An Investigation into Teachers’ Knowledge and Practice of Efl Vocabulary Instruction: the Case of Secondary School english Language Teachers in Addis Ababa
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Date
2023-06
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
This dissertation was conducted to investigate secondary school EFL teachers’ knowledge and practice in vocabulary instruction. The study adopted an explanatory research design and employed a mixed-methods research approach. Data for the study was gathered through a questionnaire, a semi-structured interview, classroom observation, and stimulated recall. In doing so, data was collected in two sequential phases. In the first phase, a quantitative technique
(i.e., a questionnaire) was employed in which a questionnaire survey of 106 teachers provided an overview of EFL teachers’ knowledge and practices of vocabulary teaching. In the second phase, qualitative tools such as semi-structured interview, classroom observation, and stimulated recall interview were used and an in-depth study was conducted on eight teachers selected from those who participated in the first phase of data collection. In this study, descriptive statistical analysis was used to find out the frequency and percentage of views among the participants regarding the various issues raised in the questionnaire. Similarly, analysis of qualitative data was displayed in the form of texts, and it involved various phases of data processing, from organizing and pre-analyzing data to transcribing and coding, categorizing codes, and then schematizing the findings. The research findings revealed that teachers held high perceptions toward vocabulary teaching. It is clear from the respondents’ view that vocabulary is central to language and is regarded as an indispensable element in their
instructional processes. This thought was affirmed by participants in both the quantitative and qualitative aspects of the study. The result also revealed that teachers develop their sources of knowledge from experience, their disciplinary background, and apparent-ships of observations.Another noteworthy finding in this study is that teachers’ knowledge was generally consistent with their classroom practices; however, a few inconsistencies were also noticed. At the same
time, a variety of contextual factors, such as students’ lack of ability, their lack of motivation, a lack of resources, a large class size, and teachers’ lack of vocabulary teaching training, impeded the implementation of teachers’ knowledge in practice. It is hoped that the study would contribute to and extends previous research on language teachers’ knowledge and practices. The implications of this research should benefit future EFL teachers of vocabulary and open doors to further research in the area.
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EFL teachers’ knowledge