Everything you always wanted to know about PRESETT in Africa

Michael Baffoka Zubeida Desai Michael Etuge Mekasha Kassaye Timothy Oyetunde Eugene Rusekampunzi Eddie Williams

• With David Tombe, Justina Njika, Francisca Akanga, Almaz Baraki

Structure of this session

1. Background

2. Aims of project

3. Country characterisations and PRESETT provision

4. Summaries for primary & secondary PRESETT

5. Themes emerging

6. Language and development

Background

• British Council projects

Low impact, small-scale local

High impact, large-scale, regional and global

• Three English global projects:

Interface, Engaging Teachers and Connect

• Interface = policy dialogue, research and publications

• Why research into PRESETT?

• Six institutions submitted bids, and Eddie and his team of country-based researchers were successful

Background

• Cambridge ESOL mission includes educational research

• Involvement in teacher training and education projects around the world, many of them with British Council

• But lack of detailed understanding of ELT teacher training provision, issues and needs in sub-Saharan Africa

Aims of project

• To describe pre-service education of teachers of English language in Sub-Saharan Africa

• For teaching at primary and secondary level

• Data from: interviews and questionnaires (with staff & students), observation, documentation

• Schedule in 2010 Jan-Feb: Preparation April: Meeting of team in South Africa May: Data collection in Ethiopia, Sudan, Rwanda June: Data collection in Nigeria, Cameroon (3-5 days in each country)

Africa….

Research Team in Cape Town, April 2010:Baffoka, Williams, Etuge, Rusekampunzi, Desai, Kassaye, Oyetunde

Cameroon

• Around 250 indigenous languages

• English and French occupy significant administrative roles.

• Primary education: English medium in the “English” regions; French medium in the “French” regions (with the “non-medium” language taught as a subject).

Note: training for Mother Tongue MOI at Uni Yaounde. First batch MT teachers to graduate in 2011

• Secondary education, as primary

• Universities: both English & French are used

Cameroon: English PRESETT (for Francophones)

• PRIMARY: Courses of 1, 2 or 3 years at TTCs

ELT Modules: Grammar, Vocabulary, Comprehension, Essay Writing and Methodology

TP: 3 weeks each term of each year

• SECONDARY: Courses of 2 or 3 years at University School of Education

ELT Modules: Language & Communication, English Grammar & Usage, Morphology & Lexicology, Teaching and Testing, Research Methodology

TP: 14 weeks final year

Lecture on English at University of Maroua

Making a point!Staff of English Dept at Yaounde University

Ethiopia

• Over 80 languages. Amharic is the official language,

• Primary (8 yrs): about 20 local languages are used as MOI. English taught as a subject.

• Secondary (4 yrs) English is the MOI throughout

• Universities: English is the MOI

Many Ethiopians are devout Orthodox Christians

Private institutions abound in Addis Ababa

Ethiopia: PRESETT

• PRIMARY: 3 yrs at TTCs

ELT Modules: methodology, grammar, and 4 skills (speaking, listening, reading, writing).

TP: Yr 1 & 2: Observation and peer teaching Yr 3: One month

• SECONDARY: University first degree (3 yr BA or BEd) & practical training. 1 yr PG Dip Ed in 2010-11 for BAs.

ELT Courses: grammar, linguistics, the four skills, materials analysis, lesson preparation.

TP: 16 weeks inc observation, peer teaching. Minimum of 12 hours “real” teaching

Note: ongoing changes in PRESETT provision

Trainee students at Addis Ababa University

From the phonetics lecture, Uni of Addis Ababa

Student Graffiti in English, Uni of Addis Ababa

Nigeria

• Over 500 languages. English the official language

• Primary

Years 1-3: MOI is a Nigerian language, with English as subject.

Years 4-6 English the MOI.

• Secondary English is the MOI

NOTE: there is a gap between official educational language policy and reality.

Timothy Oyetunde, Jos University

Nigeria: PRESETT

• PRIMARY: 3 years at Colleges of Education

• ELT topics: English grammar, linguistics, phonology, and language testing.

• TP: a 12 week block

• SECONDARY: 4-year BA in Education or a BEd, with ELT specialization in University Faculties of Education.

• ELT Modules: phonology, methodology, composition, practical grammar and testing.  

• TP: two 6-week blocks in Years 3 & 4

Rwanda

• One Rwandan language, Kinyarwanda. Until 1994 French was the official language. Now being replaced by English.

• The incoming system for education:

• 9 years basic education (6 years primary + 3 yrs “Lower Secondary”) .

(Since 2011: Kinyarwanda MOI Yrs 1 & 2. Yr 3 onwards English is MOI)

• 3 years “Upper Secondary”: English MOI

• University: English and French

NOTE: much ongoing institutional & social change

Shops marked for demolition in Butare

Rwanda: PRESETT

• BASIC: 3 years in TTC. For Lower Secondary teachers 3 yrs in National Colleges of Education as of 2011-12

• ELT Topics: English Grammar and the Teaching of English (4 skills)

• TP: Yr 2 (6 hrs per term) and Yr 3 (2 hrs per week)

• UPPER SECONDARY: 4 yr BA with Education or BEd (Only Kigali Institute of Ed trains secondary)

• ELT Topics: English grammar, Linguistics, and Language Teaching.

