Narrative performance in context: analysis and implications within a South African context

The importance of narrative abilities for scholastic achievement has received much attention in recent literature. The complexity of the concept Of NARRATIVE, particularly in a multi-cultural situation, necessi tates a more in-depth description of narrative abilities within a specific linguistic and social context. This article aims to describe the narrative ability of 24 Northern Sotho-speaking children in a preschool class. Quantitative and qualitative analyses of spontaneous narratives were made and are discussed. Results indicate that most of the children were reluctant to tell stories of a monologue nature, but that raters did not necessarily perceive them as 'unspontaneous' in the situation. Their story-telling ability is interpreted within the framework of a transitional oral-literacy approach, and implications for intervention are discussed.