Abstract:
The aim of this research was to find the kind of interaction which exists between the
English Language teachers and students of Wesley High School, Bekwai-Ashanti,
using an Explanatory Sequential Design. The theoretical framework used for the study
is Michael Long’s Interaction Hypothesis. In teaching and learning English as a
second language there is the need to have a good interaction between the teacher and
the students. In the absence of a good interaction during English Language lessons,
there will be no effective teaching and learning. Therefore, to find out the kind of
interaction which goes on in the English language classroom in Wesley High School,
some questionnaires were distributed to the teachers and students. Again, interviews
as well as observations were done with both the teachers and the students to solicit
information from them. The gathered data were analysed under the various themes
according to the research questions with corresponding tables. The study established
that the only interaction found in Wesley High School English Language classrooms
was student to student interaction but not the communicative teaching method
proposed by Noam Chomsky for a second language acquisition. It was also
established that the teachers employed Teacher-Centred interaction method which
does not allow interaction between the English Language teachers and their students
in class. The study suggested that there should be in-service training and seminars
organised by Ghana Education Service for the English teachers. Again, inspectors of
Ghana Education Service should constantly monitor classroom activities to ensure
that there is an effective teacher-student interaction practices. Lastly, Wesley High
School teachers should have better and positive attitudes towards their students. The
study further recommends that, studies in English Teachers’ inabilities to interact with
their students and bad attitudes of teachers toward their students be conducted.
Description:
A thesis in the Department of Applied Linguistics,
Faculty of Foreign Languages Education and Communication,
submitted to the School of Graduate Studies in partial fulfilment
of the requirements for the award of the degree of
Master of Philosophy
(Applied Linguistics)
in the University of Education, Winneba
AUGUST, 2020