Students’ Attitudes and Motivation towards Learning Literature in English in Zanzibar Secondary Schools

2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 206-220
Author(s):  
Mary A Mosha

This paper investigated students’ attitudes and motivation towards learning literature in English in three government secondary schools in Zanzibar (one in urban and two in rural areas). The study had a sample of 96 people; 45 boys, 45 girls, and 6 teachers who were teaching literature in English at the selected schools. They were selected through purposive sampling technique. Mixed method was used. Data were collected through interview, observation, and questionnaires. Predictable variables were number of teachers teaching the subject and their qualifications, learning environment, teaching and learning materials, and students’ attitudes and motivation towards learning the subject. Findings revealed that there was shortage of teachers teaching the subject, and some of them were not trained. Students had positive attitudes and motivation towards learning the subject because it was a source of information not only from their own society but also from the world at large. Additionally, literature in English was found a means of entertainment as well as educating the students. However, students’ positive attitudes and motivation towards learning the subject were hindered by unfavourable conditions such as shortage of literature books, difficult English vocabularies, large class sizes, limited time to read suggested literature books, poor teaching methods, and teachers themselves. As a result the study suggests the provision of appropriate and adequate reading materials to all secondary schools, expose teachers to more training so as to be more knowledgeable about various suitable methods of teaching the subject, and improve classroom learning environment.

Author(s):  
Diana Presadă ◽  
Mihaela Badea

As practicing university teachers, the authors have noticed that students tend to focus exclusively on syllabus reading materials, ignoring reading for pleasure outside the classroom. Rarely taught in ordinary university classes, extensive reading skills may play an important part in the foreign language teaching and learning process. Given these facts, the authors decided to pilot an extensive reading program at the academic level, the ultimate aim being to implement it in the future. Therefore, the purposes of the chapter are to discover students' attitudes towards extensive reading and to assess the results of the pilot as reflected in their opinions with a view to conceiving a large-scale future reading program. The study attempts to shed light on the issues triggered by the introduction of such a program into the curriculum of philological students, being mainly concerned with the practical side of the phenomenon and highlighting the interdependence between the findings and the latest theories in the field.


2017 ◽  
Vol 118 (3/4) ◽  
pp. 170-184 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rekai Zenda

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore teaching methods that can allow learners to be creative and proactive. The learners should be able to solve problems, make decisions, think critically, communicate ideas effectively and work efficiently. Teaching and learning are evolving and developing in many countries, with a focus concerning what is actually learned through effective teaching methods. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative research was carried out, identifying effective teaching methods and exploring their roles in teaching and learning in physical sciences in selected rural secondary schools. Face-to-face interviews with physical sciences teachers, school principals and curriculum advisers were used to collect data. Findings A range of teaching methods that may be integrated into teaching and learning activities is identified. The teaching methods ensure that topics are discussed and explored through interaction and sharing of perspective, views and values through which new learning can emerge. Viewed from this perspective, there is a need to create a stimulating, enriching, challenging and focused environment for physical sciences learners through the use of multiple teaching methodologies. Research limitations/implications The improvement of science learner’s academic achievement requires also the teachers to develop new skills and ways of teaching the subject. Improving learner academic achievement in physical sciences requires an approach to improve the skills of teachers as well, which focuses on the effective use of teaching methods such as experiments. This means attempting to change the attitude of teachers to regard the processes of teaching and learning as central to their role. In addition, the achievement of learners in science could possibly solve the problem of shortages of engineers, skilled artisans, technicians, doctors and technologists for sustainable development. It is important to create conducive conditions for learning and teaching in physical sciences, and continue to progressively and within available resources, realise that collaboration, problem-solving and hands-on activities are effective teaching methods to improve learner academic achievement. Practical implications The learners should be able to solve problems, make decisions, think critically, communicate ideas effectively and work efficiently. The study is limited to the teaching methods used in physical sciences. Hands-on activities are essential in science teaching and learning. Social implications The use of collaborations, peer teachings and hands-on activities allows learners emphasise the creation of a classroom where students are engaged in essentially open-ended, student-centred and hands-on experiments. Originality/value The paper is original work, in which face-to-face interviews were carried out. Qualitative research was carried out. The paper could assist educators in the teaching of physical sciences in secondary schools using the identified methods. The results were obtained from physical sciences educators, school principals and curriculum advisors in South Africa. Poor academic achievement in rural areas is a concern, and therefore, the paper provides effective methods which can be used by educators in the teaching of physical sciences in rural areas.


