Language In Secondary Schools Research Articles

Project-Based Learning: The Highlighting Teachers’ Views of Teaching English Language in Secondary Schools

It has been two years since the Ministry of Education and Culture in Indonesia mandated an Emancipated curriculum to foster independent learning after the COVID-19 pandemic. All of the aspects and policies in school need to adapt to the new version of the learning and teaching process. The use of Project-based learning in this era is imperative things which can help students and teachers be more interactive in dealing with global skills. This approach can guide the teachers more easily understand the topic by using projects that relate to their workplace. This research is designed to investigate the teachers' views on practicing project-based learning in classroom activities. This case study used document analysis in the form of a lesson plan to check their understanding of project-based learning. The semi-structured interviews were also held to collect deep data analysis with two teachers at the secondary level who had already implemented project-based learning during the learning process. The findings showed that project-based learning can assist the teacher in developing an engaging and collaborative classroom that supports both the teachers' and students' capacity for critical Thinking. Interestingly, the study revealed that the teachers realized that the challenges in applying Project-based learning might derive from the number of meetings in one project.

The significance of foreign language Geography teaching in the dual language secondary school programmes of the Northern Great Plain region

Dual language education has been present in numerous institutions across the Northern Great Plain region of Hungary. Educational centres across the region have been running dual language programmes in secondary grammar schools and vocational schools for decades. As regional centre and traditional educational hub, Debrecen is also represented by a number of schools offering international programmes. Although recent socioeconomic and education policy changes have forced schools for constant renewal, bilingualism in educational programmes managed to remain popular, partly due to the achievements of foreign language subject teaching. Through the alignment of subject-specific content and the development of language competence, this form of education effectively contributes to the improvement of students’ language skills, shapes their mindset and expands their further education and increases their market value as potential workforce. This study will explore the role and impact of foreign language Geography teaching across the secondary schools of the Northern Great Plain region through the lens of teaching and educational research, by discussing some of the relevant regional findings of a broader PhD dissertation (including school visits, final exam results and a recent nationwide teacher survey). Research findings prove that Geography has been a popular subject choice to be taught in foreign languages: it has been present in the majority of the 15 dual language secondary schools of the region, it has been playing an important role in vocational school programmes and it has been chosen as final exam subject by nearly 1,000 candidates.

Achieving creative collaboration between language teachers and artists

Inspired by academic thinking and practice-based work on creativity and education, and creative approaches in language education, this article is based on outcomes of the project ‘Creating Welcoming Learning Environments: Disseminating Arts-Based Approaches to Including All Learners’, funded by the UK Arts & Humanities Research Council. The project brought together creative artists specializing in filmmaking, drama, crafting, poetry and the spoken word, textiles and music with teachers in the south-west of England, who collaborated on integrating arts-based practices into language teaching, learning and assessment. The focus of the project was to generate new ways of teaching a) children developing English as an Additional Language (EAL) in mainstream primary, secondary and special schools and b) all children in schools where there is a commitment to building an ethos of inclusion and diversity in relation to languages and cultures. The article reports on how co-operative, collaborative workshops were used to bring teachers, creative artists and researchers together in a way which valued everyone’s knowledge and expertise. A thematic analysis of data from evaluation interviews undertaken with the participating teachers is provided and the potential for workshop-based professional development opportunities as a way of achieving creative collaboration in schools is discussed.

Application of Bloom’s Taxonomy of Educational Objectives in Formative and Summative Assessments of Kiswahili Language: A Case of Secondary Schools in Meru District Council

Currently, the educational field emphasizes on the teaching and learning that is competence based. This article examines how Bloom’s Taxonomy is applied in formative and summative assessments of Kiswahili language in secondary schools. The article is guided by Vygotsky’s Cognitive Development Theory. Data were collected through interview, documentary analysis and observation. Kiswahili language teachers were involved in data collection. The findings reveal that in assessment of Kiswahili language, the Lower Order Thinking skills is highly applied in formative assessment while the Higher Order Thinking skills is mostly included in summative assessment. The reason behind this is that many Kiswahili teachers lack enough skills on composing HOTs questions, as well as preparing LOTs and HOTs questions based on competence-based approach. Therefore, Kiswahili teachers need more trainings on Bloom’s Taxonomy application in line with competence-based approach; this could be done through workshops, sharing knowledge between teachers within the school, and interschool cooperation.

