Teaching English as Foreign Language

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Tewodros in Historical Fiction
(Addis Ababa University, 1980-05) Assefa, Taye; Araaya, Hailu (PhD)
Of all the national efforts of Ethiopi an emperors, those of Tewodros are the most highly uppreciuted by the present publ i c. This may be because he was the one who under difficult circumstances strove to reunite and rebuild the crumbling empire. It was he who for the first time seriously challenged the power of the nobility and the clergy and thus practically disproved the inviol ~bility of the old status quo. Those who were aspiring for radical changes in the semi - feudal regime of Emperor Haile Sellassie therefore easily identified themselves with Tewodros . In this r espec t, he alone has inspired some six of the major writers to produce plays and novels which tell the story of his exp loits. These works are: Ande Lennatu, Tayitu Bi~ul, Warrior King, Yetewodros Enba, and Tsegaye ' s and Girmachew ' s TewodroGo There being little or no systematic study of these fictional works so far , this study has been undertaken to provide such a literary appraisal . In this context then , it hJS been the objective of this thesis to f ind out vlhat Tewodros symbolizes for these writers and also to determine what the literary worth of these fictional works is. As the nature of the l-J'orks examined has been fictional and their contents historical, so the approaches employed h~ve been both literary and historicalo Moreover, in order to maintain the objectiveness of the thesis, the actual analysis 0 2 t ;,e literary texts hes been supplemented by an introductory historical sketch of Tewodros , interviews with three authors of the works examined , and a compilation of folk poetry related to Tel-lOdros and collected from already existing sources. After an examination of the six works and the folk poems, this study has arrived at the conclusion that while oral literature focuses on Tewodros ' personality, most written historica l fictions, however, pay more attention to his nationale efforts. Though both written and oral historical fiction see Tewodros ' violence as "ruthlessness to the enemy" and though both pOrtray Tewodros as a symbol of heroism , written fiction alone associates with Tewodros such symbolic values as nationa l unity, national independence ,and progress. Tayitu_?itu~ , however, identifies Tewodros only with tyranny.In spite of mos t of the "lritten historical fic tions ' preoccupation withTewodros ' ideals and national efforts, they are not successful in presenting these in their proper socio-historica l perspec tive. Most of the politicalal portrayals could not co~sistently see the traditional society as being divided into antagonist ic classes with irreco ncilab l e interests.. As a r esu lt, the ",orks attribute" the opposition to Tewodros to such subjective f actors as the l ack of coop~rat ion, understanding , tact and tolerance on one or the other side . Accordingly, social advanc e is seen not as the outcome of class conflicts, but as the making of individuals \.,ho effect reforms from above. ;\s U,e focus of all the portrayals has been on the members of the ruli ng class, the fact of the peasantry 's being the basic motive force of the traditional society has no t been forcefully established . hpart from these shortcomings most of the works also suffer from t echnical vJeaknesses whi ch tend to undermine their literary values 0 These weaknesses are the sl~vish adapta tion of the st;ndard history of Tewodros, the lack of organic unity in their plot schemes and smooth flo .in their narratives, the abstractness of their ch3racters, and their inartistic emp loyment of flashback s and foreshadowings. The only works which have be(~n able to overcome some of these weaknesses are Warrior King and Yetewodros Enba .In spite of these weaknesses, the concern the most of these .Iorks have shown for the most etlical events in the lives of the people indicates a positive trend in the development of Ethiopian historical fiction. Besides, some of these works like Yetewodros Enba do succeed in giving us Some insight into the nature cif the forces that were opposed to Tewodroe. In their technica aspects , too, some of the works like Yetewodros Enba do possess lite rary qualities such as the judicious selection of one representative situa tion in the course of who se development characters and events unfold their essentiali natures . The use of dreams in some of these works indicates that these i1rc potential devices that could be fully deve loped and exploited in future lritings . In comparison with each other, however ,Yetewodros Enba and or King come out as the best of these fictional works both in r egard t o the treatment of their themes and the employment of devices like flashback and descripti on . i'ihile the shortcomings in many of the works may teach futu re writers by negative examples, their literary qualities surely serve to enrich the tradition of creative writing.