• TP: 3-month internship in Year 4

In a TTC Library

TTC Trainee Students

Sudan (South)

• Sudan as a whole has over 130 languages, most in the South

• Primary (8 yrs)

Yrs 1-4 Local language is MOI (English is subject) Yrs 5-8 English is the MOI .

• Secondary (3 yrs) English sole MOI

Arabic often used as MOI in large towns

• University: English sole MOI

NOTE: South Sudan is currently in a period of post-conflict reconstruction

Pre-election campaigns

PRESETT: South Sudan

• PRIMARY: 2 yr Cert in 4 TT Institutions, affiliated to University of Juba

• ELT Topics: grammar, phonetics, vocabulary, & 4 skills.

• TP: 3 weeks in each year. 

• Project (2010-11) Juba Uni to train 1,000 teachers.  

• SECONDARY: 4 year general BEd (+ 1 year for BEd Hons) at College of Education of Juba University

• ELT Modules: grammar, linguistics, the 4 skills, methodology

• TP: A 6 week block

Arapi Teacher Training Institution

Juba University Library

Summary: Primary PRESETTStudents’ views

Course content &delivery Library TeachingPractice Level of English:Incoming students(Staff & EW views)

Course content &delivery

Library TeachingPractice

Level of English:Incoming students(Staff & EW views)

Cameroon

Insufficient methodology

Inadequate Good Very weak

Ethiopia Variable Variable Weak school-TTC cooperation

Very weak

Nigeria Variable Inadequate Generally good Very weakRwanda Relevant.

Veryintensive

Variable. Books not sufficiently used

Very useful Very weak

South Sudan

Variable, intensive

Highly inadequate

Problems of organizing

Very weak

Summary: Secondary PRESETTStudents’ views

Course content &delivery

Library TeachingPractice

Level of English:Incoming students(EW & staff views)

Cameroon

Rigorous on theory. Insufficient practical

Inadequate Useful, but need to coordinate

Weak

Ethiopia Too theoretical Inadequate Useful Very weak

Nigeria Very variable Inadequate Useful Weak

Rwanda Intensive Small but has useful Module handbooks

Very useful Very variable(some Anglophones)

South Sudan

Too theoretical. Insufficient methodology

Lacks relevant books

Very useful Generally weak

Emerging themes: I

1. Very low levels of English proficiency in incoming trainees, especially for primary PreSETT

2. Courses for secondary trainees often regarded as too theoretical (linguistics, formal grammar)

3. Courses for primary trainees are strong on general pedagogy but may not focus sufficiently on ELT

4. PRESETT Delivery: largely through lectures, some seminar groups. Little use of video or IT

5. Widespread satisfaction with TP, although there are some problems of coordination between schools and institutions, and with travel to TP schools

Emerging themes: II

6. High degree of dissatisfaction with trainee student accommodation and food

7. Trainee attitudes are variable:

Very low in Ethiopia especially among secondary trainees, due to selection procedures and poor pay & conditions

In Rwanda and South Sudan more positive attitudes with ELT seen as contributing to nation-building and development

8. Considerable growth of private educational institutions from primary to tertiary in urban areas

ELT and development?

• Development requires three types of capital:

• Economic capital - debt and unfavourable trading conditions hamper much of Africa

• Social capital - corruption, “the politics of the belly” and “big men” who favour family and friends, stifle the sense of civic responsibility

• Human capital - the use of English as MOI is a serious barrier to education especially in government primary schools, since children have very low proficiency in it

The Sudan Case Study

Introduction

• PRESETT in Sudan does not differ from those in the other five sub-Saharan countries in terms of methodology, content and teaching practice.

• This part of the presentation expands points already mentioned

• Highlights specific areas of weaknesses of PRESETT in South Sudan (University of Juba where the present study was conducted)

• The College of Education is one of the first three colleges of University of Juba, established in 1977.

• The programme trains English teachers to teach in secondary schools

• The IELTE programme which is the focus of this presentation is one of the several teacher education programmes run by the college.

• Its present curriculum was introduced in 2000

Brief Background

• Since its establishment, the programme curriculum has undergone several innovations to address the needs and the changes in ELT.

• Despite the various innovations undertaken to improve effectiveness of programme to meet its objectives, the programme has not yet adequately met its objectives.

• This situation has worsened in recent years:

- most student teachers graduate with low proficiency

- inadequate skills and techniques for effective English

language teaching.

Problems

• This case study was conducted parallel to the British Council/ Cambridge ESOL project on PRESETT in Sub-Sahara Africa

• It was aimed to provide in-depth information about the present PRESETT to complement the main study findings

• It was an attempt to objectively find out factors behind ineffectiveness of the programme as reflected in the deteriorating standard of trainees,

The Case Study

This includes:

• Analysis and evaluation of the programme curriculum (content and methodology) based on criteria for an effective IELTE programme,

• Classroom/Training-room observations

• Analysis of views of respondents from field survey (College tutors, trainees, graduates of the programme) gathered through questionnaires and interviews

The Methodology Used

• Ineffectiveness of the programme as demonstrated by low teaching competence and low proficiency are due to the following factors:

1. Admissions Procedure to the Programme• There are no specific admission requirements and

rigorous selection procedures for the current IELTE programme.