The Practical Exploration of Information-based Teaching in Chinese Teaching in Secondary Vocational Schools

Our country's science and technology is more and more developed, information technology is widely used in our life aspects, education is no exception, this for the secondary vocational school language teaching to modernization, closely follow the trend of The Times development is an opportunity, secondary vocational educators should seize the opportunity to realize the reform of vocational teaching. Chinese is the mother tongue of our country and the crystallization of our traditional culture and ancient wisdom. Students must learn it to strengthen their own reserves of Chinese knowledge. Chinese is one of the compulsory cultural courses carried out by schools.

Investigating the Autonomy Orientations and Perceptions of Saudi EFL Teachers

This research aims to explore the autonomy orientation of English language teachers in the western province of Saudi Arabia, home to numerous secondary schools. The study, grounded in Self-Determination Theory (SDT), examines the impact of two primary variables: the teachers' genders and their levels of teaching experience. A cohort of 102 Saudi secondary school language teachers participated in the study, with 10 engaging in a qualitative follow-up. Data were collected via a questionnaire and analyzed using statistical techniques such as t-tests and analysis of variance (ANOVA). The findings indicated that the autonomy orientation among Saudi language teachers was moderate, with female teachers showing more supportive tendencies towards their students. Moreover, the study uncovered a discrepancy between the teachers’ autonomy orientations and their perceptions of the concept, attributing their perceived constraints and roles to the national education system. In light of these findings, the study advocates for pre-service and in-service training programs designed to enable English language teachers to foster an autonomy-supportive environment for their students. Additionally, the study calls for further research to deepen the understanding of English language teachers' autonomy orientations in Saudi Arabia and the interplay between autonomy orientation and teachers’ perceptions of autonomy.

Use of virtual learning environment in teaching Malay language in national secondary schools

Use of virtual learning environment in teaching Malay language in national secondary schools

Reading short stories in a foreign language: Is it as pleasurable as in the L1? Absorption and appreciation of short stories in Dutch secondary school students learning German as a foreign language

Against the background of a decreasing interest in reading among Dutch adolescents, we investigated whether reading short stories in a foreign language other than English (i.e., German) in an educational context, as opposed to reading in the first language leads to less absorbing reading experiences and, related to that, lower appreciation of stories.We collected absorption and appreciation data from 277 learners of German in Grade 10 of Dutch secondary education. Half of them read an originally German short story, whereas the other half read its Dutch translation.Our results indicate that adolescents learning a foreign language in secondary school become less absorbed in foreign language literary texts and that this is related to their lower appreciation of these texts, compared to their first language translations.

Management of professional education focusing on the teaching of the Slovak Language as a Foreign Language in the context of emigration processes

Abstract Society in Slovakia is currently determined by upheavals that are linked to global events. Slovak education is most significantly affected by the war in Ukraine. It is connected with the emigration of foreigners to our territory and the subsequent inclusion of pupils with a different language in primary and secondary schools. Based on this extraordinary situation, there is a need to respond to it flexibly and efficiently. Appropriate management mechanisms based on the principles of school management and educational technology are required with a focus on ensuring adequate preparation of Slovak language teachers for teaching pupils whose mother tongue is other than Slovak. Effective tools for solving the situation has not been created by the Slovak education system. The fulfillment of this challenge is the necessary implementation of an analysis of the high-quality educational needs of teachers and the subsequent implementation of its results for the creation of a suitable educational platform, either as part of undergraduate training or further professional education of teaching staff. The presented study is therefore focused on the description of the theoretical foundations of the term professional education of Slovak language and literature teachers with an emphasis on the teaching of the Slovak language as a foreign language. The results of empirical research identifying and analyzing the educational needs of the concerned teaching staff through adequate research methods are included. At the end of the scientific study, the key determinants of the creation of specific educational programs intended for the education of pupils with a mother tongue other than Slovak will be presented.

