Teaching English as Foreign Language

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Effects of Teacher Mediation on Students' Locus of Control, Self Efficacy Belief and Oral English Performance
(Addis Ababa University, 2010-07) Negari, Wogari; Kebede, Seime (PhD)
The objective of this study is to assess the effects of teacher mediation on students' self efficacy belieD SEB, locus of controll LOC, and oral English perfolmance/ OEP of Addis Ababa preparatory-I students. To this end, an experimental study was carried out. For the experiment, two schools: Bole and Wondrad were selected and 40 students were drawn from each and participated in the contro::~J and mediated oral English lessons, which were conducted by two teachers for four months. Moreover, preparatory-I English teachers were the target of the study in order to collect the data that assisted me to understand the oral English teaching! learning experiences, and played a great role in triangulating the findings. The data were col1ected tlu'ough mixed methods (quantitative and qualitative). The quantitative methods included questionnaires on MLE for both teachers and students, questionnaires on SEB and LOC scales, and OEP for students. The qualitative data were collected tlu'ough class observations, interviews and focus group discussions that were held with both students and teachers. From the quantitative fmdings, it was learned that both teachers and students underlined that MLE criteria could create a good atmosphere to practice and improve oral English. Nevertheless, differences were observed in the teachers' claims to utilize the MLE cliteria, and whal' the students reflected about their oral English teaching 'culture.' The findings of the students' LOC, SEB, and OEP indicated that MLE caused statistically significant changes. These changes were also justified from the comparisons made between mediated and unmediated students. From the qualitative findings, differences were observed in the mediated students' understanding of oral English, the way they evaluated their oral ability, and attributed their success or failure in OEP after the application ofMLE. In order to confiml the occurrence of the changes in the way they used to think about oral English and performance, their responses were compared with that of the unmediated ones, and it was apparent that MLE introduced changes to the mediated students' understanding and reasoning capacity about practices c.hal1p.llges, and possibility to improve their OEP. From the study, It was leamed that the findings have research, pedagogical implications, and recommendations that could initiate future actions in training English teachers in general and oral English teachers in particular have been drawn.
An Exploration of Efllearners' Attitudes Towards Their Oral Errors: Gatama Secondary School Grade Nine in Focus
(Addis Ababa University, 2009-06) Sura, Tesfaye; Kassaye, Mekasha (PhD)
Oral errors in second/ foreign language learning are more frequ ent in that it is inevitable for the learners to commit erro rs as they experiment with the target language as is indi cated by Beebe ( 1983) and Ellis (1994) . Accordingl y, the purpose of the study was to explore grade nine learners' attitudes towards their oral errors in EFL elassroom . Thus, the spccifi c obj ectives of the study were (a) to fin d out the learners' att itudes to the ir oral errors, (b) to examine some of the factors attributed to the learners' attitudes to their oral errors, and (c) to cxplore the effects of the learners' attitudes to their oral errors on their learning to speak EFL. To this end, sixty five systematically sampled grade nine students and their respecti ve Engli sh tcachers from Gatama Secondary School in East Wall aga were in foc us. To obtain the data, questionnai re (attitude scales) to the students and interview wi th the teache rs to investigate the st udents' att itudes towards their own oral errors were employed. T'hen the data were analyzed both quantitat ively and qua litati vely: data obtained from the students' responses were ana lyzed using frequency count and percentage, whereas the data elicited from the teachers using interview was analyzed by summari zing, organi zin g and grouping the key ideas un der the ma in themes. Accordingly, the study has obtained some findings. Firstly, it was found that at least about half of the learners tend to hold more realistic attitudes because they do not worry about making oral erro rs, do not demand perfect acc urac y, and feel they learn from their oral errors whi le about half of them seem to hold erroneous attitudes towards their own oral errors because they afraid of mak ing oral errors, demand perfect acc uracy, and fe el their own oral errors are ind icators of their weakness and impede their learning to speak Engli sh. Secondl y, the study reveals a lso that some fac tors favorably influenced some of the learners' attitudes whil e still some other factors have wrongly affected the rest of the learners' attitudes. Fina lly, it indicates that a significant number of the learners are concerned with accuracy than fl uency, are anxious, fcar of taking risks of making erro rs, lacked opportuni ties whi ch cncourage thcir learning of speakin g Engli sh, and had decreased