HANTAM COMMUNITY EDUCATION TRUST
A Language and Basic Concepts Project
Louis Benjamin, Ph.D. (Project Consultant)
Copyright 2006
A LANGUAGE AND BASIC CONCEPTS PROJECT
ACTIVITIES OF THE HANTAM COMMUNITY EDUCATION TRUST
•school (Grade R-Grade 9)
•outreach teacher development programme
•skills training programme
•bursary programme
•primary health care clinic
•pharmacy
A LANGUAGE AND BASIC CONCEPTS PROJECT
Need for the Project
1. Pervasive language difficulties
experienced by learners at the
school.
2. Learners were not able to cope
with ENGLISH as the language of
instruction from Grade 4 and
beyond.
A LANGUAGE AND BASIC CONCEPTS PROJECT
Need for the Project
UCT SPELLING TEST: Grade 6
13%
2.5 yr delay
3yrs - 5yrs+
delay
87%
There were no learners on or above Grade level
A LANGUAGE AND BASIC CONCEPTS PROJECT
Aims of the project
• To identify the language and scholastic competencies and
weaknesses of the Foundation Phase learners.
•To provide teachers with training and support to improve the
language, cognitive and scholastic functioning of their
learners
• To monitor and evaluate the outcomes of the project and to
make recommendations for intervention.
A LANGUAGE AND BASIC CONCEPTS PROJECT
Overview of the Project: time line
2003: Year One Grade R
2004: Year Two Grade 1
2005: Year Three
Grade 2
2006: Year Four Grade 3
2007: Year Five Grade 4
A LANGUAGE AND BASIC CONCEPTS PROJECT
Overview of the Project: Goals for each grade
Grade R
• To consolidate and strengthen home language: BCP and
thematic language approach
• Scholastic markers include a knowledge of colour, shape, size,
position, number and letter
Grade 1
• To use English as a language of instruction and to promote
cognitive development: BCP and thematic language approach
• Scholastic markers include a knowledge of BCS, vocabulary,
literacy, numeracy and life skills outcomes
Grade 2-4
• To extend the conceptual language and to use this language to
teach literacy, numeracy, and life skills and other learning areas
• 80-120 words are taught with every theme (6 themes per year)
A LANGUAGE AND BASIC CONCEPTS PROJECT
Theoretical Base
CONSTRUCTIVISM
individual
social-constructivism
Piaget Vygotsky Feuerstein
BASIC CONCEPTS & LANGUAGE PROJECT
A LANGUAGE AND BASIC CONCEPTS PROJECT
PIAGET
•Development proceeds from less knowledgeable to more
knowledgeable states.
•Mental actions (conservation, categorization, classification,
seriation, perspective taking, multiple sources of information)
enable shifts from intuitive, spontaneous thinking to more logical
modes of thought.
The project is hierarchically constructed- introduces learners to
vocabulary and conceptual language in a systematic and
graduated fashion from Grade 1 to Grade 4.
CONTENT OF THE
BASIC CONCEPTS PROGRAMME
HIGHER ORDER CONCEPTS
COLOUR
SHAPE
SIZE
POSITION NUMBER
LETTER
LOWER ORDER CONCEPTS
RED
YELLOW
GREEN
BLUE
BLACK
BROWN
BIG
CIRCLE
SMALL
TRIANGLE
RECTANGLE
BIGGER
SQUARE
SMALLER
DIAMOND
MEDIUM
STAR
MIDDLE
LEFT
RIGHT
TOP
MIDDLE
BOTTOM
UP
DOWN
MORE
LESS
1,2,3,4,5
1ST , 2ND
3+4 = 7
7-4 = 3
A,B,C,D,
... X,Y,Z
CAPTIAL
SMALL
LETTERS
A LANGUAGE AND BASIC CONCEPTS PROJECT
VYGOTSKY
• Placed emphasis on the social nature of learning, aided by
language, which are vital to effect the transition in understanding
from unmediated and meaningless symbols and signs to higher
order, scientific concepts.
•Mediators (signs, symbols, language) assist with the transition
from spontaneous concepts to non-spontaneous concepts.
•Placed emphasis on (a special kind) of instruction in the Zone of
Proximal Development on aspects that were still in the process of
maturing.
