EFL teachers‟ and students‟ perceptions and classroom practices of CLT in EFL classes

104 Pages·2013·1.35 MB·English

DECLARATION

I, the undersigned, declare that the thesis comprises of my own work. In compliance with
internationally accepted practices, I have dully acknowledged and referenced all materials
used in this work. I understand that non-adherence to the principles of academic honesty and
integrity, misinterpretation/ fabrication of idea/ data/ fact/source will constitute sufficient
ground for disciplinary action by the university and can also evoke penal action from the
sources which have not been properly acknowledged or cited.

______________
Signature
Tigist Assefa
Name of the student
MED (K) 112/2002
University Id. number
September, 2012
Date

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CHAPTER ONE : INTRODUCTION

1.1. Background of the Study
For many years, foreign language teaching and learning has been complex and a difficult
practice for scholars in the field to come up with a best way to language teaching and
learning (Stern, 1983). Experts have formulated various teaching and learning methods of
which the Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) is one.
CLT originated from the changes in the British Situational Language Teaching approach
dating from the late 1960s (Carter & Nunan, 2001; Richards & Renandya, 2002; and
Richards & Rodgers, 2001). Stemming from the socio-cognitive perspective of the socio-
linguistic theory, with an emphasis on meaning and communication and a goal to develop
learners' communicative competence, CLT evolved as a prominent language teaching
method and gradually replaced the previous Grammar-Translation (GT) and Audio-
Lingual (AL) methods (Richards & Rodgers, 2001).
According to Diribesa et. al , cited in Beyen (2008), the teaching of English as a foreign
language in Ethiopian educational settings can be associated with the introduction of
modern education in the country. In Ethiopia, modern education was introduced at the turn
of the 20th century and it officially commenced in 1908 with the opening of Menelik II
School in Addis Ababa, after a long history of Church education in the country. The
history of foreign language teaching, therefore, is traced back to early 20th century used
for the methodology of teaching English until recently was traditional. Currently, CLT has
its place in this country, and new English language teaching textbooks were produced for
secondary schools on the basis of the communicative approach (Ministry of Education
1997). The 'New English for Ethiopia' books now seem to be in contrast to the traditional,
structural, grammar based materials which had been used in the country.
In recent years, teachers of foreign languages in many countries, including Ethiopia, have
been encouraged to adopt the approach. This approach advocates the development of
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communicative competence as a primary goal via the extensive use of the foreign
language as a means of communication during classroom sessions.
Littlewood (2007) stated that CLT has been introduced in EFL settings to improve
students‟ abilities to use English in real contexts. To compensate for the limitations of the
traditional language teaching methods, teachers of English as a Foreign Language (EFL)
have been encouraged to implement Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) to help
students‟ develop their English Language abilities in context. However, the practices of
CLT have faced various challenges (Anderson, 1993; Ellis, 1996; Li, 1998; Liao, 2000).
On the other hand, CLT is concerned with the communicative function. In relation to this,
Freeman (1986) noted that in a communicative language class students are actively
engaged in negotiating meaning in trying to make themselves understood even when their
knowledge of the target language is incomplete. In doing so, students are motivated to
learn a language since they can see the immediate relevance of the language in a given
social context. When they can see how classroom learning is in line with the objective
reality, their interest to learn is more likely to increase.
Moreover, nowadays CLT has become a well-recognized approach in teaching. The CLT
approach centers on the widely-discussed notion of communicative competence, and it has
been well recognized that foreign language learners cannot really learn the target language
well without paying close attention to this competence. Its primary goal is for learners to
develop communicative competence (Hymes, 1971), or simply put, communicative ability. In
brief, its goal is to make use of real-life situations that necessitate communication.
However, the researcher has observed many problems in the teaching of English in
Ethiopian educational setting. These problems could be related to applying the principles of
communicative language teaching or misconception. Therefore, she concluded that it is
important to study EFL teachers‟ and students‟ perceptions and classroom practices of CLT
in EFL classes to address the problem and to recommend possible solution(s).

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1.2. Statement of the problem
English Language is being used as the medium of instruction in high schools and tertiary
levels in Ethiopia. Hence, learners are expected to have adequate proficiency in using the
language. This is basically because the learners‟ skill in using the language highly
determines their academic success (Atkins et.al, 1995). Therefore, students should
develop their English language proficiency through appropriate methodology.
CLT advocates teaching practices that develop learners‟ abilities to communicate in second
language. It represents a change of focus in language teaching from linguistic structure to
learners‟ need for developing communication skills. If a student fails to communicate with
the target language, then the aim of language teaching may not be said to achieve its goal for
language learning. This being the case, the ability to use language is not taken into account in
the traditional techniques and principles of language teaching. Language has been taught for
many years but learners have only been able to handle the formal elements rather than to
manipulate and mobilize the language as a functional entity. In other words, learners may
pass language courses but they were not able to use the language for the purpose of
communication (Widdowson, 1994). In recent decades, many English as foreign language
(EFL) classrooms have adopted CLT in to their curriculum to fill this gap.
Moreover, Anderson (1993), Kumaravadivelu (1993), Cook (2001), and Sauvignon
(2002), cited in Lakachew (2003), reveal that today CLT is viewed as the most modern
method and technique. And most texts and materials are designed in line with it. CLT is
used in Ethiopia with the learner at the center (ICDR 1994) as it is the case in many
countries.

