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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. |
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