scholarly journals Biography, policy and language teaching practices in a multilingual context: Early childhood classrooms in Mauritius

2014 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 16
Author(s):  
Aruna Ankiah-Gangadeen ◽  
Michael Anthony Samuel
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Teacher Development ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
African Country ◽  
Language Teaching ◽  
Primary Teachers ◽  
Language Policies ◽  
Childhood Education ◽  
Implementation Level

Language policies in education in multilingual postcolonial contexts are often driven by ideological considerations more veered towards socio-economic and political viability for the country than towards the practicality at implementation level. Centuries after the advent of colonisation, when culturally and linguistically homogenous countries helped to maintain the dominion of colonisers, the English language still has a stronghold in numerous countries due to the material rewards it offers. How then are the diversity of languages – often with different statuses and functions in society – reconciled in the teaching and learning process? How do teachers deal with the intricacies that are generated within a situation where children are taught in a language that is foreign to them? This paper is based on a study involving pre-primary teachers in Mauritius, a developing multilingual African country. The aim was to understand how their approach to the teaching of English was shaped by their biographical experiences of learning the language. The narrative inquiry methodology offered rich possibilities to foray into these experiences, including the manifestations of negotiating their classroom pedagogy in relation to their own personal historical biographies of language teaching and learning, the policy environment, and the pragmatic classroom specificities of diverse, multilingual learners. These insights become resources for early childhood education and teacher development in multilingual contexts caught within the tensions between language policy and pedagogy.

scholarly journals PROMOTING TOTAL PHYSICAL RESPONSE (TPR) METHOD ON EARLY CHILDHOOD ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 67-79
Author(s):  
Cicih Nuraeni
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
Language Teaching ◽  
English Language Teaching ◽  
Word Choice ◽  
Teachers And Students ◽  
Post Test ◽  
Physical Response ◽  
Learning English

The purpose of this study was to describe the use of Total Physical Response (TPR) method on early childhood English Language Teaching (ELT) at Panti Asuhan Yauma Jakarta and to know the students’ response after learning English using TPR method. The method of the research is descriptive qualitative. In this research the researcher describes the activities carried out by teachers and students by using TPR method. The data resources are from teacher and students in Panti Asuhan Yauma Jakarta . The class consist of 6 students which their age was around  5 to 11 years old. The data collected through observation and interview both teacher and students. The instruments were pre-test and post-test with 2 (two) criterion being assessed, namely vocabulary and comprehension. They were divided into 6 (six) elements such as accuracy of word, understanding each word, word choice, understanding the meaning, speaking easily,and intonation. The results showed that there was any improvement on vocabulary score about 26.16 and comprehension score about 27.16. The research finding firstly showed the TPR method was able to be applied to children because they enjoyed and were also very active in learning English. The researcher hopes that the study contributes to the activities of teaching and learning English, especially teaching English for early childhood. It was proved by the score from pre-test and post-test.

scholarly journals Communicative Approach as a Tool for Relating Reading and Writing Skills in Early Childhood Education

2010 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 34-54
Author(s):  
Nwachukwu Prince Ololube ◽  
Teinye Briggs ◽  
Peter James Kpolovie ◽  
Salome Uwaoma Ezindu
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Early Childhood Education ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
Writing Skills ◽  
Active Role ◽  
Reading And Writing ◽  
Childhood Education ◽  
Communicative Approach ◽  
Teaching Responsibilities

Abstract This study dwells upon communicative approach as a tool for relating reading and writing skills in early childhood education in a developing economy. The quantitative data was gathered through the use of structured questionnaires and was analysed using SPSS version 17. This study confirms that teachers in the selected early childhood education centres (ECEC) have no professional early childhood education qualifications and, as a result, are not qualified to effectively carry out their teaching responsibilities. It is hoped that this study can contribute to a deeper understanding of how early childhood education teachers perceive language teaching and consequently assist in the development of teacher education programmes and activities. Teacher training and education courses must play a more active role in informing trainee teachers of the instructional value of communicative approach in the teaching and learning of the English language. This study provides parents, teachers, researchers, the public and those who manage education systems with new data that will help them to answer questions about the failing state of education in Nigeria.

scholarly journals 'Invisible Obstacle' to Gender Equality: Gender Stereotype Messages in Early Childhood Education Books in Kenya

2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 69
Author(s):  
Juliet Njeri Muasya ◽  
Ruth Mugo Kahiga
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Early Childhood Education ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
Gender Stereotype ◽  
Early Years ◽  
Learning Materials ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
Childhood Education ◽  
Documentary Analysis

