The Influence of Learners’ Textbooks on Sepedi Writing Skills in A Grade 7 Classroom in Lebowakgomo Circuit

Abstract

The aim of the study was to investigate the influence of Sepedi Grade 7 textbooks on the writing skills of learners. Textbooks have a long tradition and play a significant role in language teaching. They have a strong status in the culture and the power to define the language and what the studying of it is (Vanha, 2017). Textbooks play a significant role in the teaching and learning of language due to the content and activities that assist learners to understand the importance of language and to understand better what is expected of them in terms of the skills that are imparted to them (Department of Education, 2022). The qualitative research approach was employed for the study, with the case study research design and interpretive paradigm. The data collection instruments followed for the study were semi-structured interviews, document analysis of Grade 7 textbooks and learners’ written essays. The Genre Theory and Cognitivist Theory were adopted for the study. The findings of the study was that textbooks have negative influence on the learners writing skills, whereby learners use wrong spelling and unnecessary loaning of words that are influenced by their prescribed textbooks. The researcher discovered that textbooks negatively affect the writing skills of the learners that result in learners not respecting their own language, with their cultural aspects also being affected. The Department of Education must make sure that the relevant and skilled people are employed to thoroughly review textbooks before being distributed to schools, to avoid giving learners books that do not support their indigenous language and its orthographic rules.