Improving classroom practice by using language development theory

Teaching literacy can be challenging within the multilingual context of South Africa where schools also exhibit much diversity in resource availability, school management structures, teacher quality, learner class size and learners' literacy foundations. To ensure successful literacy teaching and meet learners' needs, teachers need to be able to integrate various teaching approaches and resources. This policy brief highlights findings from four research projects conducted by the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) between 2006 and 2016 to provide a bridge between conceptual frameworks and practical delivery in literacy teaching. These findings explain stages of biliteracy development, introduce alternative teaching pedagogies and practices as opposed to those of traditional monolingualism, and emphasise the importance of teacher support.