The results from studies from PIRLS 2001, 2006 (Mullis et al. 2007), 2011, and 2016 indicated that South African children cannot read with meaning. When looking at the PIRLS 2021 results, a slight improvement was indicated as compared to previous studies, but the improvement is not significant in the classroom. Grade 3 learners who are promoted to Grade 4 are still struggling with reading. One of the major struggles that Grade 4 teacher highlighted is the fact that they are now teaching in English across all languages. This sudden transition in the LoLT creates a gap in EFAL reading in South Africa between the Foundation Phase (Grades R–3) and Intermediate Phase (Grades 4–6) continues to be a major obstacle.

Reading comprehension is a foundational component of literacy and academic achievement, particularly in multilingual contexts such as South Africa, where many learners study EFAL. The transition from Grade 3 to Grade 4 marks a shift from ‘learning to read’ to ‘reading to learn’, and this shift often exposes significant gaps in learners’ comprehension abilities. Recent South African research indicates that many EFAL learners enter Grade 4 without the linguistic and cognitive preparedness needed to understand content-rich texts (Spaull & Pretorius 2022). Teachers’ perspectives are therefore crucial in understanding both why these gaps persist and which instructional practices best support comprehension development across both phases.

Teaching comprehension to EFAL learners requires intentional, language-rich instruction that clearly expands vocabulary, facilitates the creation of meaning, and supports students’ comprehension of texts in a variety of contexts.

Unlike home-language learners, EFAL learners must simultaneously decode text and acquire the linguistic structures necessary for meaning-making. Studies show that comprehension does not naturally develop once decoding becomes automatic; instead, it requires deliberate teaching focused on vocabulary, language structures and cognitive processing skills (Carter 2023; Elston, Tiba & Condy 2022). This implies that comprehension should be explicitly embedded in daily literacy instruction in both Grade 3 and Grade 4.

Recent literature widely supports explicit instruction as an effective method for improving comprehension outcomes in EFAL classrooms. Explicit instruction involves modelling, explaining, and demonstrating how skilled readers use strategies such as predicting, questioning, summarizing, and inferencing (Mbambo-Marimirofa, Phillips & Condy 2023). Elston et al. (2022) shows that EFAL learners significantly benefit when teachers use think-alouds to make reading processes visible. Explicit instruction also helps learners navigate academic language demands, which increase sharply in Grade 4 as texts become longer, more complex, and content specific.

For the transition between phases, explicit teaching is essential because many Grade 4 teachers assume learners already possess comprehension strategies, even though research shows these strategies are rarely fully acquired by the end of Grade 3 (Carter 2023). Strengthening explicit instruction across both phases is therefore key to bridging the comprehension gap.

Scaffolding is a temporary, structured support that helps learners perform tasks they cannot yet do independently and plays a vital role in EFAL comprehension development. Scaffolding practices include pre-teaching vocabulary, using visual aids, guiding learners through texts with structured questions, and modelling text navigation skills. Uçak and Kartal (2023) found that scaffolded instructional tools, such as sentence frames, significantly improved comprehension outcomes for multilingual learners. However, studies show a concerning reduction in scaffolding as learners move into Grade 4, despite an increase in text difficulty (Dyosini 2024). When scaffolding is inconsistent across phases, learners experience a sudden drop in support, contributing to comprehension breakdowns. Maintaining structured scaffolding across Grade 3 and Grade 4 is therefore essential for ensuring continuity.

Literature emphasises that comprehension must be built on a systematic progression of reading skills, including decoding, fluency, vocabulary, and higher-order comprehension abilities.

Research shows that reading instruction is most effective when skills are taught sequentially and reinforced continuously (World Bank 2018). If learners enter Grade 4 without automatic decoding or adequate fluency, they struggle to process the more advanced texts required across subjects (Carter 2023). South African studies highlight gaps in this progression, noting that Foundation Phase teachers often emphasise phonics and decoding, while Intermediate Phase teachers assume these skills are already mastered (Spaull & Pretorius 2022). This misalignment creates a discontinuity that affects EFAL comprehension. A systematic skills-development approach that spans both phases can therefore help ensure that learners have the foundational abilities needed for Grade 4 comprehension demands.

