English Teachers’ Perceptions of the Importance of Essential Components and Early Grade Reading Instruction

Abstract

This study examines English teachers’ perceptions of the importance of essential components and early grade reading instruction: Ethiopian context. To this end, the researchers chose a descriptive research design of quantitative-qualitative approaches. Twenty (20) randomly selected primary schools were the sources of data; 125 primary school English teachers of Hawassa City Administration filled in a questionnaire. Among the twenty schools, two were selected randomly and interviews were conducted with six English teachers of grades one to three (1-3). The quantitative data analysis was done by using software for data analysis (SPSS Version 25.0), descriptive statistics. The data gathered through semi-structured interview were analyzed descriptively in words. The results have shown that participant teachers were not practicing the strategies appropriate for literacy instruction although they have positive perceptions of importance of the critical components of early grade reading instruction. Therefore, it is strongly recommended that teacher preparation programs should reconsider the level of emphasis placed on early grade reading instruction, and practice focused trainings should be given to Ethiopian lower grades English teachers on early grade reading instruction and assessment.