communicative competence in spoken Engli sh becausc o f their unreali stic attitudes to their own oral errors though they are ready to partic ipate in communicat ive acti viti es. As a result, in the study it was fina lly attempted to propose some practical suggestions to promote learners' learning of speaking English tak ing ri sks of making errors. In order to remove inhi bi tion and reticence, the learners should cxpose themsel ves to the practice and usc of spoken ~l1glisb 'JhQl!! fea r of making errors. S im i larIy~lwo ul d be advisable if both teachers and learners with erroneous attitudes are given adviscs and informat ion by senior teachers, counselors and learning speciali sts, or in the teacher's book and student's book that errors are natural phenomenon, cruc ial and can bc improved thro ugh practice, and should be treated properly. Besides, tcachers al so have to offer consc iousness-raising activities and advi se to enable the learners aware that errors are made by everyone every time, that they have to emphasize fl uency over accuracy, and that improvements can happen over tim e. Lastly, to identi fy the factors att ributed to some inconsistencies in the learners ' responses and a bit disparity between the teachers' responses and the learners' responses on the variables considered in the study, it seems desirable if further study is conducted .
Satirical Elements in the Poems of Nine Post-revolution Amharic Poets
(Addis Ababa University, 1993-05) Endrias, Mestin; Gessesse, Tesfaye (PhD)
The purpose of thi8 study is to investigate the use of satire by nine poets who published their works during the po.t-revolution era. Although some of the poems date back to the pre-revolution era, the purpose of the study is not to show their relevance to the period. In specific term8 the research paper aims at shoving with what features of satire the themes of the selected poems are concerned with as well as the type of tones they employ. A general look at their con+.ents vividly reveals to us that they focus on social problems, particularly on pretentiousness, abuses of t~chnological discoveries and corruption. Most of the poets capitalize on the identity crisis and the pretentious behaViour of the youth, especially of the overseas educated. Some of the poets even go beyond the issues of their own country and attempt to touch on international issues. Further scrutiny shows us the frequent utilization of irony. Moreover the tones that are employed ia most of the satirical pieces are serious and only some of them humorous
The Effects of Teachers' Oral Error Treatment on Students' Behaviour in Error Correction: 10+3 in Focus
(Addis Ababa University, 2009-06) Bogale, Mengesha; Beriso, Ltalo (PhD)
The main purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of teachers' oral error treatment (supportive oral error feedback) on students' behaviour in error correction in the EFL classroom. Of this, the study tries to explore the types of oral errors students made frequently in their attempt to speak in the class. In addition, this study attempts to find out the extent of supportive oral feedback (clues) teachers provided to students following their oral errors that enabled them to correct the errors themselves. An al/empt is also made to identify the effects of teachers' oral error treatment (supportive oral error feedback) on students' behaviour in error correction. To meet the objectives above, three 10+3 English language teachers and their students at General Wingate TVET College were recorded and observed while teaching and learning respectively. Completing the transcription of the recorded lessons, the types of students' oral errors were identified based on Dulay et al. (1982) categOlY of errors. The supportive oral feedback (clues) provided to students following their oral errors were found out based on Harmer (2001), and Richards and Lockhart (1994) oral feedback strategies. The effects of teachers' oral error treatment (supportive oral error feedback) on students' behaviour in error correction were also identified using questionnaire and interview for students, and teachers ' questionnaire. The results show that 102 oral errors were committed by learners and grouped under-I3 categories. Of these, errors in agreement (15.69%) are the most frequent ones. In addition, teachers provided supportive oral error feedback (clues) to students that enabled them to correct the errors themselves using repetition, statement and question which all account for 1.42% or 11 clues out of 775 number of each oral feedback used in their classes. On the provision of 2 of these supportive oral error feedback (clues) to students, only 1.96% (2) of the errors out of 102 were se!f.treated by learners themselves. As the interview ( all 4 interviewees) and questionnaire for students (79.25%) , and questionnaire for teachers ( 2 out of 3) results show, provision of teachers' supportive oral feedback (clues) to students following their oral errors had positive (encouraging) effects on students' behaviour in error correction Finally, EFL teachers are highly recommended to provide supportive oral feedback (clues) to students following their errors that enable them to correct the errors themselves rather than correcting them directly.
