Influence of the instructional process on the teaching and acquisition of listening skills in Kiswahili language in Kenya

Abstract

This study investigated the influence of the instructional process on the teaching and acquisition of listening skills in Kiswahili language. The objectives of this study were: to examine the type of instructional strategies used by secondary school teachers in the teaching of listening skills in Kiswahili language, to determine how the strategies are used in the classroom, to determine how the strategies influence the teaching and acquisition of listening skills and lastly, the study sought to determine challenges teachers experience when selecting these strategies. The study was based on two theories, the theory of Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) as advanced by Widdowson (1978) and the Top-down theory by Mendelsohn (1995). A sample of 13 secondary schools was purposively selected from a total of 41 secondary schools in Wareng‟ district. Thirteen (13) teachers of Kiswahili and 130 Form Two learners of Kiswahili formed the study sample. This study was a descriptive survey since it set out to discover, describe and interpret existing conditions focusing on secondary school teachers of Kiswahili and Form Two learners. The research instruments used to collect data were two sets of interview schedule and an observation schedule. The 13 teachers were interviewed, the 130 learners participated in a Focus Group Discussions while 13 Kiswahili lessons were observed and tape recorded. Tape recording was used as a method of recording data during observation while note taking was used during the focus group discussions and one-on-one interviews. Analyzed data was presented using frequency tables, percentages, graphs and charts. The study revealed that poor teaching strategies used in the teaching of listening is one of the main causes of the poor levels of it‟s‟ acquisition. In view of the findings, this study recommends that teachers of Kiswahili should build into their classrooms listening activities that have as much of the characteristics of real life listening as possible. In particular, there should be a purpose for listening that should be known before the listening activity commences. Secondly, subject heads, school principals and Quality Assurance and Standards Officers should insist on proper planning and objective setting for all lessons. This study suggests that research should be conducted in teacher training institutions to determine the effectiveness of Kiswahili education programs in preparing teachers to teach listening skills. It is hoped that these findings will guide Kiswahili language educators, teacher trainers, curriculum designers and the Kenya National Examination Council (KNEC) in re-examining their views on teaching listening skills. Suggestions and recommendations in this study are potentially significant for teachers of Kiswahili, in that they may indicate changes of teaching behavior that would lead to more desirable classroom outcomes