the learners

146 Pages·2017·29.32 MB·English

A STUDY OF THE SYLLABUS OF UNITY PRIVATE
LANGUAGE SCHOOL IN RELATION TO
THE NEED OF THE LEARNERS
BY
MEKASHA KASSAYE
A THESIS PRESENTED TO THE SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES
IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE
DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS IN TEACHING ENGLISH AS
A FOREIGN LANGUAGE (TEFL)
JUNE,1994
ADDIS ABA-Ell.

ABSTRACT
The aim of this research was t o study the English
syllabus of Unity Privet Language School in relation to the
needs of the learners . Prior to the actual study on the
syllabus of this school however a general survey study was
conducted on all private language schools in Addis Ababa.
The learners' target and learning needs were analysed
first in order to describe and assess the syllabus. The
target needs were specified in terms of the four macro-skills
and the most common language activities under each macro
skill. The learning needs were also specified in terms of
the modes of classroom organization, the physical learning
environment, the teaching techniques and methods, teaching
aids and teaching materials, attitude, motivation, and
interest.
Data were then gathered on these variables using
questionnaires (for the teachers and the students),
interviews (for the teachers and the students), and classroom
observation. The classroom observation was particularly
important in order to describe the learning situation of the
school.
The findings from the analysed data reveal that the
;:tudents' purpose of studying English i.1l Unity Private
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Language School is academic or educational. The findings
placed the importance of the four macro-skills in the order
of priority: speaking, listening, writing, and reading. The
students' high interest in pair and group work has also been
found out from the study. But the findings indicate that the
most emphasized item in the classroom lesson is grammar. And
the most frequently used mode of classroom organization is
the whole class.
Viewed vis-a-vis these and other several findings on the
target needs and the learning situations, the syllabus of the
school (the textbook and the supplementary handouts) fails
largely to meet the students' needs. The findings indicate
the students' need to learn the four macro-skills with varied
emphasis. But the syllabus is essentially grammatical. The
students showed interest and motivation in communicative
activities. But the syllabus is basically structural in
approach.
An academic English syllabus, integrating all skills
with variable emphasis, is therefore recommended. This kind
of skills-based syllabus is believed to best suit the target
and the learning situation of the target group. It is also
noted that this syllabus should address the question of
methodology. It should create conducive conditions to use
pair and group work, role plays and dramas in the classrooms .
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I should like to extend my sincere thanks, first and
foremost, to Dr. Gebremedhin Simon, my thesis adviser, who
has real ly done so much for the successful completion of this
work. Both as a colleague and as an adviser, his invaluable
comments and criticisms were of an immense help for me in
every phase of the research.
I am also greatly indebted to Mr. J. D. Atkins for his
essential comments and advice regarding the methodology of
the work. The materials he supplied me with were the most
important sources of information in my research. I deeply
thank Dr. Taddele Adamu and Dr. Hailemichael Aberra for their
constructive suggestions as regards the procedures of the
study.
I should also like to thank all the directors and vice
directors of the private language schools in Addis Ababa
included in this study for they spent their precious time in
giving the data regarding their schools.
My special thanks go to Dr. Fisseha Eshetu, General
Manager of Unity Private Language School, and Ato Taddele
Shibeshi, the Vice Director of the School, for their
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