•Mediators of the project lead learners successively to new
conceptual domains, not waiting for spontaneous concepts to
mature, but initiating the process of new learning.
A LANGUAGE AND BASIC CONCEPTS PROJECT
Vygotsky contended that
speech “besides being a means of
expression and release of tension … soon
becomes an instrument of thought
in the proper sense … in seeking
and planning the solution
of a problem.”
Language structures and directs the processes of
thinking and concept formation
A LANGUAGE AND BASIC CONCEPTS PROJECT
‘…in early second language acquisition (L2)
beginning at between approximately age five or
six, children often achieve native-like
pronunciation and syntax within a relatively
short period of a year or two. The ability of
young children to achieve native-like
proficiency in a foreign language in a rather
short time is a reflection of a type of neural
plasticity, and it appears to be related to the
distinct characteristics of the young brain.’
Yvonne F. Stapp, 1999
Gaikokugo Center, University of Tsukuba, Japan,
A LANGUAGE AND BASIC CONCEPTS PROJECT
FEUERSTEIN
• Provided further detail of the mediation processes that were
required to advance development.
• The mediational teaching style aptly describes the quality of the
human interactions required in learning, arguably the most
important dimension of any educational process.
• The primary role of the mediator is therefore to establish the
prerequisites for learning: motivated, attentive and focussed
learners who are ready to receive systematic mediation in order to
promote their cognitive modifiability.
• The aim is to produce changes that are durable, flexible and
capable in turn of effecting changes in the rest of the system.
A LANGUAGE AND BASIC CONCEPTS PROJECT
SUMMARY OF THE THEORETICAL BASE
The project includes complex, detailed
descriptions of the developing mental actions
that are required for producing the kinds of
changes in cognitive performance desired by
such a programme.
Provides a framework that seeks to guide
teachers’ attention to their role as mediators
of human learning processes as well as to
the symbolic tools required for higher order
thinking.
A LANGUAGE AND BASIC CONCEPTS PROJECT
SAMPLE
Number Of Grade R To Grade 4 Learners At
The Hantam Community Education Trust School
Grade
2003
2004
2005
Grade R
16
12
15
Grade 1
18
18
14
Grade 2
12
9
18
Grade 3
20
14
11
Grade 4
14
12
12
Total
80
65
70
A LANGUAGE AND BASIC CONCEPTS PROJECT
TEST BATTERY
*UCT Graded Spelling Test:
A norm-based test developed for learners in the Western Cape.
*UCT Graded Reading Test: A norm-based test developed for
learners in the Western Cape.
*Ballard One-Minute Test:
A norm-based test which is deemed appropriate to assess
mathematical competency.
*Boehm Test of Basic Concepts:
A norm-based test, however, used without making direct reference
to these American derived norms. This test was developed to
assess the understanding of 50 high frequency basic concepts in
young learners.
* Administered to Grade 1-4 learners.
A LANGUAGE AND BASIC CONCEPTS PROJECT
TEST BATTERY
Basic Concepts Complex Figure Test:
A dynamic assessment test (test-teach-test) developed to assess
the ability of younger children to learn recall from memory and
reproduce a complex figure. This is a test of visual memory,
spatial relations, cognitive functioning and cognitive modifiability.
Administered to Grade 2-4 learners.
Basic Concepts School Readiness Test For Grade R’s:
A test developed by the writer in 2004 in order to assess the
ability of learners to accurately identify and name 30 subordinate
concepts (e.g. rectangle, triangle, square) and 6 superordinate
concepts (colour, shape, size, position, number and letter).
Administered to Grade R learners.
A LANGUAGE AND BASIC CONCEPTS PROJECT
GRADE R ASSESSMENT BATTERY
Colour
Shape
Size
Yellow
Circle
Big
Red
Rectangle
Small
Number
No Range: …….….
1-10 ; 1-20 ; 1-30+
1:1: yes/no
Letter
Identify:
yes/no
Write:
yes/no
systematic/not systematic
Blue
Triangle
Categorize
by size
One more: yes/no
Black
Square
Categorize
by colour
One less: yes/no
Score (4):
Score (4):
Score (4):
Score (6):
Position
Left Hand:
Yes/No
Right Hand:
Yes/No
Top: Yes/No
Sound:
1st letter/last letter/
all letters
Alphabet sequence: Bottom:
4 (1), 5-21 (2),
Yes/No
22-26 (3)
Score(8):
Score (4):
Areas Covered:
Names and/or Identifies: 4xcolour, 4xshape, 2xsize, 4xposition,
number (number range), letter (name & letters of the alphabet)
Categorizes: colour (2colours) & size (2 sizes)
Application: number: adding 1-2 more, taking away 1-3 away,
one-on-one correspondence, letter: writing & reading
Do Grade 1 Learners In The Western Cape Know Their
Basic Conceptual Systems (2006) ?
