Abstract-The communicative language teaching (CLT) approach emphasizes the change in the role of the teacher from a transmitter of knowledge to a facilitator of language learning. Teachers must therefore, develop and utilize teaching strategies that enable learners to freely interact in a classroom environment to enhance the required communicative competences. However, in the Ugandan context where the curriculum is examination-driven, teacher competence is judged on the basis of students' excellence in the final examinations. As such, teachers tend to focus on producing better grades, thereby neglecting learners' acquisition of vital communicative competences. This paper spells out the teaching strategies teachers of German use to create a supportive environment for communicative language teaching and learning. A cross sectional survey research design was used in the study. Questionnaires, observations, and semi-structured interviews were used to gather data on teachers' experiences regarding the teaching strategies used to support CLT approach. Findings revealed that the teaching strategies utilised by the teachers of German had very little bearing on the CLT approach. For instance, the classroom environment did not encourage free interaction among learners as required by the CLT approach. It was recommended that teachers be introduced to teaching strategies that are relevant to the CLT approach during their pre-and in-service training.

Writing is one of the four language skills. Writing plays a big role in helping individuals clarify their thoughts, to the nation for storing information and in the academic world for taking notes and expressing logical arguments. Unfortunately, society still complains that school leavers do not know how to write indicating that either they were not taught writing or that the classroom environments where they were taught were not adequate enough to prepare them for the kind of writing they would need after school. This paper explores the influence of classroom environments on the teaching and learning of writing in secondary schools. Using a qualitative multiple case study design, we collected data from three schools through lesson observation and interviewing teachers and learners. Data were analyzed according to the emerging themes which were; classroom displays, lighting, and air. Findings portrayed that there were different teaching and learning environments but the success of writing instruction depended on how teachers modified the classroom environments to suit the different topics they were teaching. Therefore, there is a need to maximize the classroom environments to enhance writing instruction and learning.

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Mastery of writing is important for ones’ success in life and instructional materials are used to support this mastery. The purpose of this study was to describe how instructional materials contribute to learners’ mastery of writing. The research question was; “How does the type and manner of use of instructional materials support learners’ mastery of writing?” This study followed a qualitative multiple case study design. Data was collected from three schools. Seven teachers and twenty one students were purposively selected from the schools to participate in the study. Data was collected using interviews, focus group discussions and documentary analysis. Findings portrayed that although participants were aware of the support other materials like textbooks and technology give to writing mastery, due to certain constraints, the most common materials used were examination past papers. We therefore recommend that the policy makers and other stakeholders provide an environment that supports the use of other types of instructional resources to support writing mastery.

The Education Quarterly Reviews is an Open Access publication. It may be read, copied, and distributed free of charge according to the conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. The Asian Institute of Research Education Quarterly Reviews is a peer-reviewed International Journal. The journal covers scholarly articles in the fields of education, linguistics, literature, educational theory, research, and methodologies, curriculum, elementary and secondary education, higher education, foreign language education, teaching and learning, teacher education, education of special groups, and other fields of study related to education. As the journal is Open Access, it ensures high visibility and the increase of citations for all research articles published. The Education Quarterly Reviews aims to facilitate scholarly work on recent theoretical and practical aspects of Education.