An Analysis of “Jordan Opportunities” Objectives in the General Secondary Certificate Examination of English: A Case Study in Jordan between 2008 and 2010

Mahmoud Sulaiman Bani Abdelrahman

doi:10.5539/ass.v6n11p72

Abstract

The study aimed at investigating the GSCE through assessing to what extent English Language Teaching Objectives are available in the GSCE in Jordan between 2008 and 2010.This study attempts to answer the following questions:1- To what extent are the English language Teaching objectives realized in the GSCE in Jordan between 2008 and 2010 for each academic year?2- To what extent are the English language Teaching objectives realized in the GSCE in Jordan between 2008 and 2010 for all the three years collectively?The sample of the study consists of all examination papers of the GSCE in English in Jordan between the years 2008 and 2010. For the purpose of the study, the researcher developed a questionnaire that consists of 13 Thirston –type items that were classified under the following categories:1- listening 22- speaking 33- reading 34 - writing 5The questionnaire was prepared in English. The questionnaire was given to a jury of professors, supervisors and teachers of English. The jury’s responses on the questionnaire were analyzed as follows:1- Percentage and frequency in each response category.2- Basic descriptive statistical mean and standard deviation.3- Phi and Cramer’s V for nominal variables (corresponding internal contingency coefficient in case of interval variables) Using the Statistical Package for Social Studies (SPSS) uses the above-mentioned procedure.The study presents the following1- The objectives of listening and speaking are not available in the GSCE completely.2- Two out of three of the reading objectives are available.3- Four out of five of the writing objectives are available in the GSCE.On the basis of the findings, the researcher recommended the following:1- Include speaking and listening exams in the GSCE because of the need to let teachers teach them in classes.2- Vary the questions of reading and writing to cover all the objectives.3- To test what we teach not to teach what we are going to test as the case in most schools.

Highlights

Jordan, a country blessed with diverse human resources, has exerted numerous efforts to improve the quality of its educational system
3- Four out of five of the writing objectives are available in the General Secondary Certificate Examination in Jordan (GSCE)
On the basis of the findings, the researcher recommended the following: 1- Include speaking and listening exams in the GSCE because of the need to let teachers teach them in classes

Summary

Introduction

A country blessed with diverse human resources, has exerted numerous efforts to improve the quality of its educational system. The most significant step in this regard was the first National Conference for Educational. The conference convened to overhaul the Jordanian public system into two stages. Jordan Opportunities is a multi-level course that has been specially designed for Jordanian students learning English in grades 10, 11, and 12. The basic premise of the course is that secondary students learn English best when they are dealing with interesting and meaningful content. Jordan Opportunities 3 for twelfth grade is a two-level course, organized into six topic-based modules. The first level covers learning to learn and modules 1,2 and 3. The second level covers modules 4, 5 and 6

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Conclusion