Percentage Of Correct Answers For Each
Conceptual Domain (n=194)
120
100
Willows
80
Parkfields
Rondebosch
60
Turfhall
Voerspoed
40
Grove
20
0
COLOUR
SHAPE
SIZE
NUMBER
LETTER POSITION CATEGO
Average Score for lower ses schools = 18.9
Average score for middle to higher ses schools = 24.9
Average score for Hantam Grade R learners (2005) = 26.1
A LANGUAGE AND BASIC CONCEPTS PROJECT
‘Attendance’ In Grade R
70
60
57.9
50.7
50
40
30
20
10
0
Source: Systemic Evaluation, Northern Cape, Provincial Report, 2003
RSA
Northern Cape
A LANGUAGE AND BASIC CONCEPTS PROJECT
RESULTS
Mean Scholastic Gains
150
2003
100
2004
50
2005
0
Grade 1
Grade 2
Grade 3
Grade 4
A LANGUAGE AND BASIC CONCEPTS PROJECT
RESULTS
Grade 1: Comparative End
Of Year Results
40
35
30
25
2003
2004
2005
20
15
10
5
0
Reading
Spelling
Maths +
Maths -
Basic
Concepts
A LANGUAGE AND BASIC CONCEPTS PROJECT
RESULTS
Grade 2: Comparative End
Of Year Results
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
2003
2004
2005
Reading
Spelling
Maths +
Maths -
Basic
Concepts
A LANGUAGE AND BASIC CONCEPTS PROJECT
RESULTS
Grade 3: Comparative End
Of Year Results
50
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
2003
2004
2005
Reading
Spelling
Maths +
Maths -
Basic
Concepts
A LANGUAGE AND BASIC CONCEPTS PROJECT
RESULTS
Grade 4: Comparative End
Of Year Results
60
55
50
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
2003
2004
2005
Reading
Spelling
Maths +
Maths -
Basic
Concepts
A LANGUAGE AND BASIC CONCEPTS PROJECT
DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS
• Results are encouraging, however, these have not yet been statistically
analysed.
• The learners who were in Grade R or Grade 1 at the start of the project
appear to have made the most progress. This is in contrast to learners
who only started the project in Grade 2 or Grade 3.
• There have been impressive gains in the FP towards Grade level in
three of the four scholastic areas assessed since the start of the project.
Mean Gains
Reading 50.5%
Maths (+) 49%
Maths (-) 48%
• It is contended that the mean gains for reading have started to
positively influence the spelling level of Grade 2 and 3 learners (Mean
gain of 61% & 27% respectively, since the start of the project).
A LANGUAGE AND BASIC CONCEPTS PROJECT
Theme Writing From The Foundation Phase (2005)
‘At night I wash and, eat and, watch TV
and, go to bed. In the morning it is
light. I wear my school uniform and go
to school. At night I can see the stars
and moon. During the day I play with
my dog. Yearstiday it did rain.’
(Grade 2)
A LANGUAGE AND BASIC CONCEPTS PROJECT
Theme Writing From The Foundation Phase (2005)
‘During the day I play with my friends.
During the day it is light. At night I go
to bed. At night my brother snores. At
night I dream. During the day I play
with my friends cricket. During the day
I play ball. At night the stars twinkle. At
night the moon shines.’
(Grade 3)
A LANGUAGE AND BASIC CONCEPTS PROJECT
CONCLUSIONS
• The project is premised on the belief that cognitive and language
prerequisites are essential for learning.
• Learning of language has therefore been prioritized and has been
linked with learning areas.
• Progress of learners is not only attributed to the structured and
effective teaching-learning intervention, but to the systematic
development of the cognitive functioning and language of these
learners.
• Language is the central mechanism used to direct learning: words
are used as a stimulus for the advancement of thinking.