Implementation of a community of inquiry in teaching English as a foreign language in secondary schools: A literature review

Garrison, Anderson, and Archer’s community of inquiry (CoI) pedagogical framework for online distance learning is receiving greater attention as the COVID-19 takes place. Primary research concerns the researcher with English as a second language (ESL) instruction and acquisition English as a foreign language (EFL). More specifically, the study looked at 27 EFL-related articles from 133 published between 2011 and 2021 in respected journals that used the framework to teach languages. This study focused on the theoretical and practical applications of the framework in the field of foreign language distance teaching and learning that incorporates the use of information and communication of technology (ICT). It was concluded from the study’s findings that implementing the framework in secondary schools had little impact. Research suggests that the framework can be used in teaching English as foreign language (TEFL) and it is associated with improved language proficiency. Teachers must adapt to the distant learning pedagogical framework and its supporting technology, according to this study. The paper also advocates for further research into how the framework may be applied in secondary school.

A Comparative Glance At Teaching Practice of Mother Tongue Teacher Candidates in Türkiye and United Kingdom

This research aimed to determine how prospective secondary school language teachers conduct their teaching practicum in the United Kingdom and Türkiye. The study was designed using a multiple-case holistic design. Accordingly, data for the research were collected through document analysis and interviews. Data related to the teaching practicum in the Turkish Language Teaching program at Kırşehir Ahi Evran University Faculty of Education in Türkiye were obtained through document analysis. Data regarding the teaching practicum in the Postgraduate Certificate in Education program for secondary English teaching at the University of Reading Faculty of Education in the United Kingdom were obtained through document analysis and interviews with faculty members at the institution. It is evident that while the instructional content of teaching practicums in both nations exhibits substantial similarities, a notable disparity emerges with regard to the temporal extent of the practicum experience afforded to prospective secondary school language educators. As a result, the process of teaching practicums for secondary school language teacher candidates differs between Türkiye and the UK in terms of practicum hours, school diversity, and assessment methods.

За мисията на съвременния български езиковед

The article deals with the role of the contemporary Bulgarian linguist in the complex processes of codification of literary-linguistic norms. The text is linked to the 75th anniversary of the eminent Bulgarian linguist Prof. Vladko Murdarov. The object of the analytical observations in the text are problems related to the codification of literary-language norms, to the curricula and textbooks on Bulgarian language in secondary school; to the notion of language policy, as well as to the issues of the public image of the Bulgarian language in the media space. A brief overview is given of important historical processes that have shaped the development of the Bulgarian language and its science. The author summarizes the important features that every contemporary linguist should possess - depth of linguistic knowledge in synchronous and diachronic terms, a sense of the dynamics of linguistic processes in order to be able to objectively reflect the complex processes of language development, linking them to the complex and dynamic processes of social development.

Perception of Teachers of English Towards Boys in English Lessons in Secondary Schools in Uganda: Implication on Students’ Performance

The study investigated why boys perform poorly in the English language in secondary schools, with a focus on schools in Uganda. The specific objective was: to establish the perception of teachers of English towards boys in English lessons in Uganda. An explanatory case study research design was adopted, and 20 study participants were included in this study. Purposive sampling techniques were used to reach the respondents and the primary data was collected using interview guides, observation checklist and document analysis. Findings revealed that teachers of the English language perceive boys as not cooperative in class; they are stubborn, disturbing, and much disorganised with low interest in the subject. Findings further revealed that some teachers are supportive and accommodative whereas some are cold-hearted towards them. The administrators also said that the performance of boys in the English language has been deteriorating for the last four years since 2018 when it comes to the UCE results. It was recommended that Teachers need to improve their pedagogical approaches in order to interest boys in English Language subjects. Boys need to be trained in better ways in which they can read the English language and be independent thinkers than always following their peers. In addition, Boys in secondary schools need to change their attitude and feeling towards the English language and take it as a serious subject like other subjects. Developing a positive perception and attitude towards the subject will enable them to improve their grades. Further still, boys should not perceive the English language as a subject for only girls because there are male teachers of the English language and doing it perfectly well with ease.

