Abstract
Teachers of English in contexts where English is a second language are constantly thinking about their practice. It may be about routine classroom events or an initiative that one wishes to implement but wonders how best to. While solutions to some of these concerns may be found in In-service experiences, literature and study findings, most of the solutions do not consider the context and are majorly prescribed in a one-size-fits-all manner. The situation is not helped by in-service opportunities that are organized to avail 'new' knowledge which facilitators feel teachers lack. This is exacerbated by the lack of follow-up support that teachers may require when implementing the new ideas in their classes. However, this need not be so as demonstrated by literature and studies which reveal that teachers can learn from their practice and in their context by identifying the challenging area and working alone or with colleagues. Action Research (AR) is one method that has been indicated for a number of reasons. Its key attribute is that it allows teachers to engage in collaborative actions that will lead to their understanding of practice while at the same time developing themselves professionally. This positional paper will make a case for AR as a solution to the challenges that face language instruction in the Kenyan ESL context. The paper will also briefly point out the thorny issue of ethical considerations in researching one's practice. The authors consider this an invitation to debate on how teachers can navigate ethical issues in the Kenyan ESL context.
Highlights
Teaching at any level is a dynamic job requiring the educator to constantly engage their thinking in an effort to make the educational experiences valuable to the learners and at the same time, improve their practice
It is in consideration of these views that this paper proposes action research as the panacea for the challenges in the teaching of English in an English as a Second Language (ESL) context
The teaching of English as a Second Language (ESL) in Africa, just like in other continents where English is not the first language, presents a number of challenges some of which are context specific and that have to be navigated if learners have to acquire the English language skills effectively
Summary
Teaching at any level is a dynamic job requiring the educator to constantly engage their thinking in an effort to make the educational experiences valuable to the learners and at the same time, improve their practice. The governments of African countries have made efforts to ensure continuous teacher learning through off-site and on-site training in the form of workshops, seminars and induction programs These efforts may have been informed by studies like Verspoor (2004) and UNESCO (2005) that revealed that effective teachers are a key enabling factor for the realization of quality education in both more-and less-developing countries. Current thinking in the area of teacher learning concurs with the view that teachers learn best through inquiry based and self-directed activities, coupled with a commitment to working with colleagues in the process of designing learning and assessment procedures (Day, 1999; Darling-Hammond, 2000; Jarvis, Holford & Griffin, 2003) Supporting this view, Stronge (2002) and Nias (1992) cited in Stoll and Fink (1996) argues strongly that teachers have a fundamental role in their own learning: that of eliciting information, providing constructive criticism and accepting feedback. This is because ESL instruction is facing increasing challenges and the teacher of English has to find ways of understanding their profession and solving the challenges, alone or with others
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