2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 79-95
Author(s):  
Bernard Meshach Aguma ◽  
◽  
Caroline Kinuu Kimathi ◽  
Martin Situma ◽  
◽  
...  

The adoption of virtual teaching and learning of a second language in the Nigerian educational system has received little attention. COVID-19 lock-down, imposed by the governments of the nations, forced educational institutions globally and locally to adapt virtual teaching and learning of English language. This research paper investigated the challenges of virtual teaching and learning of a second language (English) in selected secondary schools, Isu Ikwuato L.A. Abia State, Nigeria. It used a mixed method convergent parallel research design. The purposive sampling technique was used to select secondary schools that adopted virtual teaching and learning. The targeted population was 2000 English students and teachers with a sample size of 333. The results revealed that the schools made use of synchronous, asynchronous and blended types of online teaching and learning, and the students had a positive attitude. Both students and teachers experienced challenges of poor network, lack of ICT training, unstable electricity, and financial constraint. This study recommends the following: Language Policy Makers in Nigerian Educational System to map out the strategies that will incorporate online second language teaching and learning skills in the curriculum. That Marist Educational Board in partnership with the Ministry of Education in Nigeria, provide virtual supplementary materials for English language education. Adequate virtual training to be provided for English teachers and students. That the challenges of internet fluctuation, power shortage, insufficient virtual materials, inadequate funds, technical issues, virtual skills be addressed by all the stakeholders in education.


Curricula ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Resi Silvia

<p><em>Video materials were used this study to examine the effectiveness of teaching English and to evaluate university students’ attitudes towards the use of video materials in teaching listening skills. The population for this study was 32 first-year midwifery students in the second semester of the academic year 2016/2017 at Adiwangsa University, Jambi. The sample were selected by total sampling technique. The study was conducted in 12 meeting including pretest and posttest. The one-group pretest-posttest design was implemented in this study. The instruments used in this study were lesson plans, English comprehension tests (pretest and posttest) and a questionnaire of the students’ attitude. Regarding the data analysis, mean score and pretest-posttest scores for the dependent sample were employed. The result indicated that the midwifery students’ English listening comprehension ability increased significantly after learning with videos and midwifery students had positive attitudes towards using videos in teaching listening skills.</em></p>


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 197-217
Author(s):  
Sri Ayu Istiqomah ◽  
Alies Poetri Lintangsari ◽  
Widya Caterine Perdhani

Indonesian EFL learners face challenges in comprehending English phonemes as it becomes one of the significant predictors of English literacy. Hence, the English Phonetics subject is considered one of the most difficult ones, making the teaching and learning process less effective. Addressing Indonesian EFL learners’ attitudes toward English phonetics teaching is significant to improve phonetics teaching, yet, research on this has not received much attention. This present study was conducted to explore EFL learners’ attitudes toward English phonetic learning. A quantitative approach with survey design was employed involving 112 Indonesian EFL students. The researchers identified students’ attitudes using an adapted questionnaire from Lintunen and Mäkilähde (2015). Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 25 was utilized to analyze the data. The results indicate that Indonesian EFL students perform positive attitudes toward English phonetic learning, although they confess that phonetics is challenging. It implies that phonetics learning is potential and promising to support their English fluency; hence, lecturers need to make phonetics Learning more enjoyable, easier and participating in drawing the students' full engagement by considering their preferences and attitude toward phonetics learning.


2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 38-47 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nurul Farhani Binti Che Ghani

The purpose of this paper was to examine second language learners’ attitudes towards English Medium Instruction (EMI) courses at University of Selangor (UNISEL) in Malaysia affectively, behaviorally and cognitively. This study also investigated students’ learning anxiety and students’ learning achievement towards EMI courses. This study employed ABC Model of Attitudes (1998) as guidelines to investigate learners’ attitudes towards EMI courses. 100-degree students form Faculty of Science and Information Technology (FSIT) participated in the study by completing a questionnaire of English Medium Instruction courses. A quantitative method was employed to analyze the collected data, performing statistical procedures of descriptive statistic and Pearson correlation using SPSS. The major findings of the study were as follows: (1) most participants demonstrated positive attitudes towards English medium Instruction courses affectively, behaviorally and cognitively, (2) there was no significant relationship between students’ learning anxiety and students’ learning achievement towards EMI courses. It was due to the ways lecturers delivering EMI courses to the students. This situation happened when the way their lecturers conducted the lesson in English medium setting might help the students reduce their learning anxiety of the lesson. In other words, the level of their anxiousness in learning EMI courses depends on how their lecturers deliver the subject during teaching and learning process. Finally, some pedagogical implications that would help tap the students’ attitudes and achievement were demonstrated.Keywords: English Medium Instruction, attitudes, learning anxiety, learning achievement


