EXPERIENCES AND PRACTICES OF NON-NATIVE ENGLISH-SPEAKING PARENTS READING TO THEIR PRESCHOOL CHILDREN IN SOUTH AFRICA
Abstract
Situated within the broader context of South Africa’s literacy crisis, this study sought to gain insight into parents’ reading experiences and practices with their preschool children. It further examined whether parents1 exposed their children to stories or literature in languages other than their mother tongue (first language), as well as the ways in which children’s interest in reading or literature in additional languages could be identified or described. This focus aligns with the Language-in-Education Policy, which introduces English as a language of learning and teaching from Grade 1 or Grade 4. The study followed a qualitative case study design, and participants were recruited through purposive and snowball sampling methods, targeting literate non-native English-speaking parents of preschool-aged children who engage in some form of reading with their children. The participant interviews were analysed using the six steps outlined in Braun and Clarke’s (2022) Reflexive Thematic Analysis method. Cross-case analysis revealed several themes, including survival-driven reading practices, outdoor play as a competing activity, television as a tool for learning English, shifts toward digital newspaper platforms, and the perception that reading and learning are primarily school-based responsibilities. Additional themes included the (in)accessibility of libraries, the creative potential of oral storytelling, and the influence of parental modelling on children’s reading behaviours.
Keywords
Literacy, non-native English-speaking parents, parent-child reading experiences, parent-child reading practices, preschool-aged children
