Browsing by Author "Kipacha, Ahmadi Hussein"

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    The extent to which the communicative approach is employed in the A-level English teaching in high schools in Tanzania
    (University of Dar es Salaam, 1993) Kipacha, Ahmadi Hussein
    The study aimed at assessing the extent to which the communicative approach is employed in the A-Level English teaching in High Schools in Tanzania. The study focused on the classroom teaching process, it was thus guided by an eclectic model derived from combining Dunkin & Biddle's (1974) model for the study of classroom teaching and some key elements of the techniques and principles in foreign language teaching by Freeman (1986). In addition the study had three hypotheses that had been the source of data collection and analysis. The study was conducted in six high schools found in three regions namely Zanzibar's Urban West, Morogoro and Dar es Salaam. Subjects in this study were 204 and 12 A-Level English students and teachers respectively, and 5 English language practitioners who were purposively selected. Four data collection methods were employed, these were systematic observation, documentation, interviews and questionnaires. The study revealed that there were minimal employment of the basic tenets of the Communicative Approach in the observed classroom English teaching sessions. The study also found that the majority of the A-Level English Teachers were interested to see their students become communicative competent but the study had revealed that there were very little effort in their pedagogical practices that were in line with communicative principles. Three factors were found to block their intentions; these were lack of time, resources, and examination formats. Moreover the study revealed that the urge to pass the final A-Level examination controlled and impelled both teachers and students to focus their attention to the key aspect of the examination contents that occur often. Worse still the large section of the examination contents were incongruent with communicative elements. In light of the findings and conclusion several recommendations were advanced, among them being the need to restructure the current 1982s A-level English syllabus to ensure the section of the communication skills is dominating. The study also recommended the consideration of the in-service course, the modern technology in classroom English teaching, oral works and changes of the examination format to align with communicative goals. Lastly the study indicated the suggestions for further research.