Development of listening and speaking skills in English for grade 6 teachers
Date of Award
8-1-2005
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Master of Education (M. Ed.)
Department
Institute for Educational Development, Karachi
Abstract
This project report presents the processes and the outcomes of the development project which was conducted at A.C. School, Karachi, as a requirement of my Master of Education (M.Ed.) program. The selection and planning of the project was done in three phases. In the first phase, a situation analysis was conducted at the school. As a result, of gaps in the teaching of English and Social Studies emerged. For the teaching of English, a need assessment survey was further conducted. In the second phase, interviews of the teachers and students, both verbally and through questionnaires, were carried out, and observational studies were made in the classroom. In the third phase, based upon observations of the English classes and analysis of information collected, it was discovered that in the teaching and learning of listening and speaking skills, proper methods were not being utilized. Bridging of this gap was selected as the project and Grade 6 selected for its implementation. The project goal that emerged was ‘Development of listening and speaking skills in English for Grade 6 teachers'. The project was planned, and two workshops were conducted on two alternate days. The first workshop was aimed at orientation of the teachers towards the importance and the conceptual understanding of the development of listening and speaking skills. The second workshop was activity-based and designed to educate the teachers on how to plan and implement lesson plans to improve the listening and speaking ability of students. Feedback on what they had learnt in the workshops was obtained through discussions, evaluation forms and questionnaires. On the third day, observation of the teaching by one of the teacher in the classroom was carried out, and some gaps were discovered in her understanding of what had been discussed in the workshops. To fill the gap, the following week; a class was conducted by me to demonstrate how the lessons should be conducted. The day after, the other teacher was observed conducting a class. After the class, both the teachers were provided critical feedback on their teaching style and methods. Finally, based on what they had understood, discussions were held with them on how to conduct lessons through poem and role-play. The teachers were asked to reflect upon and discuss what they had learnt during the project. The outcomes revealed that the teachers' conceptual understanding of the effective use of strategies of story telling, poetry, and role-play increased, they gained confidence, and were able to plan and conduct lessons independently. Similarly, the new approaches were enjoyed by the students and good responses were received from them. Keen interest was shown by the head teacher, and full cooperation was received from her throughout the project, which contributed greatly to its success. Review of the undertaking showed that the development and management of the project was quite successful, and the goal and objectives were achieved.
Recommended Citation
Jabeen, N. (2005). Development of listening and speaking skills in English for grade 6 teachers (Unpublished master's dissertation). Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan.