Browsing by Author "Kedir Assefa"

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    Dominance in Small Group Tasks during Students' Engagement in Collaborative Learning
    (Addis Ababa University, 2011-05) Mezemer Tekleab ; Kedir Assefa
    The purpose of thi s study was to investi gate students' coll ab oration and dominance in small group tasks. The stu dy was conduc ted in Dagmawi Min ilik Preparatory sch ool in Addis Ababa in the acad e mic year 20 I 011 1 grade 1126 was in focus and tw o small groups in th e sect ion were taken as s ubj ects for the study. Three data gathering in s truments, observation as a principal tool, student's di ary and teacher's interview, as supportive too ls were used to co ll ect the data, seekin g for an in-depth data two groups .in the section were observed six times i.e. three times eac h, continuously with the help of audio record er and observat ion checkli st. The checkli st contained di fferent activities like the extent and patterns of learn e rs ' collaboration and ind ividual dominance in s mall group tasks . In order to get addi ti onal data and see kin g for some clarifi cat ion on th e ob se rved phenomenon, the two groups of par ti cipants i. e . ten st udents were reques ted to de velop the ir own diary in Engli sh le sso n pe riod and [our teac hers using avai lab le samp lin g tec hniques were int e rvi ewe d. In order to analyze th e data gathered from th ose in st rument s desc ripti ve re search method was employed. Result s of the data analy sis show th at students were le arning co ll aborat ive ly in all English peri od. Consequently, the extents of learners ' collaboration in th e clas sroom were very high and were stud en t-student patterns of interaction. During learners interaction in small groups the extents of individuals' dominance were ve ry high. The cla ss room dire ct observation, the student's diary and the teac hers in te rvi ew revealed th at, a s far as learners come up with different characteri sti cs, exper ience, background and pe rso nal it y, in dividua ls' do min ance in small gro up s were persistent . Do minance related to acade mi c compet iti veness, perso nalit y and procedure were th e major patt erns of dominance.
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    Learner Contributions in The EFL Classroom
    (Addis Ababa University, 2000-05) Kedir Assefa ; Geremew Lemu
    Thi s study was intended as an exploration of a FL classroom concerning the contribution making behaviour of learners and their perceptions in relation to contribution. Based on video-taped data and learners self reports, the study revealed some apparent information on how students contri bute and perceive contribution making. An analysis of lesson transcript showed that the amount and types of contributions students made tended to be variable from one interaction pattern to another. A thirty-minute group interaction produced far greater contributions than a one-hour whole class interaction both in terms of quantity and quality. According to the transcript analysis three students in the group work who made considerable contributions fai led to make any in the teacher - fronted discussions. Moreover, a group participant who contributed the most during the group-work failed to maintain the lead during the lockstep interaction. A difference was also observed in the quali ty of contributions students made. In the group interaction, the students' contributions were characterized by a wide variety of functional moves whereas the contributions in the teacher - fronted interaction were responses to teacher questions and short utterances. Students ' responses to questiofUlaire and interview questions indicated that students preferred participating in a small group interaction to whole class interaction. The responses also showed that students' reasons for participating in the classroom is primarily to obtain good marks rather than practising target language. Furthermore, the results displayed students' positive perceptions of bidding and self-selection in mak ing contri butions. These last perceptions of students seemed to match with the students' contribution making behaviour observed in the classroom. Although these findings are limited to a freslunan classroom where the data were collected, the pedagogical implications are possibly applicable to similar classrooms since there were findings (e .g. Long, et al. 1976; Cathcart 1986; Allwright 1980) that corroborate the results of this exploration. But further studies need to be conducted to come up with more information especially on the relationship between contribution and perception.
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    A Study on Materials Used to teach Listening at Awassa College of Teacher Education
    (Addis Ababa University, 2009-06) Tekabe Desta ; Kedir Assefa
    In this study an attempt was made to investigate the materials used for teaching-listening skills in the student-teachers context of Awassa College of Teacher Education. The required data for the study were gathered through document analysis, questionnaires, interviews and classroom observation. Document analysis was made using checklist. To support the information obtained through document analysis, questionnaires were distributed to 6 English language instructors and 43 first year English language linear program students of the college. Besides, semi-structured interview questions were held with 3 instructors and 10 observations were held based on structured checklist. o A qualitative analysis was employed on: the information obtained from document inspection, the open-ended questionnaire for the students and the interview with teachers. On the other hand, a quantitative analysis was employed on students' and instructors' responses to the close-ended questionnaire items. The information obtained from the classroom observations was analyzed both qualitatively and quantitatively. o The analysis revealed that the sub-skills of listening that are included in the listening skills course materials do not seem to be adequate as compared to the micro-skills that are required of the student-teachers in their academic listening environments. The study also showed that some of the objectives stated in the syllabus were not properly addressed in the listening course materials. Finally based on the conclusions reached, it has been recommended that course materials, particularly listening skills materials need to be prepared considering the academic listening needs of the students that are required of them in their academic context.