Classroom Management; a Determinant of Effective Teaching and Learning of Languages in Secondary Schools in Ondo State, Nigeria

The study examined the concept of classroom management as a determinant of effect teaching and learning of languages in secondary schools in Ondo State, Nigeria. From the statement of the problem, three purposes were listed leading to the formation of two research questions and two hypotheses. The study adopted descriptive survey research design with a population of principals’ teachers and students in selected secondary schools in Akure South Local Government Area of Ondo State, Nigeria. A sample of two hundred and fifty (255) respondents (5 Principals, 50 teachers and 200 students) were randomly selected to participate in the research process. The collected data were analyzed descriptively and statistically with the use of appropriate statistic package of frequency counts, simple percentages, mean and standard deviation to analyses the research questions and inferential statistic to test the hypotheses. Based on the result of the findings, it was revealed that there is significant influence of classroom management on students’ academic performance. Also, there is significant relationship between the academic performance of language students and effective classroom management. Based on the findings it was concluded that classroom management is very important at all levels of education especially in the primary and secondary schools where high level of students’ attention is needed for effective teaching and learning. Hence, it was recommended that teachers should ensure that they create conducive learning environment for the students to learn and be able to develop a positive attitude towards schooling.

Studying of folk (dialectal) speech in extracurricular work of middle school

The studying of folk (dialectal) speech is important in the school course of the Ukrainian language, especially in rural areas, as it offers an understanding of the specificity of the Ukrainian language in its territorial expression. Awareness of the specificity of the territorial variety of the Ukrainian language will contribute to the manifestation of patriotic feelings of students, the desire to preserve the ethnic (territorial) peculiarity. The relevance of our research is determined by the need to study folk speech in the school course ofthe Ukrainian language. The purpose of the article is to develop the topics of one of the forms of extracurricular work (of a colloquium) on the Ukrainian language for the study of spoken language in secondary school. The research was carried out on the material of the dialects of the villages of Ulashkivtsi and Zabolotivka of the Chortkiv district of the Ternopil region. Research methods. The research was carried out on the main general scientific methods of analysis and synthesis, as well as on linguistic methods – descriptive, structural. With the help of the descriptive method the factual material was summarized. The inventory and systematization of language phenomena was promoted by the structural method. Conclusions. As a result of the insufficient coverage of information from the "Dialectology of the Ukrainian language" in school teaching course of the Ukrainian language, the role of extracurricular work as one of the types of educational work is increasing, the purpose of which is to deepen the information from this course, as well as to explain to schoolchildren the differences between folk (colloquial) words and literal names. Therefore, students must understand the specifics of the manifestation of the territorial variety of the national Ukrainian language. For this purpose, the most optimal form of extracurricular work is a colloquium, during which the teacher will provide information about the types of dialectal phenomena, tell about the origin of the dialecticisms of speech, offer information about the vocabulary of the calendar cycle (middle grades), and explain the phonetic-grammatical regularities of dialectal speech (senior grades).

Methods and Methodology used to Teach English Language in Secondary Schools in Dr. B R Ambedkar Konaseema District, Andhra Pradesh

Communication skills in English have become very essential in this Information and Communication Technology (ICT) revolution era. People who have effective communication skills in English have better opportunities to either receive or disseminate knowledge. Almost entire higher education is being offered only in English and to communicate with people in a highly diversified country like India is once again through English. 
 For most of the students studying in state run schools, the status of oral and written communication skills is poor. The teachers and the students including the educational administrators prefer communicating in their mother tongue than to communicate in English. Much of the time, communication in English is influenced by mother tongue or local dialect in every part of India. The development of communication skills among students can be effectively understood by the materials and methodology of learning and teaching English language, and it is keenly observed from the communication point of view.