Globally, research on gender stereotype messages or 'invisible obstacle' in the teaching and learning materials especially for primary and secondary schools is well documented. Findings from studies show illustrations, images, pictures and language that negatively portray males and females, boys and girls in learning materials and which tend to impact on students’ behaviours, aspirations, experiences, participation, achievement and expectations. The aim of the current study was to find out how gender messages are portrayed in 10 purposively selected Science and English language Early Childhood Education course, supplementary and workbooks using a documentary analysis checklist. Findings from the current study reveal that although authors of the analysed books have to some extent made the books gender responsive, however, gender stereotype messages expressed in masculine and feminine discourses are still visible. Two series of the books analysed are gender blind. Use of gender responsive books is likely to help children appreciate each other's gender, thus, create more equitable learning outcomes. Thus, it is important that any gender stereotype messages or information in learning and teaching materials are dealt with during early years of a child’s life.

ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING IN INDIA: ISSUES AND INNOVATIONS.R. K. Agnihotri and A. L. Khanna (Eds.). New Delhi, India: Sage, 1995. Pp. 338. $42.00 cloth.

1997 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 409-410
Author(s):  
B. Kumaravadivelu
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Teacher Development ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
Language Teaching ◽  
Course Evaluation ◽  
English Language Teaching ◽  
Instructional Materials ◽  
Classroom Context ◽  
Learning And Teaching

This collected volume on English language teaching (ELT) in India contains 22 articles written by Indian teachers and researchers. The book has been divided into six sections. The first section—“Problematizing ELT in India”—offers a critical, historical perspective along with innovative ideas for making English language learning and teaching meaningful and purposive in modern India. The second section—“Nature of ELT Materials”—demonstrates how the ELT materials used in Indian classrooms are not embedded in local needs and indigenous contexts. The section emphasizes the importance of developing instructional materials that not only make use of the rich linguistic and cultural resources available in India but also promote effective communication skills among the learners. The third section—“Learner Profiles”—provides interesting insights into the needs, wants, and lacks of Indian learners of English. This section shows how the instruments of needs analysis developed in monocultural and monolingual settings are inadequate for assessing the needs and wants of learners in multilingual and multicultural India. The fourth section—“Classroom Issues”—focuses on certain central issues affecting teaching and learning in the classroom context, particularly the role of native language knowledge and skills that Indian learners bring with them. The fifth section—“Course Evaluation and Teacher Development”—suggests ideas for making teacher education responsive to the changing roles and responsibilities of language teachers. The sixth and final section—“Curriculum Change”—deals with the principles and procedures for curricular changes that are in tune with the evolving knowledge about learning and teaching and the increasing desire for learner control of the process of materials development and evaluation.

Engaging Exam-Oriented Students in Communicative Language Teaching by ‘Packaging’ Learning English Through Songs as Exam Practice

RELC Journal ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 003368822097854
Author(s):  
Kevin Wai-Ho Yung
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
Language Teaching ◽  
High Stakes Testing ◽  
Communicative Language Teaching ◽  
High Stakes ◽  
Secondary English ◽  
Language Curriculum ◽  
Teachers And Students

Literature has long been used as a tool for language teaching and learning. In the New Academic Structure in Hong Kong, it has become an important element in the senior secondary English language curriculum to promote communicative language teaching (CLT) with a process-oriented approach. However, as in many other English as a second or foreign language (ESL/EFL) contexts where high-stakes testing prevails, Hong Kong students are highly exam-oriented and expect teachers to teach to the test. Because there is no direct assessment on literature in the English language curriculum, many teachers find it challenging to balance CLT through literature and exam preparation. To address this issue, this article describes an innovation of teaching ESL through songs by ‘packaging’ it as exam practice to engage exam-oriented students in CLT. A series of activities derived from the song Seasons in the Sun was implemented in the ESL classrooms in a secondary school in Hong Kong. Based on the author’s observations and reflections informed by teachers’ and students’ comments, the students were first motivated, at least instrumentally, by the relevance of the activities to the listening paper in the public exam when they saw the similarities between the classroom tasks and past exam questions. Once the students felt motivated, they were more easily engaged in a variety of CLT activities, which encouraged the use of English for authentic and meaningful communication. This article offers pedagogical implications for ESL/EFL teachers to implement CLT through literature in exam-oriented contexts.

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