regarding text analyses. Moreover, in our own teaching experience, it is not only teachers who turn to teachers’ guides, workbooks and manuals, but also learners, as they are widely advertised and freely available in print or electronic format. Du Toit (2012:221) further indicates in this regard that teachers must be trained to develop teaching support material themselves. Secondly, teachers experience problems in motivating learners to read, which explains the current problematic reading situation of South African learners (Howie, Combrinck, Roux, Tshele, Mokoena and McLeod Palane 2017). A third problem is that teachers do not always consider the value of reading youth literature in the preparation process and may not apply appropriate literary teaching approaches and theories. A fourth problem is that in their preparation, teachers pay attention to literature elements (characters, time, space, events, narrator and focalisation) and for example do not consider their interaction and connection with the universal theme(s) and message(s) of youth literature.
As a result, teachers do not consider the application of integrated constructivist literary teaching approaches (such as reception aesthetics approaches and theories) in the preparation phase of youth literature. The challenging curriculum, which must be followed in a limited time frame, gives rise to teachers never developing their self-directedness regarding the analysis, interpretation and evaluation of youth literature. Youth readers are thus never afforded the opportunity for own reception and reflection on youth literature. This situation can be improved if Afrikaans Home Language teachers’ self-directed preparation skills of youth literature is improved and honed to empower them to prepare youth literature independently in order to enhance their confidence.
The aim of this article is to provide practicable, practical and constructivist recommendations to Afrikaans Home Language teachers, which can empower them to prepare youth literature in a self-directed manner. The recommendations can be used also during the training of undergraduate teachers and in-service teaching trainers, and curriculum planners can also take note of them. These recommendations include, among others, the following aspects: how the self-directedness of teachers with regard to the reading, analysis, interpretation and evaluation of and reflection on prescribed youth texts can be developed; how teachers can improve the reading motivation of learners in the language classroom; as well as how teachers can identify appropriate constructivist literary teaching approaches and theories in their preparation phase so as to finally apply them in the teaching and learning process.
Keywords: Afrikaans Home Language; constructivism; integrated language and literature education; literary theories; reading motivation; self-directedness; teaching approaches; youth readers; youth literature
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