English as a First Additional Language learners require sustained, targeted and curriculum-aligned support throughout their reading development.

Such structured support includes access to relevant reading materials, consistent guidance during reading tasks, differentiated instruction, and opportunities for guided and shared reading (Dyosini 2024). Teachers frequently report challenges such as large class sizes, limited reading resources, and insufficient professional development that hinder their ability to provide structured support (Maja 2025). Teacher support structures, especially professional development focused on comprehension instruction, have been shown to improve EFAL teaching practices. Tiba (2023) found that after teachers attended comprehension-focused workshops, their confidence and ability to teach reading strategies improved noticeably. When teachers feel supported and have access to structured materials, explicit comprehension instruction becomes more consistent and effective.

Recent empirical research conducted by Carter (2023) identifies several comprehension strategies particularly effective for EFAL learners when taught explicitly and supported with scaffolds. Strategies such as prediction, generating questions, clarifying, visualising, summarising, and making inferences must be integrated into daily reading instructions and be taught daily to the learners. Carter notes that strategies must be integrated into daily instruction and taught repeatedly for learners to internalise them. Mbambo-Marimirofa et al. (2023) adds that EFAL learners require additional language support (e.g. simplified explanations, contextual examples, bilingual cues) to successfully apply these strategies.

Literature consistently highlights the mismatch between the reading skills learners possess at the end of Grade 3 and the academic language demands they encounter in Grade 4. Spaull and Pretorius (2022) argue that bridging this gap requires intentional alignment of teaching practices, shared planning between teachers across phases, and continuity in scaffolded support and explicit instruction. Key recommendations emerging from recent research include: (1) strengthening explicit comprehension strategy teaching in both phases; (2) maintaining scaffolding into Grade 4 rather than withdrawing it; (3) ensuring systematic development of reading skills from Grade 1 to Grade 4; (4) providing structured support and high-quality teaching materials; (5) enhancing teacher professional development on EFAL comprehension; and (6) facilitating collaboration between Foundation and Intermediate Phase teachers. When these interventions are combined, learners experience smoother transitions, stronger comprehension growth, and improved academic readiness for content subjects.

Ethical clearance to conduct this study was obtained from the University of Zululand Research Ethics Committee (No. UZREC 171110-030 PGD 2023/7).

The transition from Grade 3 to Grade 4 marks a significant shift from learning to read, to using reading as a tool for learning across all subjects.

A key finding is the mismatch between learners’ reading skills at the end of Grade 3 and the academic demands at the start of Grade 4. This becomes problematic when Grade 4 teachers assume that learners have already mastered comprehension skills and therefore reduce essential support, such as pre-teaching vocabulary, while the reading texts become more complex. As a result, many learners experience significant comprehension difficulties.

The literature shows that EFAL learners cannot acquire comprehension skills automatically once they learn to decode; they require intentional, explicit instruction that models how to use strategies such as predicting, questioning, summarising, visualising, and inferencing (Carter 2023; Elston et al. 2022; Mbambo-Marimirofa et al. 2023). This suggests that insufficient attention is given to the development of comprehension skills among Grade 3 learners, despite comprehension representing a critical culminating stage in the “learning to read” process. Furthermore, a major comprehension gap occurs during the Grade 3–4 transition due to misaligned instructional expectations. A consistent finding in the literature is that many EFAL learners enter Grade 4 without sufficient reading fluency, vocabulary or academic language proficiency to handle more complex texts (Spaull & Pretorius 2022). Grade 4 teachers often assume learners already possess comprehension strategies, even though research shows these strategies are seldom mastered by the end of Grade 3 (Carter 2023).

The literature emphasises that solutions cannot be isolated to a single grade. A systematic progression of reading skills from decoding to fluency to high-order comprehension must be reinforced from Grade 1 to Grade 4.

Learners’ growth of reading comprehension in EFAL is not adequately supported by the current curriculum and classroom circumstances. Urgent improvements are required to solve this, such as giving more comprehension of a focus on lesson plans, extending EFAL instruction in Grade 3, providing students with a variety of relevant reading resources, and providing teachers and students with organised help as they move into Grade 4. In the absence of these measures, South Africa’s fundamental literacy crisis would continue, resulting in inequalities and subpar academic performance.