Research addressing the extent to which CLT principles are carried out in EFL settings
suggests some discrepancy between what teachers prefer and actually apply in their
instruction. For example, Karavas-Doukas (1996 :187) concluded that "the few small scale
classroom studies that have been carried out seem to suggest that communicative classrooms
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are rare. While most teachers profess to be following a communicative approach, in practice
they are following more traditional approaches."Moreover, Savignon (2002) confirmed the
fact that there is a low correlation between what teachers state and their classroom practice.a
Similar findings were reported by Coskun's (2011) case study of two EFL teachers‟ attitudes
in Turkey toward, and the application of, CLT indicated a discrepancy between reported
attitudes and actual classroom practices. The main challenges in CLT implementation, the
teachers reported, stemmed from large student numbers, traditional grammar-based
examinations, and the little time for communicative materials preparation.

In the same vein, Doukas (1996) surveyed 14 Greek English language teachers‟ attitudes
toward CLT and compared these with their observed actual instructional practice. The
findings showed significant discrepancy between teachers‟ beliefs, which agreed with CLT
principles, and their actual practice, which deviated from CLT prescriptions; both
communicative and non-communicative teaching practices were implemented with dominant
form-focused instruction.

Additionally, Singh (2005) conducted a research on “Misconceptions, Applications and
Perceptions in China towards CLT”. The research focused on students‟ and teachers‟
understanding and application of communicative language teaching. It disclosed some
resistance and difficulties in employing CLT in class. These complexities provided some
insights into the barriers to the processes of college English teaching reform in China.
Savignon and Wang (2003) investigated Taiwanese EFL learners' perceptions and attitudes
pertinent to classroom practices representative of form-focused and meaning-based
instruction. The instruction the learners reported receiving, it was found, did not meet their
needs and wants.
Some local research works have also been carried out in relation to this area. For example,
Hailom (1982) focused on the problems that exist in teaching English as foreign language in
applying the principles of CLT in the actual classroom situation in Ethiopia. The problem
observed in teaching was that many teachers complain that Ethiopian students are incapable
of communicating in English in the English language classes. Other local researches
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conducted on CLT as applied in. Ethiopian educational settings. Include Berhanu (1999),
Endalkachew (2006), Lakachew (2003), and Yemane (2007).
These researches on CLT were conducted for different purposes for instance; Berhanu‟s
study was carried out on implementation of the current ELT syllabus for grade 9 in terms
of the CLT Methodology. This study was aimed at finding out the textbooks for students
of elementary and partly secondary schools of Ethiopia have been replaced by more
communicatively-oriented ones. Therefore, the problem related to the syllabus seems to be
partially resolved. But other problems, especially the teachers‟ traditional teaching method
has continued to hinder the implementation of CLT in Ethiopia.
Lakachew‟s research attempted to investigate teachers‟ attitude towards CLT and
practical problems in its implementation at ten government secondary schools found in
West Gojjam and Bahir Dar Special Zone of Amhara Region. The findings indicated that
teachers generally have mildly favorable (positive) attitudes towards communicative
language teaching. They, however, articulated a number of constraints that hamper the
effective accomplishment of CLT as planned.
Endalkachew conducted a research on the topic “The Communicative Language Teaching
in Selected Second Cycle Primary Schools in East Shoa Zone”. His study showed that in
addition to large class size, failures of the learners to use the language outside the
classroom, and the low proficiency of the learners in the English language, the teachers‟
teaching methodology is the most hindrance in implementing CLT. In addition to that, the
majority of the English teachers had limited experiences about CLT and they had used
traditional type or teacher-centered English teaching methodology. Other research
undertaken by Yemane focused on “English Teachers‟ Perception and Practice of
Communicative Language Teaching in the Teaching of English as a Foreign Language:
Bole Secondary School and Dr. Addis Alemayehu Secondary School in Addis Ababa in
focus”. His studies focused on English language teachers‟ perception and classroom
practice of CLT. He did not incorporate learners‟ aspect in his study.
In addition to the above research works, Beyene (2008) has conducted a research entitled
“Perception and Classroom Practice of Teachers‟ and Students‟ towards CLT”. In his study,
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Beyene tried to investigate the understanding of CLT concepts, and their practice in EFL
classes. The study showed that learners did not get the opportunity to classroom practice
during the lessons given in „a communicative way‟, because their teacher did not create
conditions for the actual implementation of CLT. This indicates that there is a mismatch
between what teachers and learners perceive about CLT and what they actually practice in
the classroom.
This study also wants to investigate students‟ and teachers‟ perceptions and classroom
practices of CLT, but with varying directions from the past studies. In other words, unlike
other studies, in this study the perception of students and teachers towards the principle,
techniques, their roles, gender differences and activities with their effectiveness in
implementing CLT will be addressed. In addition, it is different in the grade level and area
from the previous local and foreign research works.

