School Leadership and English Language Teachers’ Approaches in Teaching English Language: The Case of Selected Schools in Sidama Zone, Southern Ethiopia

Eshetu Mandefro, Mebratu Mulatu, Tesfaye Abebe, Yohannis Yonna

Abstract


The study was conducted to assess the strategies and approaches used by school leadership and English language teachers in handling English language teaching in primary and secondary schools of Sidama administrative zone, Southern Ethiopia. The study was a descriptive survey which comprised a total of 40 English language teachers, 6 English language department heads, 4 School principals and 257 students drawn from randomly selected 11 primary and secondary school students. The data were collected through questionnaires, interviews and document analysis. The results disclosed that all the schools didn’t have functional English Language Improvement Centers (ELIC) and School Based English Language Mentors (SBELM). Moreover, the school leadership allocated only limited resources for English language improvement activities. The findings also revealed that English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers act poorly as role models in using English and in letting the students use English language in different contexts. Therefore, it is recommended that school leadership should be committed not only to establish but also to follow up English Language improvement Centers (ELICs) and School Based English Language Mentors (SBELM) providing the basic facilities to the practical activities.   In addition, they should encourage EFL teachers to carry out their responsibility in helping students improve their English language ability which is the ideal activity to ensure quality education in the Ethiopian EFL context.


Keywords


Educational leadership, EFL performance, English Language Improvement, English Language Mentors

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References


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