Verbs in Oromo Sentence Patterns
(Addis Ababa University, 1980-06) Leta, Dejenie; Gamta, Tilahun (PhD)
The main purpose of this. research was to find the categories of verbs that determine the various Dromo sentence patterns. At the initial stage, a review of all available books and publications on Oromo in general, and the .verb in particular was made. In cases where adequate information was lacking an interview of the people concerned was~conducted. Besides, to get a good picture of what sentence patterns look like, certain books on English sentence patterns were reviewed. Five categories of verbs have been determined. These categories of verbs fit into the following five basic Oromo sentenoe patterns which also have been studied in the course of the research: 1. Npl v. 9utAman inDufe. (Gutama came). 2•. v. gutAman dAljessa ajjese .•. (Gutama killed a baboon). 3. Npl Npl v. gutl\man hakimi Da. (Gutama is a phys ic:ian)• s c 4:. NP Adj. v. 9u~man 9Ababa Da. (Gutama is short) •• s 5. Npl NP2 NP2 V •• gutAman Cala minje goDAte e (Gutama made s 0 oc Chala his bestman). The researcher believes that these five basic sentence patterns form the basis for the various kinds of transforms that can be derived. Though the researcher has not dealt with· the transforms in this study, it is anticipated that once they are determined properly, the teaching of Oromo syntax may be facilitated immensely ••
Classification and Explanatory Analysis of Student Errors in Advanced English Composition II, 1979/80
(Addis Ababa University, 1981-05) Kefele, Mammo; Gamta, Tilahun (PhD)
In this study, errors in the compositions of 89 3rd and 4th year students were identified and classified. The errors were based on 157 essays written for the cdurse, Advanced Composition II. A ., total of 56,426 words were used in these essays. Of these, j204 were errors of one kind or the other and their average frequency of occurrence was about 6 errors in a 100-word essay. These 3204 errors were classified into,six major categories, namely, grammar, style, spelling, punctuation, handwriting and unclasoifiable errors. Specifically, it was found out: that 1525 errors or 3% of the total words or 48% of the total errors were made in grammar; that 753 errors or 1% of the total words or 24% of the total errors were made in style; that 526 errors or Oe9% of all the words used or 16% of the total errors were committed in spelling; that 303 errors or 0.5% of the total words used or 9% of the total errors were made in punctuation; and that 35 errors or 0.06% of all words used or 1.1% of the total errors were in handwriting. On the subcategory level, it was also found out: that diction accounted for 507 errors or 0.9% of the total words or 16% of all the errors; that both agreement and tense were responsible for 770 errors or 1.4% of the total words or 24% of all errors; and that prepositions & particles accounted for 341 errors or 0.6% of the total words used or 10.6% of all errors. On the basis of these findings, it was recommended that ILS students should be taught spelling formally. It was also recommended that diction or vocabulary, tense, agreement, prepositions & particles and punctuation be taught formally and intensively.
The State of the Short Story in Ethiopia: an Unexploited Genre
(Addis Ababa University, 1981-06) Yazbec, Olga; Araaya, Hailu (PhD)
The main purpose of thls r esea r c h i s to introduce the Ethiopian short s t ories to the Ethiopian public, a work that has not been attempted so f a r. The r esear ch examines why the short s tory, which is a recent genre, i s un exp l o ited and unfamiliar to the Ethiopian public. The Ethiopian short stories have been analyzed fr om the thematic and technical point of vi e w~ During the progress of th e s tudy, an attempt has been made to look into the conditions which have hind ered the d e velopment of the s hort s tory in Ethiopia, and have "lade it an unexploited genre~ Finally, recommenda tion s have been suggested in order to familiarize the public with the short story, and to encourage writ e r s to use thi s literary medium.