This study, therefore, endeavors to assess grade 9 and 10 students‟ and teachers‟ perceptions
and classroom practices of CLT in three government high schools in Arbaminch; namely
Arbaminch Secondary and Preparatory School, Abaya Secondary School and Chamo
Secondary School.

As mentioned above, CLT is very important as far as high school learners‟ language
proficiency development is concerned. In earlier days, the main objective of grammatical
language teaching had been to furnish a comprehensive structural base of the language
(Larsen-Freeman 1986; 132), whereas the principal goal of functional language teaching
nowadays is to provide a spontaneous use of the language in real life-like situations. It will
be very important to consider the classroom practices and perceptions of CLT. The basic
activity to be carried out in this study is identifying CLT perception and practices which are
used by teachers and learners. There is knowledge gap on how to practice CLT on the grade
level in focus. Thus, this study was partially a reaction to this situation. It tried to achieve to
answer the research questions and achieve the objectives that follow them. Therefore, the
study will try to answer the following research questions:

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1.3. Research questions

1. How do high school EFL teachers and learners perceive CLT and its principles?
2. How often do high school EFL teachers and students practice CLT in EFL
classroom?
3. Is there a significant difference between the perceptions of teachers and
students towards the techniques and activities of Communicative Language
Teaching?
4. What does the relationship between EFL teachers‟ and learners‟ perceptions of
CLT and their practices in the classroom look like?
5. Does gender affect teachers‟ and learners‟ perceptions of CLT and their
practices in the classroom?
1.4. Objectives of the Study
The main objective of this study is to assess students‟ and teachers‟ perceptions and
classroom practices of communicative language teaching in EFL classes. Hence, the specific
objectives of the study are as follows:
1. To assess the perception of teachers and students towards the principles of
Communicative Language Teaching.
2. To examine how often teachers and learners practice the CLT principles in their
classes.
3. To compare the perceptions of teachers and students towards the techniques and
activities of Communicative Language Teaching.

4. To identify what relationship between EFL teachers and learners perception of
CLT and their practices in the classroom.
5 To assess whether or not gender affects teachers‟ and learners‟ perceptions of
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CLT and their practices in the classroom.
1.5. Significance of the Study
The researcher strongly believes that the result of the study will provide information to
English teachers, learners, curriculum designers, materials writers, and researchers. The
importance of the study may not be limited to Arbaminch high school teachers and learners.
It is the belief of the researcher that every language teacher, learner and designer may benefit
a lot from it. Therefore, the research findings will have multi-dimensional significance. Most
importantly:

1. Teachers might be shown how perception is related to practice. Therefore, what
They do in class is usually the result of their belief(s).
2. More specifically, the findings of the study can serve as an input to the decisions
that practitioners and material writers make to address the needs of students
communication.
3. It will also stimulate the possible other researchers to conduct similar or further
studies.
1.6. Scope of the Study
This Study addresses Secondary School English Language Teachers‟ and Students‟
Perceptions and classroom practices towards CLT. Therefore, it tries to explore teachers‟ and
students‟ understanding and knowledge regarding the relevance of using CLT for better
language teaching learning. To keep the study manageable, it has been delimited to only
three government schools: Arbaminch Preparatory and High School, Abaya High School and
Chamo High School found in SNNPR, Particularly GamoGoffa zone.

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1.7. Limitations of the Study
This study has got some limitations. Primarily, it is worth keeping in mind that the sample
size of the study was limited to only 18 teachers and 162 students selected from three
schools. For this reason, it can be said that the study is limited to a small group of high
school teachers and students, which makes it difficult to generalize the results to all
educational setting. It would have been better and more effective. The researcher also felt
that demonstrating all aspects of the communicative approach could not be carried out within
a short period of time, and will require an intensive study which reflects all aspects of CLT.
Therefore, data gathering instruments are limited to raise only some features of the
communicative approach that are an emphasis on learning to communicate through
interaction in the target language.

1.8. Acronyms Used

CLT – Communicative Language Teaching
ICDR – Institute for Curriculum Development and Research
MOE – Ministry of Education
TESO - Teacher Education System Overhaul

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