A professional development intervention in the teaching of English in a rural high school in Lesotho

Abstract

The focus of this research is on implementing a professional development intervention aimed at improving the teaching practice of teachers teaching English as a subject at a rural high school in Lesotho. The study presents the way in which I as the principal researcher and my English teacher colleague facilitated learning, using innovative methods in our English classes in a way that promoted learner-centredness. In this study improvement of the teaching practice of teachers of English was intended to reduce the overuse of mother tongue in English classes to promote the teaching of English through English (Cook, 2005) and to improve learners’ proficiency in English as a subject. The study was conducted using an action research design. Action research was used as a professional development process with a view to improving educational practice; it enabled me as the facilitator of the professional development intervention and my colleague to rethink our approaches to facilitating learning of English in order to innovate our teaching. A mix of qualitative and quantitative approaches was used for collecting and analysing both qualitative and quantitative data in one study. These approaches were used to promote an in-depth understanding of the research problem under investigation. Open-ended interviews, observations, observation sheets, reflective journals and a questionnaire were used as data collection procedures that created a convergence of viewpoints, methods and conclusions. The conceptual and theoretical framework that guided the study emerged from the literature review. Findings of the study revealed that the innovative methods implemented in the English classes at a rural high school have contributed to the improvement in professional development and the teaching practice of teachers of English. Although learners preferred the use of both English and mother tongue in their English classes, findings of the study have revealed that there was an improvement in learners’ proficiency in English as a subject which was facilitated using English. The study recommends that the whole brain thinking model, multiple intelligences and action research as a constructivist approach be utilised daily in English classes and in all learning areas in Lesotho high schools as a basis for transformation and facilitation of learning that promotes learner-centredness.