Learner Centred Teaching Techniques and Students’ Engagement in English Subject in Public Secondary Schools in Musha Sector, Rwamagana District, Rwanda

Abstract

Pioneers of learner centred pedagogy believe that learner centred teaching techniques play a significant role in students’ engagement. In countries, where English is taught as a second language, this pedagogy is paramount to making English language classes engaging and impactful. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the influence of learner-centred teaching techniques has on students’ classroom engagement in English language subject in Rwamagana district, Rwanda. The study used both descriptive and correlational research design. For data collection, questionnaires, focus group discussion and interview guide were used. In addition to simple random sampling, this study used purpose and stratified sampling techniques. The target population of this study was 318 people corresponding to the sample size of 187 respondents by using Yamane formula. To analyze quantitative data, IBM SPSS software version 26 was used and thematic analysis was used to analyze qualitative data. The findings revealed that learner-centred teaching techniques in English language subject are able to influence the students’ classroom engagement at the level of 77.6% and the remaining 22.4% can be attributed to other variables as indicated by the R square of 0.776. Additionally, the study revealed that there is a statistically significance high degree of positive relationship between learner-centred teaching techniques and students’ classroom engagement in English language subject with P-value = .000 which is less than .01 as the level of significance and Pearson coefficient of correlation r=.861. The study concludes that the effective implementation of learners centered teaching techniques influences the level of students’ engagement in English language subject. The research recommends that school head teachers make regular supervision about teaching activities to enhance the level of students’ classroom engagement by promoting the use of learners centered teaching technique. The study suggests that the further research can establish the influence of learner centered teaching techniques on students’ academic performance in Rwanda. Keywords: Learner centred teaching techinques, Learner centred approach, students’ classroom engagement.