The importance of continuous teacher development through distance education for teachers using additional language for learning, teaching and assessment

Abstract

This paper is based on a study conducted to determine the infl uence of a curriculum-based dynamic assessment (CDA) procedure on the performance and effect on additional language (AL) learners in mainstream education. Eight learners in Grade 8 selected from two schools in Lagos, Nigeria, participated in a process of debriefi ng and mediation during three continuous assessment cycles and the endof- term examination in two subjects, Business Studies and Integrated Science. The study was an attempt to employ CDA as a means of reducing the inequity in the assessment of learners using a language in which they lack profi ciency. Although the results suggest a generally positive infl uence of CDA to varying degrees, the participants’ low level of AL acquisition was almost crippling to the entire study. Code switching had to be used extensively during mediation and debriefi ng, questioning the actual AL teaching and learning process. The severity of the barriers constituted a serious limitation to optimum learning. The results suggest that the AL teaching and learning process could be fundamentally fl awed, as it appeared that some of the teachers, as models of language, were themselves failing the learners. The question of the adequacy of teacher training and continuous professional development for teachers was deemed a strong factor in both the participating schools. The results of this study indicate a profound need to expand teacher education and in-service training through distance education in order to increase the number of truly qualifi ed teachers, particularly in rural areas.