Classroom interaction: Potential or problem? The case of Karagwe

Abstract

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Classroom Interaction Strategies Employed by English Teachers at Lower Secondary Schools

“…Most of the IRF patterns and display questions required student responses about vocabulary in the text and their understanding of the text. The prevalence of the IRF patterns in lower secondary classrooms is similar to findings of international researchers including Hardman et al (2003), Abd-Kadir & Hardman (2007), Vaish (2008), andWedin (2009). The dominance of teachers' display questions confirms the findings by Rohmah (2002), Tulung (2006), and Arifin (2012).…”

“…Studies which focused on pattern of interaction in Indonesian school settings were very rare but were plenty in non-Indonesian school contexts, for example, Hardman et al, (2003) conducted a study on classroom interaction in England, Abd Kadir & Hardman (2007) and Wedin (2009) in Africa and Vaish (2008) in Singapore. These researchers found that the IRF (Initiation, Response, Feedback) pattern of teacher-student interaction dominated the classroom interaction and limited students' ability to contribute to classroom activities.…”

Reading and Writing Ability in Relation to Home Environment: A Study in Primary Education in Rural Tanzania

“…Writing ability compared to the reading ability component requires more support and guidance through interactive processes involving both learning and teaching (Adams 1990;Heller 1999;Olson 2008). Due to overcrowded classes of up to 100 or more children in primary schools in some areas (DFID, 2009), the teachers use a chanting-like chorusing method to teach reading and writing (Kalafunja and Agu 2002;Wedin 2009). Teachers are unable to use more effective teaching and learning methods such as participatory and discussion methods which require teaching and learning in small, manageable groups.…”

Rethinking teacher preparation and professional development in Africa: an analysis of the curriculum of teacher education in the teaching of early reading and mathematics

“…A childcentred, constructivist approach may not always be appropriate in African classrooms if there is no 'cultural framework' to support this (Vavrus 2008, 306). It may be more productive to consider how to vary more traditional teacher-centred approaches that work with very large groups of very young children in resource-poor classrooms such as group work, paying attention to learners and team teaching (O'Sullivan 2004;Barratt 2007;Nakabugo et al 2007Nakabugo et al , 2008Vavrus 2008;Wedin 2010). They also need to have a set of benchmarks that pupils are expected to achieve in reading by the end of each year.…”

“…They should drill the learners to understand a word before they introduce sentences. (Tutor, Kenya) While drilling might have a place in language teaching, research has shown that it often deteriorates into mindless chanting rather than one of many strategies to encourage fluency and understanding (Bunyi 1999;Opoku-Amankwa 2009;Wedin 2010). However even in a first or national language, drilling was viewed as a key strategy beginning with mastering oral language:…”