An Exploration of English Teachers' Language Use During Lessons and the Implications Opportunities Advisor this Has for Students', Language Practice
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Date
2009-06
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
This study was carried out to explore the nature of initiative language used by Grade Ten
Engli sh teachers and the implication it had for students' practice opportunities in the
classroom. Specifically, it was meant to investigate the kinds of eliciting and informative
acts Grade Ten English teachers gave and the extent to which these affected students to
practice the language; and to find out what turn allocation and feedback behaviors they
used with the initi ative acts.
Two Engli sh teachers and their sixty students they were teaching were the subjects of the
study. The subjects were taken from one of the govenm1ent high schools in Addis Ababa.
Transcriptions of audio-taped lessons were the main data used in the study. Data obtained
from students' questionnaire responses, teacher interviews and notes taken from
classroom observations were also used to supplement the main data.
The results of the study showed that teachers ' initiative acts had a great role on students
to practice controlled and discrete language items. In add ition to this, students had only
the chance to provide responses, which were very short and predetermined, so licited by
the teachers. They did not get opportunities to practice the language items in contexts to
discover how the language items or elements work. Therefore, teachers' initiative
utterances did not motivate students to use the language for communication. As far as
teachers' turn allocation behavior was concerned, no consistent behavior was found. The
grammar teacher, for example, had general solicit turn allocation behavior while the
speaking teacher had personal solicit turn allocation behavior. Finally the finding showed
that teachers used their initiative acts more frequently for the purpose of evaluative
feedback behavior than discoursal feedback behavior.
Therefore, it was concluded that the traditional method of language teaching, which is
excessively governed by Initiation (I) by the teacher, followed by a Response (R) from a
pupil and then followed by the Feedback (F) to the pupil 's response (IRF), is still an
influential approach in the school. On the basis of the study, the implementation of a
balanced activi ties approach, which cmmot be a continuation of the current traditional
approach nor should it be a strong form of a communicative approach is recommended.
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An Exploration of English Teachers