The Phonology of Mecha Oromo
(Addis Ababa University, 1981-06) Tola, Wake; Beyene, Taddese
The purpose of this thesis is to present a fuller analysis of the phonology of the Mecha dialect of Oromo. The paper has six sections. In the first section the relevant liter~ture is revied in brief. The second section treats the description of the phonemes, their allophones and the distributions of the phonemes. The third section deals with the phonotactics and syllabification. A frequency count of phonemes based on the Swaddesh Basic VocGbulary and on an original story in Oromo, k~amale:f ye:y:i: is also presented in this section. The fourth section deals with the major suprasegmental phenomena such as length, stress, pitch and terminal contours. Lexical pitch and stress are non-phonemic but grammatically significant. Morphophonemic processes involving assimilation of consonants, epenthesis, metathesis, deletion, vowel shortening and reduplication are dealt with in the fifth section. The concluding section presents a summary of the findings of the analysiB~
English Conditional Sentences: A Comparative Analysis Of the Structural and Communicative Approaches in Teaching to Non-Native Speakers
(Addis Ababa University, 1982-05) Banteyerga, Hailom; Asfaw, Melaku (PhD)
In this study an attempt was made to find out ~lhethe:ror not the °Communicative approach' in the teaching of English Conditional Sentences is more effective than the 'Structural Approach'. To test thislSnglish functions that employ conditional sentences were identified. Then, teaching materials were prepared along the principles of the 'Communicative Approach' and given to three study groupso For the three control groups, teachinJ materials based on the 'Structural Approach' were given. All in alI, 10:2. students" all Amharic speakers, were randomly distributed into six groups~ Out of these, 78 students attended the experimental classes regularly and took the t\o10tests given •.In the scores obtained, the study groups performed better than the control groups at a significance level of .05. It was also observed that the study groups showed more interest, motivation, creativity, involvement, and sensitivity to learn the materials they wer e given than the control groups. On the basis of the findings, it was recommended that nonnative speakers should be taught English through the 'Communicative Approach' • It was also recommended that intensive research should be carried out in 'Discourse Analysis' in order to facilitate the designing and application of a 'Communicative Syllabu
The Measure1'ient of English Language Proficiency of High School Graduates
(Addis Ababa University, 1982-06) Gashaw, Tesfaye; Araya, Hailu (PhD)
The historical development of the Ethiopian School Leaving Certificate Examination (ESLCE) - the transition from the General Certificate Education Examination (GCE) to the ESLCE and the creation of a new curriculum suitable for the Ethiopian context has been thoroughly discussed. Several attempts have been made to change the form of the ESLCE English examination from a subjective type to an objeotive one and to simplify the difficult items. Arguments for and against the subjective and the objective tests by various concerned people have been briefed in the review of literature. But the various attempts have not changed the situation any better. As a policy, the purpose of the ESLCE has been stated that the examination, at present , serves as a hi g h school completion as well as college entrance examination. No sUbstantial inquiry has been made regarding the dual nature of the examination. Due to its dual purpose, the writer of this thesis has attempted to make a survey study of the effectiveness of the ESLC English examination as a profic iency test , and if necessary to propose an alternative approach . Discussions are opened on the theories and principles of tests. Out of 758 freshmen students enrolled for the 1981-2 second semester , 350 students have been selected for the study. Data have been coll ec ted for the 1980 ESLCE and the1981 F_'eshmen English results by using a table of random sampling. Using the model of linear correlation coefficient attempts have been made to find out whether the 1980 ESLC English results and the 1981 Freshmen English results of the same students correlate or not. Findings show that the relation between the two examinations is very low. Those students who have obtained good grades in the ESLC English examination do not seem to show good English language performance at the University. Findings, therefore, prove that the ESLC English examination is ineffective in predicting the English language performance of twelve grade leavers when they join the University. Conclusions are arrived, based on the results, that the ESLC English examination is ineffective ,as a proficiency test on the grounds that (a) it cannot serve as a criterion for admission to the University. (b) it cannot be a measure for predicting stUdents ' language performance at the University level. To avoid such ineffectivensss , the wr iter recommends as a possible alternative approach that the Ministry of Education and the University should set two separate examinations - the Ethiopian School Leaving Certificate Examination (ESLCE) and College Entrance Examination (GCE) respectively, specifying the forms, contents and purposes of the two examinations. The writer makes it clear that the conclusion is not finaland perfect and suggests that further research and evaluation on other variables (syllabus, materials, quality of teachers, methodology etc) are urgently needed before moves are taken.
