Strengthening the mother-tongue foundation in mother tongue-based bilingual education: Evidence from Grade 1 Sepedi reading classrooms

Abstract

Background: South Africa’s commitment to mother tongue-based bilingual education (MTBBE) depends not on language policy but on teachers’ capacity for early reading instruction in indigenous African languages. Despite expanded literacy interventions, limited empirical attention has been paid to teachers’ development for enacting MTBBE in classrooms.
Aim: This study examines how professional development (PD) strengthens Grade 1 teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) for teaching reading in Sepedi, focusing on practices that support the mother-tongue phase of MTBBE.
Setting: The study involved four rural Sepedi-medium primary schools using the Room to Read Sepedi Literacy Programme in Sekhukhune District, Limpopo, South Africa.
Methods: Using a qualitative multiple case study informed by PCK theory, data were collected through 24 observations in four Grade 1 classrooms, four semi-structured interviews with Sepedi teachers and document analysis of the Sepedi teacher guide and learner reader.
Results: Structured PD, with aligned literacy materials and in-class coaching, strengthened teachers’ language-specific PCK and supported early reading instruction in Sepedi. Teachers used language-responsive practices to support phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, fluency and comprehension. Alignment between PD, instructional materials and classroom practice promoted coherent reading instruction.
Conclusion: Effective support for the mother-tongue phase depends on pedagogical coherence, language-responsive literacy instruction and teachers’ preparation to teach reading in indigenous African languages. These conditions may strengthen the literacy foundation for later bilingual learning within MTBBE.
Contribution: Foregrounding pedagogical enactment of mother-tongue reading instruction extends MTBBE scholarship. PD, instructional coherence and language-specific PCK offer insights for Sepedi and multilingual African-language contexts supporting foundational literacy in home languages.