Date of Award

2023

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Master of Education (MEd)

First Supervisor/Advisor

Jane Rarieya

Second Supervisor/Advisor

Samuel Andema

Department

Institute for Educational Development, East Africa

Abstract

The use of teaching and learning resources by teachers influences the development of the four English language skills. Literature has demonstrated the significance of resources in English classrooms, particularly for English language learners whose first language is not English. In Tanzania, the majority of learners attend public primary schools where the language of instruction is Kiswahili in all subjects except English, and thus the majority of them struggle to achieve the desired level of effective English development even as they progress to secondary school because of their poor English language background. Several factors, including a lack of use of English resources, contribute to learners' low level of English competence. Despite the fact that textbooks are provided in schools, they are still insufficient, leading to poor performance. This study set out to explore ways in which teachers use low-cost no-cost resources to develop learners' English language skills. This study adopted qualitative action research to gain an in-depth understanding of the study. Data was collected using semi-structured interviews, observation, document analysis, and post-lesson discussions. Participants engaged in reflection throughout the study. The study engaged one English teacher who taught year three in primary school, which had two streams with a student population of one hundred and ten in each class. The study established several findings with regards to teachers’ use of low-cost no-cost resources. The study's findings showed that teachers' use of low-cost no-cost resources allows learners to develop their language skills. Furthermore, the more learners interact with the resources while receiving teacher support, the more active and interested they become in learning English. As beneficial as teachers' use of low-cost no-cost resources is in the classroom, there are drawbacks to their use. Thus, educational practitioners should address such challenges by adopting a design thinking culture to effectively set objectives, plan lessons, determine the items to be developed, design and re-des

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