• Candidates admitted with low proficiency spend most of their college life grappling with the issue of improving their proficiency rather than developing teaching competence.

Findings

2. Programme Content

• The programme content is not comprehensive and lacks coherence. There is imbalance of the components.

• The content is dominated by Linguistics, Professional Studies and Literature components.

• The Literature component makes up almost half (47%) of the Discipline Studies component of the curriculum.

• It runs throughout the four year duration of the general degree programme and emphasizes all the three genres (i.e. Fiction, Poetry and Drama)

• Literature component of the current curriculum content does not contain any content area that can inform trainees on how to teach Literature.

• The link between the study of Literature in the college for proficiency development, and as a subject matter and a resource for language teaching, and how it is to be used as a resource, as demanded by the school curriculum, is missing.

• Lack of a pedagogical aspect of this component entails that trainees would not use Literature effectively as a resource in language teaching for enhancing learners’ proficiency, cultural understanding and so forth

• Methodology component, which is a key to effective ELT is poorly represented in the curriculum content (3%)

• ELT methodology component of the curriculum is deficient in key content areas --classroom management, techniques for teaching the various language skills, and language testing and evaluation,

• The curriculum content ‘fails to provide the novices with adequate procedural knowledge of classroom, adequate knowledge of pupils’ (Kagan 1992:162).

• Some of the courses in the current programme curriculum (Sudan Foundation Course, Sudanese Education, General Teaching Method and Philosophy of Education) are irrelevant to language teacher education.

The curriculum content makes minimal provision for teaching practice which is only one block in the third

year of the programme.

This poor representation implies students have little time for practical application of the various theoretical knowledge, and for practical learning about teaching.

• TP is only aimed to avail opportunities for trainees to put theory into practice and for assessing trainees teaching competence.

• There is no tight coherence and integration among the various courses trainees learn in the university and between university courses and clinical work in schools

• The content of the curriculum does not adequately account for the objectives of the programme.

3. Training Approach/ Methodology

• The training approach recommended is active involvement of trainees in training/learning activities – discussions, presentations and project work.

• The modes of delivery recommended – lectures, seminars and reading extracts.

• The recommended training/learning approach is only applied in teaching modules on Literature.

• Elsewhere, the training/learning approach is dominated by ‘whole-class, teacher-centred, non-interactive mode

of lecturing’ ( Bodner et al, 1997:23-38)

• The methodology does not appropriately reflect the teaching and learning experiences in schools where the prospective trainees are to teach.

• As it is devoid of variety of activities, it does not integrate theory with practice.

• The end result would be that trainees would not be able to apply these approaches well in their classroom teaching.

• Reliance on the traditional approach to training and teaching is the major factor for the ineffectiveness of the current programme, as one trainee puts it:

“The methodology used does not encourage students' participation in the teaching/learning activities. It tells us but does not let us do” (S23)

An ELT Methodology Training Session University of Juba

4. Trainer Expertise

• Most trainees are subject matter teachers and are not teacher trainers

• Some of the trainers/tutors have low proficiency in English. They lack the basic characteristics/ requirements to be developed in students.

• Almost all cooperating teachers in schools where trainees practice teaching received no training on mentoring.

• This suggests that trainees on practice are not practising under qualified cooperating teachers.

• Review and innovation of the current PRESETT programme (content, training methodology, TP and admission requirements and procedures)

• Introduction of alternative approaches to ELT and TE rather instead of relying on a traditional approach which has proved counterproductive

• Proper coordination between the University and the schools where trainees practice

• Training of mentors in schools where trainees practice

Way Forward to an Effectiveness Programme.

• Trainer training courses for college tutors in alternative approaches to TE and ELT

• Provision of adequate English language teaching/ learning materials for the use by both the trainees and tutors.

• Strengthening of the present ELT unit at the University to cater for ELT training and English language needs of the population of South Sudan.

• Lack of expertise

• Lack of available funding

• Anticipated resistance to the ideas of innovation by senior staff of the English Department

Challenges to the proposed innovation

• The Present PRESETT programme in the University has great role to play in the development of the newly born South Sudan.

• The Present PRESETT programme has a number of weaknesses

• Much needs to be done if the programme is to contribute effectively in capacity building in the newly-born South Sudan

Concluding Remarks and Appeal

• Due to the challenges, the programme is not likely to fully achieve its set objectives and contribute effectively in capacity building in South Sudan without external support

• I appeal to organizations and institutions dealing with ELT and LTE to give us helping hand.

Thank You

Acknowledgments

• The British Council, especially Paul Woods

• Cambridge ESOL, especially Angela Wright

• All the staff and students from Ethiopia, Sudan, Rwanda, Nigeria and Cameroon who happily allowed themselves to be inconvenienced by the researchers