A Contrastive Analysis of The Phonologies of Arbore and English
(Addis Ababa University, 1982-06) Abebe, Negussie; Despatie, Gerard (PhD)
This study has five main parts. The first part is the introduction which gives an over-all description of the ph~nological nature of Arbore. This part aiso tries to explain the purpose and scope of the study. The second part is a description of the phonology of Arbore in more detail. It describes the segmental phonemes together with their respective allophonic variants and their distributions, the suprasegmentals, and lastly the distribution of the phonemes. The third part is a description of English phonology which covers the segmental phonemes and their respective allophones, the suprasegmental phonemes along with the distributions of the phonemes and allophones in a parellel form like that of the description given for Arbore. The fourth chapter is a contrastive Analysis of the phonologies of Arbore and English. This part deals with the predictions of errors from the point of view of the I~bore speakero The fifth and last chapter of this study consists of a conclusion. It presents a summary of the preceeding part§ and also attempts to point out the need for an additional and more complete study of Argore.
The Measurement of Proficiency of High School Graduates
(Addis Ababa University, 1982-06) Gashaw, Tesfaye; Araaya, Hailu (PhD)
The historical development of the Ethiopian School Leaving Certificate Examination (ESLCE) - the transition from the General Certificate Education Examination (GCE) to the ESLCE and the creation of a new curriculum suitable for the Ethiopian context has been thoroughly discussed. Several attempts have been made to change the form of the ESLCE English examination from a subjective type to an objective one and to s implify the difficult items. Arguments for and against the subjective and the objective tests by various concerned people have been briefed in the review of literature . But the various attempts have not changed the situation any better. As a policy , the purpose of the ESLCE has been stated that the examination, at present, serves as a hi gh school completion as well as college entrance examination. No substantial inquiry has been made regarding the dual nature of the examination . Due to its dual purpose, the writer of this thesis has attempted to make a survey study of the effectiveness of the ESLC English examination as a pro f iciency t es t , and if necessary to propose an alternative approach. Discussions are opened on the theories and princi ples of tests. Out of 758 freshmen students enrolled for the 1981-2 second semes ter, 350 students have been selected for the study. Data have been collected for the 1980 ESLCE and the 1981 F _'eshmen English r esults by using a table of random sampling. Using the model of linear correlation coefficient attempts have been made to find out whether the 1980 ESLC English results and the 1981 Freshmen English results of the Same students correlate or not. Findings show that the relation between the two examinations is very low. Those students who have obtained good gr ades in the ESLC English examination do not seem to show good English l anguage performance at the University. Findings, therefore, prove that the ESLC English examination is ineffective in predicting the English language performance of twelve grade leavers when they join the University. Conclusions are arrived, based on the results, that the ESLC English examination is ineffective as a proficiency test on the grounds that (a) it cannot serve as a criterion for admission to the University. (b) it cannot be a measure for predictin~ students ' language performance at the University level. To avoid such ineffectivensss, the writer recommends as a possible alternative approach that the Ministry of Education and the Univer sity should set two s eparate examinations - the Ethiopian School Leaving Certificate Examination (ESLCE) and COllege Entrance Examination (GCE) respectively, specifying the forms, contents and purposes of the two examinations. The writ er makes it clear that the conclusion is not final and perfect and sugges t s tha t further r esearch and evaluation on other variables (syllabus, materials, quality of teachers , methodology etc) are urgently needed before moves ar e taken .
The Auxiliary in Amharic and English A Contrastive Study
(Addis Ababa University, 1983-05) Makonnen, Sisaye; Hedekind, Klaus (PhD)
The the s i s is a contrastive study of the auxi liary in Amharic and English, usinG TG model. In the study, the s urface a nd deep structures of the a uxiliary in Amharic and English h a ve been described a nd analysed separately. The n , the surface structure contrast and the deep to surface structure contrast of the two l anguages h ave been inv estigated. On the basis of this contrastive analysis it his been found that the constituent s of the a uxiliary in English (i.e., Tense , Moda l and Aspec t) are systematically different from the constituents of tho a uxiliary in Am h ar ic (i. e ., Aspect , Moda l a nd Tense) even in this order. Based on the result of th is comparison , hypothetica1 predictions of e rrors have been made which may be committed by Amhar ic s p eakers in learning the auxiliary i n EnGli sh. Finally, p a ttern practice based on the genera tive and tra nsformt i onal rules discuss ed in the st u d y has b een recomm e n ded as a method of overcoming the predicted e rrors .
