Teaching Speaking Skills in English Language using Classroom Activities in Secondary School Level in Eldoret Mun icipality, Kenya

Abstract

There is a general public concern in Kenya that maj ority of Form Four school leavers lack communicativ e and linguistic competence and thus cannot sustain conve rsation in English language without occasionally co de switching to Sheng or Kiswahili. This study sought to find out the cla ssroom activities used by teachers to promote learners’ active participation in speaking skills lessons in eight secondary schools in Eldore t Municipality, Kenya. The study was based on Krashen ’s (1985), Monitor Model specifically the input and the affective filter hypotheses which emphasize that le arners acquire target language when they are motiva ted and involved actively in the learning process. The stud y adopted mixed methods design and simple random sa mpling to select schools, students and English language te achers from National, Provincial and District schoo ls. In certain cases, purposive sampling technique was als o used. Data on classroom activities used to teach speaking skills were collected using Questionnaires administ ered to teachers and students, direct observation during speaking skills lessons in Form three classrooms. T he data collected was analyzed using descriptive st atistics. The study found out that: there was variation in u se of classroom activities for example discussion w as the most used classroom activity while oral drill was the le ast used, during classroom discussions, students co de switched to Kiswahili or Sheng due to low oral skills and teachers did not integr ate various classroom activities in one lesson thus denied learners chances of using authen tic language in context. The study recommends that: 1) students should be given chances to practice using authentic English language in context, 2) teachers should integrate various activities in a lesson to meet le arners’ needs and 3) Curriculum to acknowledge lear ners’ cultural backgrounds in order to enhance their lear ning outcomes. This study is useful to language edu cators and teachers of English language.