Exploring the Attitudes of Grade Ten Students and Their English Language Teachers Towards Group Work
(Addis Ababa University, 2009-06) Getnet, Melkam; Beriso, Ltalo (PhD)
The main purpose of the study was to explore the attitudes of grade ten students and their English language teachers towards group work in Entoto Amba Secondary School in Addis Ababa. Because of shortage of time, the study was restricted to 150 students and seven English language teachers at grade ten level. An attempt was made to identify students' attitudes towards group work, find out grade ten English language teachers' attitudes towards group work, to assess the status of group work as a mode of classroom interaction in EFL classes, and to raise the awareness of English language teachers and other researchers about the role of group work in EFL classes. To do this, the data were collected through classroom observation, interviews and questionnaires. To get the necessmy data, classroom observation checklist, two seven-item interview questions- one for teachers and the other for students, two twenty-item questionnaires- one for teachers and the other for students were designed and used. To avoid or minimize data contamination, classroom observation was made first, and then interviews were conducted and lastly questionnaires were distributed to the subjects. The data obtained were then analyzed and discussed using percentages and means obtained from computations. The results reveal that both grade ten students and their English language teachers have mildly positive attitudes towards group work. It was recommended that English language teachers should be given additional training on how to effectively use group work.
Investigating Methods of Training for Developing Students' Skills for Academic Oral Work: Focus on Social Science Students -- Addis Ababa University
(Addis Ababa University, 1998-05) Disasa, Mekonnen; Michael, Haile (PhD)
This study investigated methods of training second year students in the College of Social Sciences, Addis Ababa Uni versity, for academic oral work. The main objective of the investigation was how to help the students activate their already existing linguistic resources so that they could reduce their foreign language speech--related anxiety in order for them to build the contidence to improve the level of their oral performance in academic contexts. Teaching methods and techniques relevant to the development of oral competence were extracted from the literature on current foreign/second teaching. These were used as the basis for the design of new course materials for the study. The materials were taught to an experimental group of students which was contrasted with a control group. The effects of the new training on the students oral performance were examined through: (a) the trainees' reactions to the training, (b) two simulated academic oral presentations by experimental and control groups of students and (c) assessment of the confidence demonstrated by the two study groups at the end of the training. It was found that the training was positively evaluated by the trainees. The result of Oral Presentation I (pre-training) showed the two study groups were performing at the same level of oral intelligibility , while the resu lt of Oral Presentation 2 (post-training) indicated the experimental group was, on the whole, better in its oral intelligibility than the control group. The assessment of the confidence demonstrated by the study groups at the end of the training revea led there were more confident students in the experimental group than in the control group. Thus, it was concluded that the new training positively contributed to academically relevant, better oral performance by tbe trainees. This was not found to be true in the case of the control group of students who were not exposed to the same training. Based on this conclusion and other findings of the research, recommendations were made.