Some Diffe r ences Between the De t a ils of the Cons titue nt btructures of Amharic and English Sentences
(Addis Ababa University, 1983-06) Zewdie, Marew; Asfaw, Melaku (PhD)
ThiG otudy is an atter:lpt to identify the a r eas of differcnce c bctneen the details of the constitutent structure B of th e two ma jor parts (noun phrase s a n d ve r b phraDes ) of Awha ric a nd Engli sh sentences . :J.~ h e ... "hole study has been covered in s ix chapters. At the initi ~ l stege , a revi ew of al l available studies on Amh a ric
The Significance of Visual Aids for Maximizing Individualized Instruction in Teaching English as A Foreign Language to Beginners
(Addis Ababa University, 1983-06) Tereffe, Girma
The problem with which this research is concerned is that of determining the significance of visual aids for maximizing individualized instruction in the teaching of English for beginners as compared to the conventional i n struction. Data was secured by selecti n g and organizing six experime ntal and control groups of grades 3 and 4 st u dents in six elementary schools. A total of 720 students were selected using the systematic sampling t ech nique. Lessons were selected from English for New Ethiopia series for grades 3 a nd 4 respectively. Pre-tests were prepared and administered from the selected lessons for both grade levels and administered. Appropriate visual aids were prepared for the lessons selected for the respective grades. The experimental groups r eceived their instructions with supplementary visual aids in individualized instruction. The cont r ol groups received their instruction in the conventional way. After the instruction of the lessons , post-tests were administered to both grade levels of the experimental and control groups on the same date. The other two techniques used for collecting the data concerning visual aids and individualized instruction in connection with the teaching of English as a foreign language for beginners were distribution of questionnaire to teachers and the observation of the experimental groups using the criteria of evaluation. From the t-test analysis of the data it was found that the experimental groups of both grade levels performed better than the control groups at a significant level of .05 in the post-test. The results of the questionnaire and observation show similar results. On the basis of the findings it was concluded that visual aids are effective and can be used to maximize individualized instruction in the teaching of English as a foreign l anguage for beginners and the visual aids in the ENE series are not satisfactory to promote individual mastery. On the basis of this finding recommendations are made that further research and evaluation on other variables (syllabus, teacher training, text-book, visual aids) should be carried out to facilitate the application of the finding in this study.
An Analysts of Threes and literary Techniques in Novels of Baalu Girma
(Addis Ababa University, 1983-06) Wodajo, Tsegaye; Aklilu, Amsalu (PhD)
It is the purpose of this study to analyse critically some of the most import Ant thanes and tpchn i ques~of the novels of Baalu Girma. The novels examined here are Kadmas BashaRer, Yehillioa Dewol , Yekey Kokeb Tirri and Derasiw.The study is divided into four chapters . Ji:ach chapte r othe r than the introductory and the final c ~ nsists o f five points.The introductory chapter besides stating the focus and limitation of the study , briefly reviews previ . us works on the novels Rnd establishes the need for this study. It also ' attempts to Rive a very brief sumnary of the development of the Bthiopian novelChapter two opens with brief statements that discuss the chapter ' s purpose and the points it cuvers . It then proceeds to the examina tion of five leading themes of the novels . ~ff ort s are made to understand the meaning a nd relevance o f the themes to the society .The third chapter begins with a statement of purpose as \;ell as a description of the points it treats . Here some of the important literary devices which the novelist has used to express his subject natter are analysed. This chapter n ot only attempts to study the author 's techniques , but points c u t their successes and limitations Th o final chapter GUmmarlZCS th e most imp o rt a nt points ~ f the for ego ing discu8Bions and br~n0s out Guccinctly t h~ importanc ~ of tho study
Student - Teacher Interactions in English Classes in Four Schouls in Addis Ababa
(Addis Ababa University, 1983-06) Ali, Abdulkader; Gamta, Tilahun (PhD)
The purpose of this study is in general to find out the kind and frequency of verbal and non-verbal behaviours that transpire when teachers and students in four selected twelfth grade En~lish classes in Addis Ababa interact. Findings show: that three teachers did 75% to 84% of the talk in the class; that the remaining teacher did 57% of the talk whereas silence and confusion accounted for 4 - 8%; that student talk ranged from 12% to 18% in the three classes and 35% in the fourth one; that nearly all teachers were more direct than indirect in th8ir influence; that Amharic was used along with English in two of the four classes; that nearly all the teachers in this study commented positively or negatively on ideas expressed by students; that although students' participation in class discussion was minimal. the teachers did a great deal of prompting; that on the average the teachers put emphasis on the content area about 59% of the time and, that on the average 32% of the time, the teachers and students remained in the same category for periods longer than 3 seconds.
