Abstract:
eacher effectiveness improves
students’
learning outcome. Therefore, this paper sought
to investigate teacher effectiveness
in the use
of discourse decision making strategies
in English language lessons. The objective
of the study was
to i)
examine the role
of
practicum length on
English language student
teachers’
classroom discourse strategies,
ii) student
teachers’
pedagogical effectiveness
in
the classroom
by comparing their classroom discourse decision making strategies
in the first half
of the practicum (May- July 2014) and
the second half
of the practicum (September- November 2014
). The study adopted mixed methods design, case study method. The
classroom research involved two student teachers
of English from a Public University and a Public Diploma Teachers College who were
on
practicum for one and two terms respectively. Purposive sampling was used
to identify the two teachers who were
on
practicum. The
data was collected using four data generation techniques; observation,
supervisor’s
notes, interviews and tape recording. The data was
transcribed, coded and analyzed descriptively using SPSS computer package and qualitatively basing
on
the emergi
ng
themes. The
findings include modification
of grammar, balance
in the use
of convergent and divergent questions, improvement
in wait time,
improved student participation and collaborative learning. The findings have policy implication
in English
language teaching field and
stakeholders including pre-service teachers, teachers
of English language, language educators and curriculum designers