A Comparative Study of Regular and Evening Students' Anxiety in Spoken English Class: Bole Community School in Focus
(Addis Ababa University, 2009-06) Demissie, Lemma; Lemu, Geremew (PhD)
The Practice of 'Repair' During Conversational Discourse in EFL Classes
(Addis Ababa University, 2009-06) Getachew, Anteneh; Mohammed, Nuru (PhD)
The main aim of Ihis slUdy is to investigale Ihe practice of repair during conversational discourse in a foreign language classroom. Thus, il is mea11l to assess the nature of repair and repair-initiation patterns practiced during conversalional discourse in EFL classes, see the extent to which students and teachers use repair-initiation strategies during S-S and T-S interactions respectively, examine where the repair-initiations occur with reference to the trouble-source (I'S) in the observed palterns, find out the most fi'equent repair and repairinitial ion strategies used during classroom conversational discourse. The main subjects of the study were first year English major students taking the course Communicative English Skills-II and their teacher. Eight lessons recordings were made, fi'om all four sections students, fi'om whichfour lessons were transcribedfor analysis. The analysis of the transcribed data shows that all of the four repair initiation patterns were used during conversational discourse in EFL classes except a variation in frequency of use. In addition, the qua11litative analysis reveals that both slUdents and teachers play repair-initiation roles in S-S and T-S interactions respectively fi'om which other-initiation stralegy is more fi'equently used than self-initiation. Moreover, other initiated self repair pattern is most fi'equently used during conversational discourse in EFL classes. Along with this, concerning the position where repair-initiations occur in the observed patterns, in self initiated patterns the repair-initiations mostly occur in same turn; whereas in other initiated repair patterns the repair-initiations fi'equently occur in next turn immediately after the trouble-source. Finally, the thesis concludes by considering the implications of the .findings forfurther researches as to why other repair-initiation mechanism is highly apparent as well as other initiated self repair pal/ern is most fi'equently occur during conversational discourse in EFL classes. So, the study recommends EFL teachers to conduct CA researches in their classrooms to see the meaning negotiation strategies, in light with the practice of repair, and thereby 10 get feed back for remedial works and enhance students ' communicative competence.
A Stylistic Analysis of the Andemta of the Four Gospels-Mathew's in Focus
(Addis Ababa University, 2009) Belay, Zewdu; Rao, A.Subba (Prof.)
A Term Paper for the Course Development Finance (Rlds 652
(Addis Ababa University, 2003-05) Negash, Yakum; Rao, Rajeswar (PhD)
The Attitudes Of Grade Seven and Eight English Teachers Towards English By Tv . Prorrammes
(Addis Ababa University, 1990-06) Tepelde, Yacob; Despatie, Gerard (PhD)
The purpose of this study is to find out whether the English teachers of grade 7 ane R of Addis Ababa government Elementary and Junior High Schools have a positive or negative attitude to\<.rards the English by TV. nrogrammes entitled Let ' s Learn Enqlish and English for You. To achieve this aims , questionnaires and observations were used. The auestionnaires preparedweee qiven out before hand to ?O teachers of 10 schools of the five zones . That is, 2 teachers from each school . Then the researcher distributed 119 actual auestionnaires to 119 teachers of 35 Elementary and Junior High Schools. 116 teachers responded to the questionnaires . That is , 49 responses of grade 7 teachers, 55 responses of grade R teachers and 12 responses of both grade level teachers were collected. The researcher made also 72 observations in one ~rade 7 and one qrade 8 from each of the four schools selected. Eight of the classes observed are : from Del Betegel, Mene lik II, Biherawi Betemenghist and ~le skerem 2 . The researcher, besides his personal observation in actual lesson transmissions inside classrooms has also recorded the eiaht classes of the four schools on a video tape.The t eachers response were tallied and percentaqe and !'lean scores have been calculated to investigate the teachers' attituoe towards the Enqlish by TV , programme. The analysis of the result shovl that , nearly 75% of the teachers showed a favourable attitude towards the Enqlish by TV. programme. The approval ratinq were hiaher for teacher ' s guide, proqramme, note·-taking, answer and question , native speakers, methodoloay , sonqs ana topics. On the other hand, drill , timing and preparation, showed a value below the anproval r ating. On the whole , through the findinqs of the observation and the questionnaire the teachers showed a positive attitude tOWa r0S the content a nd methodology of the EngHsh by TV. progrnmme. The findinqs showed also students qain from the programme. However, SO!'le shortcomings were observed and the r esearcher suqaested poirlts for improvements.