The Significance of Visual Aids for Maximizing Individualized Instruction in Teaching English as a Foreign Language to Beginners
(Addis Ababa University, 1983-06) Tereffe, Girma
The problem with which this research is concerned is that of determini ng the significance of visual aids for maximizing individualized instruction in the teaching of English for beginners as compared to the conventional instruction . Data was secured by selecting and organizing six exper imental and control groups of grades 3 and 4 students in six e lement ary schools. A total of 720 students were selected using the systematic sampling technique. Lessons were selected from English for New Ethiopia series for grades 3 and 4 respectively. Pre-tests were prepared and administered from the selected les sons for both grade levels and administered. Appropriate visual aids were prepared for the lessons selected for the respective grades. The experimental groups received their instructions with supplementary visual aids in individualized instruction. The control groups received their instruction in the conventional way. After the instruction of the lessons, post- tests were administered to both grade levels of the experimental and control groups on the same date. The other two techniques used for collecting the data concerning visual aids and individualized instruction in connection with the teachi ng of English as a foreign language for beginners were d~stribution of questionnaire to teachers and the observation of the experimental groups using the criteria of evaluation. From the t-test analysis of the data it was found that the experimental groups of both grade levels performed better than the control groups at a significant level of .05 in the post-test. The results of the questionnaire and observation show similar results. On the basis of the findings it was concluded that visual aids are effective and can be used to maximize individualized instruction in the teaching of English as a foreign language for beginners and the visual aids in the ENE series are not satisfactory to promote individual mastery. On the basis of this finding recommendations are made that further research and evaluation on other variables (syllabus, teacher training, text-book, visual aids) should be carried out to facilitate the application of the finding in this study. .
A Comparative Study of two Second Language Teaching Approaches:I The Language AcqUisition and Conscious Rule-Learning Approaches
(Addis Ababa University, 1984-06) Simon, Gebremedhin; Asfaw, Melaku (PhD)
This study was conducted in order to determine whether the Language Acquisition Approach to language teaching is more effective and functional than the Conscious Rule-learning Approach in enhancing students' proficiency in English. Six sections of freshman Social Sciences students were selected and assigned into two groups, the study group and the control group, by lot. A pretest was given before the study started and the results showed that the~was no significant dif~erence in English language proficienoy among the groups. The three sections of the study group were supplied with a set of topics - topics that freshmen would find meaningful and interesting, and that are related to their courses. The students were expected to select topics and initiate discussions. Each study group class was divided into small discussion groups consisting of a maximum of four students. These small groups worked independently in the selection and treatment of the topics. Each member had a turn to come prepared and present his views to others on topics assigned to him. To keep the students busy, each member was then expected to write a report on what the group discussed. Teacher's role was reduced to co-ordinating the activities and acting as a partner. The control group which had three sections was supplied with teaching materials based on the Conscious Rule-learning Approach. The materials consisted of adequate linguistic descriptions of selected items, i.e., the descriptions of the uses of "would," "could", "should" and conditional sentences, and adequate exercises that would help to form the desired habits. They consisted of oral drills and simple sentence completion exercises. The teacher had the dominant role and errors were deliberately and tirelessly corrected. After six weeks, a post-test was given and the results showed a significant difference in language proficiency between the study groups and the control groups. A twotailed t-test at a significance level of 0.05 was used to determine the significance difference between the means of .the groups. On the basis of the findings, it was recommended that non-native speakers ehould be taught English using the Language Acquisition Approach. Moreover, it was recommended that research must be conducted on ways of designing syllabus, methodology. preparation of teaching materials and evaluating performances based on the Language Acquisition Approach
