Browsing by Author "Gemechu, Abebe"

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    Language Use and Communication Strategies in Farmers Moblization for Sustainable Agricultural Development in a Selected Zone in Oromia National Regional State
    (Addis Ababa University, 2016-05) Gemechu, Abebe; Tsegaye, Anteneh (PhD)
    Communication is a fundamental part in sustainable agricultural development programs and language emerges as a key factor in effective communication and implementation of these programs. While it is evident that social interactions are sustained by agreeable communicative principles, the role of language and the different strategies of communication applied to agriculture and rural development interventions have received very little attention from the parties concerned in the country in general and in Oromia Region in particular. This has yielded detrimental effects in the quality of interaction at the grassroots level. More often than not, it is assumed that once there is a common language, effective communication will take place and for this reason language use and communication strategies are never given much thought in the field of sustainable agricultural development interaction in the study area. This study was designed to critically analyze how language is used and what communication strategies are employed in disseminating agricultural development messages to farmers in a selected zone in Oromia National Regional State. This thesis argues that the region has not achieved development dreams set by the Ethiopian Government due to inattention to language use and communication strategies. In order to address the issue, this study investigated the interactive process between the change agents and the farmers. Arguing from Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) theoretical position, this study sought to explain how the opaque and transparent structural relationships of dominance and power are constituted, expressed and legitimized in the discourse practices as observed in the interactions between the development agents and the farmers. In this way, the thesis explored how discourse choices, communication strategies, power and ideology impact on meaning making and dissemination of development information. This study is therefore situated within the Mixed Method Research paradigm and used both quantitative and qualitative methods of data collections, namely Questionnaire, Key Informant Interviews, Focus Group Discussions, Document Analysis and Direct Observation, to gather data that were used to advance the arguments in this thesis. While recognizing the fruitfulness of these tools in exhaustive data collection, the study also used them to triangulate the data gathered thus verifying the data and ensuring reliability and validity. The data were analyzed quantitatively using elementary descriptive statistics and qualitatively using an analytical framework developed by Fairclough (2004) CDA models. The analysis revealed that the three modes of communication (the phonic, the graphic and the multimodal) commonly used in development communication in the study area are not common to the target community. More often than not the modes are not sensitive to the cultural and situational contexts of the interaction, thus ignoring the communities’ schemata, concerns and preferences. This results into disorder of discourse, which in turn hampers interactive farmers’ participation that is deemed critical to agricultural development. Furthermore, the language preferences of the change agents construct development as an elites’ exercise, thereby stereotyping development as something disseminated by elites. The thesis also concluded that language is a powerful capital that is used to construct and construe reality hence influencing change in social structures and human relationships. Language reflects social status and the power imbalances among participants involved in development interaction and this impact on the way development messages are disseminated and interpreted. Ultimately, the thesis concluded that the language and communication strategies used in development initiatives in the study area, do not aid effective communication and common understanding of development objectives. Finally, based on the best practices observed from the field and the analysis of some of the communication strategies used, this study recommended practically important points that can be used to enhance communication in accelerating sustainable agricultural development interactions. Key words: Language use, Communication Strategies, Modes of Communication, and Sustainable Agricultural Development
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    Topic• Based Approach Versus Task•Based Approach In Teaching Writing Skills To First Year Prepara Tory (Grade 10+ 1) Students At Bethel Mekane Yesus School
    (AAU, 2006-06) Gemechu, Abebe; Lemu, Geremew (Phd)
    The purpose of the study was to compare topic-based approach with task-based approach and determine the more effective one to teach writing skills to first year preparatory students. Based on the purpose of the study, the following Null (Ho) hypothesis and Alternative (HI) hypothesis were made. The null hypothesis states that there is no statistically significant difference between topic-based and task-based approaches to teaching writing skills. On the other hand, the alternative hypothesis states that there is statistically significant difference between them. In order to see the difference between the two approaches and determine the more effective one in teaching writing skills to Ethiopian students, the following steps were undertaken. Firstly, 74 students were randomly selected as the subjects of the study. Secondly, the subjects were grouped into control and experimental. Finally, they were taught for three months through the two approaches. After the researcher taught the two groups, a post-writing test was prepared and administered to them. Then in order to test the hypotheses, the mean writing scores of the two groups were compared. The result of the finding showed that the mean writing score of the experimenta l group students was higher than that of the control group. The result was also statistically a nalysed. Depending upon the finding, it was concluded that task-based language teaching approach is more effective than topic-based approach in teaching writing skills to Ethiopian students. Based on the finding, valid recommendations were forwarded.