Exploring Instructional Challenges in Teaching Blending and Phonemic Awareness in Grade 1 English Second Language Classrooms in Eenhana Circuit, Ohangwena region, Namibia Дослідження труднощів навчання злитного читання (блендингу) та фонематичної обізнаності в перших класах на уроках англійської мови як другої у навчальному окрузі Еенхана, регіон Огангвена, Намібія

Introduction. Successful early reading relies on a student's ability to recognize and blend sounds, which serves as the foundation for fluent decoding (Brown, 2014). International studies consistently demonstrate that phonemic awareness is vital for early literacy growth (Teale, Whittingham & Hoffman, 2020). This skill – the ability to hear and manipulate individual sounds in words – is most effective when combined with phonics instruction. Systematic practice and explicit guidance allow learners to easily decode unfamiliar vocabulary, improve reading pacing, and gain confidence (Double, McGrane, Stiff, & Hopfenbeck, 2019). Objective. This paper, through the critical lenses of Lev Vygotsky’s Sociocultural theory of how children learn to read, explored instructional challenges in teaching blending and phonemic awareness in Grade 1 English Second Language Classrooms in Eenhana Circuit of Ohangwena region in Namibia. Materials & Methods. To obtain objective data for this paper, data were generated by interviewing nine Grade 1 teachers, as well as going to class to observe their lessons.  Results. The key question was, “What challenges do teachers face when teaching blending and phonemic awareness in Grade 1 English Second Language Classrooms in Eenhana Circuit of the Ohangwena region in Namibia?”. The study cited, among others, that teachers faced challenges like interference of the learners' first languages during lessons; lessons being overwhelmed by choral drills across the sampled schools, and that the phonetic consistency of the learners’ home languages (L1) directly clashed with that of English Second Language (L2). Moreover, it was also found that learners’ lacked exposure to English at home thus further hindering teachers’ efforts to teaching them to develop both blending and phonemic awareness skills. Conclusion. The study established that the attainment and internalization of blending and phonemic awareness skills were adversely compromised by learner reliance on rote repetition, and linguistic and orthographic interference.