An Exploration of the Adequacy of Teaching Listening Skill: Grade Eight in Focus
(Addis Ababa University, 2009-06) Chegen, Tigist; Gezahegn, Girma (PhD)
The main objective of this study was to assess the adequacy of teaching listening in grade eight English lessons. To obtain the information required, the listening sections of the textbook for Grade eight were evaluated based on the criteria suggested by scholars. To elicit additional information, a questionnaire was administered for all Grade eight English language teachers in Mekdela, Sibste Negasi and Mekanisa Akababi primary schools. Besides, six classroom observations were conducted to get some insight on how the teaching of listening is implemented at classroom level and an interview was conducted with three teachers and twelve students to cross check the data that were collected through questionnaire and classroom observations. The data obtained were analyzed through qualitative and quantitative means. A qualitative analysis was carried on the information obtained from the textbook analysis, the open-ended questionnaire for the teachers, classroom observations and the interview with teachers and students. A quantitative analysis was made on teachers' responses to the close-ended questionnaire items. The analysis showed that there arc no adequate listening texts and activities in Grade eight course books. In addition, teachers do not prepare their own listening texts and activities to help students become skillful listeners. The listening activitie.:; in the course book are suitable and require students to understand the main idea. Teachers encourage students to attempt the listening tasks without putting too much emphasis on the quality of their responses. Moreover, visual aids, and recorded materials are not used for teaching listening in classrooms. Accordingly, . recommendations were forwarded to design appropriate teaching material that aimed at a balanced language skills as well as to create awareness upon teachers concerning the vitality of the teaching of listening in primary schools in general and in Grade eight in particular.
An Evaluation of the Speaking Activities in the Students' Spoken English Module: A Case at Dessie College of Teacher Education Linear 2nd Year English Language Program Students in Focus
(Addis Ababa University, 2009-06) Bezabih, Tesfaye; Kassaye, Mekasha (PhD)
The study was mainly intended to assess to what extent the speaking activities in the spoken module of Desse College of Teacher Education (DCTE) are appropriately designed with respect to addressing the learners' interests and how far they meet the major speaking task designing criteria. Pertaining to the study itself, assessing the attitudes of teachers and students towards the activities, assessing the motivational values of the activities, assessing the techn iques, methods and presentation used in the speaking tasks and fina lly assessing the organization of the tasks were examined. Content analysis was used as a major instrument to obtain information regarding how appropriate and suitable the speaking tasks (activities) for the trainees to participate on and how they meet their interests being as prospective teachers. The questionnaire and interview developed and used to measure the attitudes of the students and teachers towards the speaking activities (tasks) which are portrayed in the trainees 'spoken module. The findings of the study indicated that the inappropriateness of the speaking activities in the trainees' module in eliciting students' oral participation was taken as a fa ctor that hamper pair/group work in the classroom. The findings also showed, the absence of varied, interesting, real world, relevant activities to the needs and interests of the trainees in their spoken module. Along with this, the findings indicated that the inability of the speaking activities in promoting genuine communicative interaction among students by using various forms of classroom organization. Besides, the findings disclosed that the activities in the trainees' module have low motivational values and are not able to be integrated with the other skills except writing. In addition, the absence of supplementary materials like language laboratory, audio visual teaching aids, etc hindered trainees spoken ability. Not giving considerable attention to the structural syllabus which focused on the English sound system like segmental and superasegmental featu res and merely focusing on the functional syllabus were also the other findings which were manifested in the research. Considered vis-a-vis these and other findings on the suitability of the speaking tasks (activities) in addressing students interests, the parallel effect of the approach ill the module in not incorporating many activities, and the absence of practice session of the activities, which do not allow learners' to communicate and cooperate in groups brought an ample problem in students spoken language proficiency. Therefore, the study recommended that when course materials are prepared, addressing the growing needs of students to become proficient in speaking English by giving due emphasis to what students require to participate orally in speaking activities often presented in group or pair modes of learning should be considered. It is also noted that the program (syllabus) to be prepared ought to take in hand the question of methodology, too. It should enable the learners and the teachers to use pair and group work, simulations, games and dramas. Besides, the study recommends that continuous course material adaptation based on the appropriateness of the activities for communicative goals should be practiced on the speaking tasks.
Feedback in the EFL Classroom: An Exploration of its Role in the Communication of Teacher Expectations.
(2000-06) Mohammed, Nuru; Johnson, Keith(Prof.)
