The Role of Phonological Awareness in Enhancing Reading Proficiency among Learners with Mild Hearing Impairment in South African Mainstream Classrooms

This paper presents the findings of a case study investigating the role of phonological awareness in enhancing reading proficiency among learners with mild hearing impairment included in South African regular classrooms. Learners with mild hearing impairment often encounter challenges in developing reading skills comparable to those of their hearing peers. This is attributed to their inability to hear certain sounds, which negatively impacts their academic performance. The study involved 2 female teachers and 15 Grade-8 learners aged between 14 and 15 years, who were purposively selected from a public mainstream school in Soweto. A case study design was used, with data collected through classroom observations and unstructured interviews with the teachers. The research was guided by Young’s (1996) concept of communicative democracy. The findings reveal that phonological awareness is critical for enhancing the reading abilities of learners with mild hearing impairment. It facilitated the identification and recognition of word sounds, which is essential for proper pronunciation and reading competence. The findings also showed that teachers devoted a substantial amount of time to reading words and entire texts aloud in order to strengthen learners’ recognition of word sounds and their pronunciation skills. The study concludes that phonological awareness should be central to reading activities designed to support the development of reading skills among this population.