The influence of oral communication styles in the instruction of English Language in Secondary Schools in Elgeyo Marakwet County, Kenya

Abstract

Oral language is the most frequently used medium of communication. It is the primary medium through which classroom discourse takes place. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of oral communication styles in the instruction of English language in secondary schools in Elgeyo Marakwet County. The study was carried out to: examine the teachers’ oral communication strategies in English language classes and how they influence instruction, assess the learners’ oral communication strategies and their influence on the learning of English language, evaluate the different interaction patterns in English language classes and how they influence instruction, establish the language registers used in English language classes and how they influence instruction and finally find out the oral communication challenges experienced during the instruction of English language. The study was based on the interaction hypothesis by Michael Long which offers an explanation how ESL learners can best succeed at learning a target language. Embedded within pragmatism as the research philosophy and the descriptive survey design, the study utilized mixed methods approach to collect and analyze qualitative and quantitative data. It was carried out in secondary schools among form three learners, on the assumption that they are aware of the oral communication strategies and classroom interaction patterns used in their English language classrooms. Simple random sampling was used to select a total of 13 out of 112 schools engaged in the study. Thirteen form three classes randomly selected were observed, thirteen teachers of English language purposefully selected were interviewed and finally 195 students randomly selected from the observed classes filled the student questionnaire. Both qualitative and quantitative data were obtained. Quantitative data was analyzed using descriptive statistics with the help of Statistical Package for Social Sciences and presented in form of frequencies and percentages in tables, figures and brief descriptions. Qualitative data was analyzed thematically and presented in form of narrations derived from the study objectives and variables. It was established that teachers employed: repetition, rephrasing, paraphrasing, checking of understanding; use of simple sentences and corrective feedback. Learners employed: attempting to think in English, fluency oriented, negotiation for meaning, circumlocution and social affective strategies. They did not employ: message reduction, alteration, abandonment and getting the gist strategies; that three interaction patterns occurred in English language classes- teacher-learners, learners-teachers and learner-learners; that the teachers and the learners used non- official forms of English language during classroom interaction; finally, that majority of the learners experienced challenges in understanding certain English words and phrases that their teachers used and difficulty in pronouncing certain English words. The study recommends that teachers should expose learners to a lot of authentic reading materials. This should expose them to the use of the English language in different contexts and also aid in increasing their repertoire of English vocabulary and sentence structures. Finally, teachers should use varied authentic communicative contexts during classroom instruction to provide near native speaker competence. The findings are useful to: teachers of English language, ministry of education officials, publishers and authors of English language text books.