This study examines teacher feedback practice in a foreign language classroom in relation to the proposition in the field of general education that teacher differential expectations for students' performance may be expressed in differential treatment toward students. More specifically, the purpose of this research is to explore whether ( I) the teacher provides different feedback to students whom he perceives as high and low achievers and, (2) differences can be attributed to differential teacher expectations. It also investigates whether (3) students perceive any difference in the ways the teacher works with high and low achievers as regards the provision of feedback and (4) the teacher sees his own treatment of high and low expectation students as being different. The analysis of observational data collected on a teacher's classroom feedback behaviour revealed great quantitative differences in the feedback received by hi gh and low expectation students on their successful and unsuccessful performances. Further analysis suggested that many of the differences are attributable to differences in performance among students although there were also several other differences (e.g. those that relate to the teacher's use of praise and failure to give feedback) that are interpretable as evidence of differential teacher treatment. In addition, the likelihood of the teacher's use of certain types of feedback (e. g. repetition and explanation of a correct answer) tended to vary with the expectation group membership of students. As regards the students' and the teacher's perceptions, both parties demonstrated a considerable degree of sensitivity to differential treatment of high and low achievers.
Teacher-initiated Learner Self-correction Strategy of Academic Writing: Wollega University in Focus
(Addis Ababa University, 2009-05) Teshome, Getachew; Kebede, Seime (PhD)
The major objective of this study was to investigate teacher -initiated learner selfcorrecting ability in written composition of third year EFL students at Wollega University taking the course Advanced Composition. Specifically, the study aimed at finding out the extent to which the students can self-correct their written errors, the strategies they use to process and handle the teacher's written feedback and revise their texts, areas of ease and difficulty for them to self-correct, and their general attitude to the technique. To achieve these objectives, the necessary data were collected through compos ition writing tasks, student questionnaire and teacher interview. The students (No. 25) i.e. 100% were made to write four compositions (two original ve rsions and two self-corrections or revisions). Finally they filled in a questionnaire and their instructor was interviewed. The result of the essay writing revealed that the students successfully selfcorrected their composition errors. That is from a total of 1155 errors recorded prefeedback on both sessions writing tasks, they managed to significantly reduce these to 475 errors self-correcting 680 errors or 58.9% of the errors. This implies that self-correction and rewriting are worthwhile approaches to written error correction. Moreover, it was revealed that the students attended to most (93%) of the teacher's comments and suggestions in self-correcting and rewriting. The result of student questionnaire similarly disclosed that they mostly used internal resources like reading the feedback over and over and contextual clues to process and understand the teacher's comments. They also reported having good initiation and motivation for self-correction and revision. The teacher also noted that he used teacher correction sometimes, peer correction most frequently and self correction rarely. Finally, it was concluded that self-correction is an indispensable means of dealing with written errors and promoting writing autonomy in EFL classes. However, in order to deal with or overcome the limitations of the technique, proper training and conscious-raising on its benefits and procedures are essential for the students and teachers alike. Teachers are also advised to draw on different cO/Tection techniques (peer-con·ection, etc), depending on the nature of the activities and other s ituations, giving self-con·ection the first place in their minds.
