African speculative fiction as recollection intervention for grade four dyslexic learners

Abstract

This study focused on using African speculative fiction in the reading recollection intervention for Grade four dyslexic learners in a Johannesburg special school. The main aim was to investigate the impact of an African speculative fiction text in a recollection intervention for Grade four dyslexic learners, using an ethnographic approach to understanding the impact of African speculative fiction in the recollection intervention. The main question answered in the study was: “How does using an African speculative fiction text, Ikenga by Nnedi Okorafor, in a reading intervention for Grade four dyslexic learners at a Johannesburg special school affect the learners’ reading recollection?” I employed a qualitative research design with a case study method. I gathered the data via four instruments – classroom ethnography, tape recording, observation, and journaling. I used purposive sampling to identify the four participants in this study. My study was a six-weeks classroom intervention session at a special school in Johannesburg, South Africa. I analysed the data with the constant comparative method, as constructed by Fram (2013). There were four significant themes that emerged from coding the data: contextuality, multimodality (arts and visual modes), speculative imagination and repetition. Context and familiarity enabled the learner to decodify the text – find his or her lived experiences in the story. The introduction of African speculative fiction, which is a contextual genre, aided in recollection. These saliences are shown in the multimode and the speculative imagination. Repetition was a structured opportunity for individual decodification and exhibition of several nuances and salience. My study actively contributes to the academic discourse on dyslexia. It also strengthens some of the on-going discussions and propositions.