Perception of Teachers of English Towards Boys in English Lessons in Secondary Schools in Uganda: Implication on Students’ Performance

The study investigated why boys perform poorly in the English language in secondary schools, with a focus on schools in Uganda. The specific objective was: to establish the perception of teachers of English towards boys in English lessons in Uganda. An explanatory case study research design was adopted, and 20 study participants were included in this study. Purposive sampling techniques were used to reach the respondents and the primary data was collected using interview guides, observation checklist and document analysis. Findings revealed that teachers of the English language perceive boys as not cooperative in class; they are stubborn, disturbing, and much disorganised with low interest in the subject. Findings further revealed that some teachers are supportive and accommodative whereas some are cold-hearted towards them. The administrators also said that the performance of boys in the English language has been deteriorating for the last four years since 2018 when it comes to the UCE results. It was recommended that Teachers need to improve their pedagogical approaches in order to interest boys in English Language subjects. Boys need to be trained in better ways in which they can read the English language and be independent thinkers than always following their peers. In addition, Boys in secondary schools need to change their attitude and feeling towards the English language and take it as a serious subject like other subjects. Developing a positive perception and attitude towards the subject will enable them to improve their grades. Further still, boys should not perceive the English language as a subject for only girls because there are male teachers of the English language and doing it perfectly well with ease.

The usage of teaching proverbs and sayings in English

This article touches upon the topic of teaching English proverbs and sayings in secondary schools. According to the author, in recent years there has been an acute issue of introducing modern methods of teaching foreign languages in secondary schools, their effective use to improve the quality of teaching foreign languages to students, as well as the formation and development of their communicative culture. In fact, teachers sometimes set learning tasks based on the disclosure of specific educational material, and not on the basis of the capabilities and prospects for the development of students. The use of proverbs and sayings as a means of organizing learning is one of the best ways to make the lesson bright, rich, extraordinary, and most importantly exciting for students, which undoubtedly contributes to memorization.

AN APPRAISAL OF THE AVAILABILITY AND USE OF INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS IN TEACHING MODERN AND NIGERIAN LANGUAGES (ENGLISH, IGBO AND YORUBA) IN LAGOS STATE JUNIOR SECONDARY SCHOOLS

This study looked at the appraisal of the availability and utilization of instructional materials for teaching of English and Nigerian indigenous languages (Igbo, Hausa, and Yoruba) in Nigeria junior secondary schools. The Scope of the research is Lagos State Junior secondary schools. Three Educational districts were used for the Study. The method adopted for the study was descriptive Survey. Two research instruments, teacher’s Questionnaires and observation checklist schedule were used for data collection. The data collected were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Major findings of the study includes; inadequate instructional materials in teaching Nigerian and modern languages in Nigerian junior secondary schools, the available instructional materials were not adequately utilized as a result of inexperienced and ill-trained teachers. The study concluded that there would be appropriate use of instructional materials by modern and Nigerian languages teachers if the government and the stakeholders could provide fund for the needed materials, employ qualified teachers as well as encourage and sponsor on-the-job training of Modern and Nigerian languages teachers.

Teacher professional development during COVID-19 pandemic: Opportunities and challenges

Teacher Professional Development (TPD) is any activities conducted by teachers to upgrade their teaching skills in order to maintain their professionalism. The activities of TPD have recently been greatly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in the termination of almost all TPD activities. The study aimed at investigating TPD among English language secondary school teachers during the COVID-19 pandemic focusing on its opportunities and challenges. Using qualitative approach and descriptive qualitative research design, the study involved four English language teachers at two Secondary Schools in Yogyakarta as the participants. In-depth interviews with these four participants were conducted to achieve the objectives of this study. The findings of the study discovered that mastering the technology, improving the competency in designing online class, improving the competency in class management skill, and building peer collaboration among teachers were all the opportunities experienced by the teachers in conducting TPD activities during the COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, teachers’ lack of digital competency, unstable internet network, limited number of TPD activities, and inadequate support system were the challenges experienced by these teachers in conducting TPD activities during the COVID-19 pandemic. These findings imply that despite the difficult times these English teachers faced during COVID-19 pandemic, they managed to improve their qualities as teachers by maximizing the opportunities of conducting TPD.
 Keywords: Professional, teacher competences, COVID-19 pandemi, Teacher Professional Development, opportunities, challenges