A Practitioner •Inquiry into Pre-Service Efl Reflective Practicum of Haramaya University: A Condition of Inability to Reflect and Determinants of Effective Reflection
(Addis Ababa University, 2009-06) Tadesse, Dereje; Banteyerga, Hailom (PhD)
The thrust of this study was experiential observatioll of pre-service EFL student teachers' inability to reflect in/on their practices at Haramaya University practicum context. The overall aim of the study was to, firstly, critically analyze the problem in its context with the intention to understand the facts of the situation of the problem and, secondly, make an mqUIry into ways for maximizing the student teachers' ability to reflect in their context. A qualitative paradigm and practitioner inquiry design were adopted. Grounded Theory Method of data analysis was employed to systematically thematize, categorize and discover patterns and processes in the data. Ten student teachers, as respondents and practitioners, as well as four of their teacher educators, as informants, were selected by means of purposeful sampling, to take part in the study. Participant observation methods that involve unobtrusive observation, complete classroom observation, unstructured interview reflective journaling and discussions and practicum document gathering were used to collect qualitative data. The findings of the Contextual Analysis showed that the core factor for the EFL student teachers' inability to reflect is mainly their lack of effective reflection tools for reflectionforlon/ about-actions and lack of effective time for reflection-in-action. The data suggests that, consequently, the central strategy of reflective practice they adopted was overdependence on and replication of the existing school syllabi without critical reflection. Based on these Contextual Analysis findings an Inquiry was next conducted, whereby participant student teachers were engaged on reflective journaling for two semesters. The findings of the Inquiry showed significant levels of improvement in their ability to reflect for/in/on action. For instance, the data analysis showed that they steadily began to reduce non-reflective behaviors sllch as over-advocating own actions, protectionism of self and peers, and exchange of distorted information, each of which initially blocked reflectivity. Gradually, they began to take such reflective actions as reflective observation of pupils' behaviors, reflective planning of lessons and actions,reflective classroom acts such as appreciative judgments of pupils' behavior, revision of some taken for granted assumptions, promotion of sharing of information in classrooms and effective time management. Yet, some non-reflectivity behaviors such as context dilemma continued to persist due to influence of macro factors. All the domains of EFL reflective skills- Engli sh, teaching and inquiry- improved. From the findings, a conclusion has been reached that the student teachers' inability to effectively reflect related to their lack of effective reflection tools and control over lesson times and materials. By providing these conditions, student teachers' potential to effectively reflect and reconstruct new skills and knowledge from their experience can be prompted. Studies on conditions for cross-institutional and interdi sciplinary practitioners' reflection are suggested as a major further area to be researched.
Efl Teachers' Treatment of Students'oral Errors in Efl Classrooms: Shambu Senior Secondaryand Prepa Ratory School (Grade 9 in Focus)
(Addis Ababa University, 2009-06) Bekana, Birhanu; Mohammed, Nuru (PhD)
An Analysis of Literary Techniques in Some of the Prose Works of Ethiopian Women Authoresses
(Addis Ababa University, 1995-05) Worku, Assefa; Worku, Assefa (PhD)
The purpose of this study is to introduce and analyse the literary techniques of some of the prose works o f Ethiopian women authoresses. As discussed in the introduction, literary studies and comments both by Ethiopian and foreign scholars about the fictional works of Ethiopian women authoresses that appeared thus far to the public are very scanty and fragmentary. Hence, the need for introducing and examining some of the prose works of women authoresses arises from this reality. The present study has, therefore, considered the fictional wri tings of twelve authoresses for critical discussion. The works of these authoresses have been selected based on three different reasons . The first is the availability of the texts in the three major libraries. These are : the libraries of the AAU, the library of Ministry of Culture and Sports Affairs, and the library of the Addis Ababa administrative region . The second reason is the common and unique cha racteristics of the authoresses in using different kinds o f literary devices ; and tidy the literary genres of the works. Other than the introduction and conclusion sections , the study is di vided i nto three chapters. Included in the introduction were: literary survey and comments which, directly o r indirectly, deal wi th the main concern of the present study. The first chapter focuses on two things. First , it tries to convey the theoretical definitions and explanat i ons of the literary terms : narration and different types of points of view . Secondly , it discusses the outline of seven pre-revolution prose works and analyses some of the narrat i ve methods (including the various points of view) which the authoresses use to unfold the materials of their stories . The texts are examined in the order of their date of publications .Chapter two dwells on the various narrative techniques employed by the post-revolution women authoresses. Although the focus of thi s chapter is to analyse the methods of narration, it has a considerable di fference from the previous one . Apart from dealing with such technical elements as point o f view epistolary and flashback methods , chapter two will also attempt to introduce and e xamine those new narrative techniques (the employment o f telephone conversation, foreshadowing , dream, and a story wi thin story method) which are used only in the works of four post revolution women authoresses. The aim of chapter three, on the other hands, is to cri tically e xamine whether or not the characterization, plot constructions and language of some of the prose works of women authoresses are a ppropriate, consistent, coherent , concise , significant and credible . The summary and conclusion part of the study will provide the summary of the work and also try to point out s ome weaknesses and st r engths of the authores se s under consideration . The contribution of women authoresses to the overall development of modern Amharic literature is also discussed in the last chapter . Lastly , the appendixes present the full texts of the interviews conducted with two "literary techniques" and the social educational, material, family and literary backgrounds of Ethiopian women authoresses