The Communicative V. The Traditional Approach to the Teaching of English Reading Comprehension At Addis Ababa University Freshman Level: A Comparative Study
(Addis Ababa University, 1984-06) Michael, Haile; Asfaw, Melaku (PhD)
The purpose of this study was to find out the relative effectiveness of the tradfti.nal and c.mmunicative approaches to the teaching of English reading comprehension in developing the reading abilities of Addis Ababa University freshman students. An experiment, in which a sample population of one hundred and forty freshmen in six groups took part, was conducted for six weeks. Three of the groups formed the control group and the other three the · e~erimental~ A pre-test on reading com;rehension was given to both the control and experimental groups to see if there was any significant difference between the reading abilities of the two groups. Statistical tests showed that the differences were not significant. Two sets of teaching materials were prepared for both groups in 'accerdance with the pedagogical principles of the teaching methodologies in qu~ti .n. The control classes were taught reading comprehension in the traditional approach and the experimental classes in the~ .mmunicative approach. Three particirating instructors each taught one control and one experimental class respectively. A comprehension post-test was administered t~ both the control and experimental groups . Statistical tests showed that the average post-test score of the experimental group was significantly greater than that of thecontr.l group. Therefore the null hypothesis that there would not be any Si~lificant difference between the comprehension posttest results of the two groups attributable to the adoption of the communicative approach had to be rejected. The conclusion was drawn that the communicative approach is mere effective than the traditional approach in developing the reading abilities of freshman students at Addis Ababa University.
The Determinatio N of the English Language Proficiency of freshmen: An Exploration Of Some of the Variables That Contribute To Proficiency in English
(Addis Ababa University, 1984-06) Disasa, Mekonnen; Yimer, Mekonnen (PhD)
This study is an attempt to assess the influence of a number of variables on the English language proficiency of first year students at Addis Ababa University . The selected variables were the exposure to the English language formally or informally , the reading resources , the reading background , and the quality of instruction. To achi eve this goal, a questionnaire entirely devoted to the students ' senior high school English background was distributed to 140 Freshmen , out of which 106 were taken as full participants in the study . The subjects were given two language t ests : (i) The ~Ii chigan Test of English Language Proficiency (offered by the English Language Institute of the University of Michigan), and (ii) The Addis Ababa University Freshman English lOl-A Course Test. The students' responses t o the questionnaire were tallied, coded and computed to see the correlation between the responses to the selected variabl es, and the subjects' performance in both t ests. On the average , the group with the highest positive responses to the selected variables was found to be the "A" students in the J: ests . Those who had the l east positive r esponses were the "F" students. The differences among the "All , Hn" I and "e" , and nDUstudents were also significant: the study r evealed that as the amount of positive responses to the selected variables increased. performance also increased . The reverse was also true. The multiple regression analyses showed a positive correlation between the selected variables , and the tests' results. Moreover , the variation in the students' performance in the tests was accounted for by the coefficient of determination. On the basis of these findings. recommendations are made to provide the senior high school students with what they lack . These recommendations are worth considering if Freshmen are to do b e tter at university level.