Author(s):  
Scott Ekere ◽  
Ogunlade J Olurotimi ◽  
Adeleye J Olusola

The study investigated teacher’s demographic factors to ascertain teaching learning issues in Nigeria. As a descriptive survey, teachers and students in senior secondary schools in Ekiti State constituted the study population. The sample comprised of 288 teachers and 1920 students, randomly selected from 32 schools that were stratified, selected and drawn from 16 local government areas in Ekiti State. Four different measuring instruments were used to collect data. The data collected were subjected to statistical analysis using t-test. Findings from the documentary evidence revealed there is uneven distribution of teachers between sex and location, while statistical calculation results revealed that there is a difference between the effectiveness of male and female teachers as well as teachers from both urban and rural locations in the improvement of teaching and learning. The study recommended that government should do more to monitor implementation stages of its education policy with special regard to gender and locations of teachers. Serious and genuine implementation of policy is as important as its formulation. The inspectorate division of the ministry of education should take seriously the distribution of teachers and monitoring of what goes on in our classrooms, especially schools in rural areas where students expect ”miracle” passes.


2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 76
Author(s):  
Atef Mohammad Abuhmaid

Project-based learning is gaining increasing popularity supported by research studies regarding its effectiveness for teaching and learning. In addition, the widespread of digital technologies and sudden disruptions to traditional in-person teaching have accelerated the adoption of online learning. The current study examined students' perceptions of the impact of online learning environment on project-based teaching method. Most universities worldwide have considered online learning encouraging their faculty to use online learning tools, and Hashemite University in Jordan is no exeption. 154 students studying Computers in Education course were selected during the first semester of the academic year 2019/2020 and were devided into two groups. The experimental group consisted of 75 students who studied the course online and 79 students in the control group who studied the course in a face-to-face mode. For the purpose of gathering data, a questionnaire was developed which consisted of 17 items and students' answers were on a four-point Likert scale: 4= strongly agree, 3= agree, 2= disagree, and 1= strongly disagree. Means, standard deviations, and One-Way ANOVA were used to analyze the data. The results of the study showed positive attitudes among students (both online and in-class) toward project-based learning. In addition, the results showed that in-class students had a stronger views of project based-learning than online learning students.


Author(s):  
Rikki Rimor ◽  
Perla Arie

The current chapter deals with the use of Facebook as a social network for learning. Collaborative learning, metacognition and reflectivity are theoretically discussed and assessed in the current Facebook learning environment, as essential skills of the 21st century. The case study presented examines the relationship between attitudes and achievements of high school students learning an English play in the Facebook closed-group environment. Its findings reveal a significant improvement in students' attitudes at the end of the sessions. However, these were not found to correlate with students' final achievements. In addition, low achieving students preferred to study collaboratively, as they did in the Facebook closed group, more than higher achieving students. These findings may indicate the contribution of other factors to achievement in addition to positive attitudes and satisfaction in the Facebook learning environment. A metacognitive analysis of the students' written responses supports and expands the findings of this study.


Author(s):  
Sizwe Blessing Mahlambi ◽  
Ailwei Solomon Mawela

This chapter introduces transformative learning as a helpful theory to consider the role of departmental heads in the procurement of teaching and learning resources in selected secondary schools in Alexandra Township, South Africa. South Africa felt the effects of the pandemic as the country was ill-prepared for the devastation the pandemic brought to its learning systems. The Department of Basic Education tried to implement various strategies to ensure that teaching and learning continue to save the academic year. In this qualitative study, the interpretive paradigm and a purposive convenient sampling technique were employed to sample five mathematics DH from five secondary schools. The thematic data analysis was used to interpret and discuss data obtained from the document and semi-structured interviews. It was found that the schools did not have teaching and learning resources that could allow remote learning. Moreover, there is a need to improve retrieval practices as resources loaned to learners remain unaccounted for.


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