The Relationships Among Motivational Orientations, Learner Autonomy, and Academic Achievement (EFL Learners at Dessie College of Teachers Education in Focus)
(Addis Ababa University, 2009-06) Adem, Ali; Leta, Dejenie (PhD)
This paper examines the relationships among motivational orientations, learner autonomy, and . academic achievement of EFL learners at Dessie College of Teachers Education. Eighty four students completed a questionnaire consisting two scales, namely, motivational orientations scale and learner autonomy scale. The motivational orientations scale was used to get students' responses to three orientations related to motivation: intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation, and amotivation. A learner autonomy scale elicited students' responses on their learner autonomy in learning English. Students' responses on both scales were correlated to determine any possible relationships between the independent variables and the dependent variable. Data were also obtained using interview, focus-group discussions, and open-ended items. Students' academic achievement scores were obtainedfrom the College's Registrar's Office. To describe the data, descriptive statistics such as percentage, mean, maximum and minimum, . and standard deviations were computed. Pearson-Product-Moment correlations and partial correlations were conducted to see whether or not there was a relationship among the variables. In addition, t-tests and ANOVA were used to check whether there were significant differences ill the mean academic achievements between different levels of the trails under discussion. The results from the correlation analysis indicated that there was a statistically significant relationship between the independent variables (motivational orientations and learner autonomy) and the dependent variable (academic achievement). Similarly, significant relationships among the independent variables themselves were found. But, amotivation was found to be negatively correlated with both the independent variables and the dependent variable. The partial correlations held among each independent variable and academic achievement showed that each was positively and significantly correlated with academic achievement except amotivation which is negatively but significantly correlated with academic achievement. Similarly, the results from the analysis oft-test and ANOVA have revealed that there was statistically Significant difference in the students' mean academic achievement score with different levels of the independent variables. Overall, the students found to be more extrinsically than intrinsically oriented as data obtainedfrom the open-ended items, interview, andfocus group discussions show . Based on the findings, suitable interventions like training learners, arranging self-access rooms, redesign of assessment modes and syllabus are recommended.
The Renewal Process of the 2008/9 English as a Foreign Language (EFL) Secondary School Curriculum
(Addis Ababa University, 2020-04) Kebede, Dagne; Hailu, Dr. Alemu
The purpose of this study was to investigate the renewal process of the 2008/9 EFL secondary school curriculum. Qualitative case – study design was employed to guide the overall research with the use of semi – structured interview and document analysis as the data collection tools. An interpretive thematic approach of qualitative data analysis was applied for the purpose of coding, categorization, and generating theme from the collected data. Following this, the findings of the study were presented, analyzed and discussed based on the themes generated from the data analysis. According to the results, the major contextual factors that necessitated the 2008/9 EFL curriculum renewal were: too bulky nature of the curriculum; difficulty of the content for the students; irrelevance of the curriculum contents to learners‟ and society‟s needs; lack of minimum learning competency (MLC) indicators; difficulty in implementing continuous assessment, and the need to align the curriculum with government policies and strategies. The findings of this study also demonstrated that the process of the 2008/9 EFL curriculum development reflected typical characteristics of Tyler's (1949) product/objectives/top-down model since curriculum aims, goals and objectives, curriculum materials and/or contents (including the syllabus and the textbooks), teaching-learning methods, and assessment strategies were all centrally pre-specified by curriculum experts at the MoE. According to the findings, the process of the 2008/9 EFL curriculum renewal was incomprehensive, poorly – planned, and was not data – driven as it overlooked such crucial aspects as extensive evaluation and try – out mechanisms as integral parts of the process. It is also evident in the results that needs analysis had been conducted by curriculum experts at MoE through collecting data from students, teachers, school directors, supervisors and society. The findings further revealed that training of trainers had been organized for teachers selected from the regions at the ministry level though there was no evidence as to whether the trained teachers had disseminated the knowledge and skills they gained to their respective schools. Based on the findings, context – specific recommendations were forwarded towards the improvement of the EFL curriculum development.

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