Evaluate on of the Underlined English Vocabulary Items in the "English for New. Ethiopia" Series for Grades 9 To 12
(Addis Ababa University, 1984-06) Hundei, Mekonnen; Despatie, Gerard (PhD)
This study is a critical evaluation of the vocabulary items found in the English for New Ethiopia (ENE) series that is used as text-books for teaching English in all Ethiopian senior High Schools. Evaluation is required mainly t o see how relevant the selected vocabulary is to the students at this l evel. This paper then evaluates (a) the size of vocabulary items selected; (b) the frequency level of the vocabulary items; (c) the gradati on and interaction of the items, and (d) the codability of the selected words, which in particular d eals with the content-concept of the vocabulary items in relation to the standard of the students .• The method of comparing and contrasting is applied to evaluate the relevance of the items. And the major material used for comparing the target vocabulary with the common Standard English Vocabulary is Thorndike and Lorge ' s standard frequency-list which was produced in 1944. Besides, other relevant references are also made use of as they are needed. Finally the result of the investigation has revealed that there are 1190 vocabulary items altogether, including expressional phrases, in the ENE series for grades 9 to 12. This indicates the size of the vocabulary to be too small for the four year study. And only 49.41% of this total sum is found to have more than 20 times frequency of occurrence per million words in the use of Standard English. This means that the greater part of the selected items is difficult to learn. On the other hand gradation of the items i s found to take uneven shape in some cases. For instance, more words are put in the lower grade ENE seri es than are found in the upper grade books . It was also discovered in this study that about 14% of the total sum of the target vocabulary items is composed of technical terms, most of them very difficult to learn for they are almost impractical for the daily life of the students. Generally, the result of this study has indicated ' certain short-comings of the target vocabttlaT,y. And, hence certain constructive recommendations are given in the conclusion so that they might contribute to the reshaping of the vocabulary in such a way that it facilitates the learning of English as a second language in the Ethiopian senior High Schools.
An Experimental Comparison of the Systematic and Incidental of Methods of Teaching Spelling to Grade Nine Ethiopian Students
(Addis Ababa University, 1985-06) Ghebremuse, Tecle
Th e s t ~ t eme nt of the problem which this r esearch is c once rned with is to determine whethe r the incidental me thod or the systematic method i s mo r e e ffectiv e in teaching sp e lling to grade nine Eth i opian students. For this purpose , four sections of grade nine students were selected by drawing l ots. By drawing l ots, they were a ls o ass ~ ed t o ~vo sections in t he c ontrol group a nd the " other two sections in the ex periment a l gr oup . A pre-tes t which was pr epared b y the r esearch er was g iven t o b o th groups. The r esult of the p r e - test indicated that students in bot. gr oups had similar b a ckgrounds . For thre e and a half mOlths, the students l earned spelling : the c ontrol g roup through the incident a l me thod i n the normal schedule of t I C school and the exp erim enta l group through the systematic method on the basis of the materia ls f or te a ching spel ling prepared by t h e reasercher. Af t er l e arning spelling f or t hree and a half months, a post-test pr ep ared b y the researche r was g iven to the students of both groups t o de t er min e the hypothes$s ,i. e . ( a) t h e Null Hypothesis which states tha t there is no sta tist ically significant difference between t h e incident a l met ~ od and the sys tema tic method in teaching spelling to gr ade nine Ethiop i a n students, and (b) t h e 1.lternate Hypo thesis which s ".; a t es that there is a statistica lly significant diff er ence b e twe en the incidental method and the systematic method in teaching spelling t o grade nine Ethiopian students.The dat a collected from the pre - test and the po st-tes t have be en used for classification a nd e v a l uation to arrive a t a decision . On the basis of a two-ta iled test at a 0 . 01 level of signifi c ance , we would r eject the Null Hypothesis , if the value of t were greater than t. 995 , wh ich f or (NE + NC - 2 )= 78 + 80 - 2 = 1 56 degr ee of freedom is 2 .58 . The c omp uted value of t i s 6 . 08 . Thus, we c onclude tha t at a 0.01 level of significance there is a statistica lly s i gnif i cant differenc e in the perf orm ance of the students in the experimental and the control grou ps and we a ccept the ~l ternate Hypothesis at a 0 . 01 l evel of significa nc e . In addi tion t o this, the analysis o f the responses of the ques tionnair e shows results similar to the t-Tes t which is in f avo ur of the sys t ematic method of teaching spelling . On the basis of these findings, it was conc luded that t h e systema tic me thod is mo r e effe ctive than the incidenta l method in t eaching spelling to gr ade n ine Ethi opian students. Rec omme ndations are made on the basis of these findings that curriculum designers, textbook writers, and educ ators need to r econs i der their r o l es in promoting the meth od and the proc ess of learning-tea ching spelling and that further research i s ne c essary on the effective t eachin~ of spelling .

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