Improving Teaching and Learning in Students with Deficient Language Mastery

Abstract

Language mastery seems no longer be a necessity for communication. In media platforms, speaking and writing do not follow the rules of language for an effective communication. Language mastery becomes a very important concern for educators. The purpose of this study was to find out how to make teaching language mastery as effective as necessary, to determine whether students’ lack of language mastery is imputable to ineffective teaching in classrooms and what teaching strategies could help educators to provide students with the language mastery they need. Three areas were explored: the teaching of the language, the implication of the language teaching in students learning, and the strategies needed to reach students language mastery. This study was conducted in three large high schools in the City of Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The sample (N = 167) was composed of 123 students and 44 volunteer teachers and was based on the non-probability sampling technique known as convenience sampling from students and teachers. The questionnaire was designed based on the literature related to effective language mastery using five-point numerical Likert-type scale. Several findings were of importance. First, students found that the approaches to teaching grammar/grammatical analysis led to consistent mastery of the language and this strategy was very important while teachers found it less important. Second, students found that the approaches to teaching grammar and grammatical analyses allow them to master the language rapidly while teachers found it not so important. The results of this study may inform educators and policy makers about strategies to implement in classrooms while teaching language mastery. Recommendations for practice are included.