Abstract:
This paper reports on the first phase
of a research project that focused
on understanding the perceptions of
teachers regarding the implementation
of CLT in the English Second Language
(ESL) classrooms in Botswana’s
Junior Secondary Schools (JSSs).
CLT has been the dominant English
language teaching paradigm in
Botswana for fifteen years. Educators
and commentators often refer to an
inadequate mastery of English at
tertiary institutions and in the workplace,
indicating a potential disenchantment
with the implementation of CLT in
English in Botswana. The data reported
in this article come from a questionnaire
survey conducted among JSSs English
teachers located in Botswana’s urban areas (n=135). The data indicate
a conflicted view of CLT among the
participants. On the one hand they believe that they have been trained well
to implement CLT and their responses
to some questions indicate that they
have some knowledge about CLT. On
the other hand, responses to some
questions indicate a lack of knowledge
of CLT and that the participating
teachers believe that CLT does not
necessarily lead to improved English
proficiency among their learners.
The data seem to point to a certain
disjunction between perceptions,
theoretical knowledge and views of
the usefulness of CLT for English
in Botswana. Future studies should
consider to compare these views with
actual classroom observations.
