Browsing by Author "Lema, Benedictor Phanuel"

Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    An investigation of Approaches and Stratrategies in Learning English Phonemes in Tanzania Primary Schools
    (University of Dar es Salaam, 2017) Lema, Benedictor Phanuel
    Learning approaches and strategies are important determinants of knowledge acquisition. This study investigated approaches and strategies that pupils in Tanzania primary schools use to learn English phonemes. Two primary schools in Temeke Municipality were studied; one Kiswahili medium and the other English medium. Data was collected through classroom observation, interviews, documentary review and an achievement test administered to 60 standard two pupils. Quantitative data analysis was aided by the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) , Version 18 and Microsoft Excel ; while qualitative data were analyzed thematically after transcription, sorting and organization. The study was collectively informed by the Krashe’s. theory of second language learning and acquisition, the Gudschinsky method and the Multi-Strategy method advanced by Fraclas and Stringer (1987). The findings reveal that pupils in the Kiswahili medium primary school mostly use holistic approaches and strategies to learn English phonemes while those in the English medium primary school use both holistic and analytical approaches and strategies. The overall pupils performance indicates that between 56.0% and 67.0% of the pupils demonstrated mastery of the tested abilities, on the one hand. On the other hand, a comparative analysis faavours a combination of the two approaches as the most effective approach to learn English phonemes in Tanzania primary schools. Based on the performance indicators, 67.0% of the pupils 29.3% for Kiswahili and 37.7% for English medium) could correctly recognize and articulate familiar English phonemes , but the Kiswahili medium school pupils did relatively better on the ability to recognize and articulate ‘o’ as /or/ / (32.8% against 32.2%. likewise, 62.0% of the pupils (30.0%) for Kiswahili and 32.0% for English medium) could predict English monophthongs and diphthongs using morphology as a clue. Moreover, 62.6% (28.9% for Kiswahili and 33.7% for English medium) of the pupils and 66.6% (31.7% for Kiswahili and 33.7% for English medium) of the pupils and 66.6% (31.7% for Kiswahili and 34.9% for English medium) could distinguish English phonemes in monography and digraphs. Similarly, some 56.0 % of the pupils (24.7% for Kiswahili and 31.3% for English medium) could recognize and articulate English phonemes consistently . the findings call for the need for Kiswahili and English media primary schools in Tanzania to share experiences with a view to determining the approaches and strategies that would enable pupils learn English phonemes more effectively. Likewise, pupils oral English vocabulary needs to be improved to create a more favourable environment for holistic and analytical approaches.