The real story of English language teaching in Syrian high schools - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

The real story of English language teaching in Syrian high schools and the bumpy transition into the university level

BATOUL KHOJA AND DEBASISH MOHAPATRA DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH AND FOREIGN LANGUAGES TEZPUR UNIVERSITY ASSAM INDIA

Part 1 About Syria

Geographical Location

Geographical Location

The Syrian Arab Republic Fact File

 Capital: Damascus  Population 21.1 million (2017)  Area 185,180 sq km  Major language Arabic  Minority languages Kurdish, Armenian, Azeri, Circassian, and Neo-

Aramaic.

 Major religions Islam, Christianity  Life expectancy 74 years (men), 78 years (women)  Currency Syrian pound

Part 2 Education

School Education in Syria

 Mainly controlled by Ministry of Education (MoE).  MoE is responsible for all aspects of school education including

curriculum design and development, establishing schools, applying reforms, planning and policies.

 Classrooms typically accommodate 30-36 students.  All public schools have the same arrangements. Teachers are the

center of the class and the symbol of authority.

 Classrooms have a platform where teachers stand in view of the

whole class and students sit in rows facing the teacher.

Physical Arrangement of Classrooms

Physical Arrangement of Classrooms

Stages of School

 There are three major stages in the school education in Syria:

• i. Pre-school level: 3 - 5 years.
• ii. Basic education level which splits into two stages (both free and

compulsory):

 a. Beginner: Grade I to Grade VI: 6 -11 years.  b. Intermediate: Grade VII to Grade IX: 12 -14 years.  There are two semesters in each school year on which there are:

(a) oral tests - (b) exercises and homework - (c) written tests - (d) terminal test in each term.

 The average score of (a)-(c) (d) constitutes the final result.

Stages of School continued

 Grade IX final examination are held on the national level.  Scores determine whether students go for vocational or

general secondary education.

• iii. Secondary level (Scientific or Literary sections) Grade X to XII:

15 – 17 years.

 The final test at Grade XII set by MoE on the national level.  Success in this test grants students the Baccalaureate Degree.  Scores determines what students will study at university under

the supervision of the Ministry of Higher Education (MHE).

Teacher Education

 Primary School = Primary/Intermediate Teaching

Certificate from institutes of teacher training.

 Intermediate = Primary/Intermediate Teaching Certificate

from institutes of teacher training OR BA or BSc + Diploma in Education.

 General Secondary = BA or BSc + preferred Diploma in

Education.

 University = MA or PhD

Part 3 The Study

Target of Study

 Investigating the gap between English writing skills at high school

and university.

 The study is conducted in Latakia City, Syria.  Why this topic?

1- Personal experience as a student and a teacher. 2- Unstudied area in Syria although the problem is well- documented elsewhere.

Framework

 The adopted framework is a three-step analysis proposed by (Al-

Hammadi & Sidek, 2015).

Framework

Step 1 Textbook Analysis

 The series is called “English for Starters” since 2005.  The Grades under focus are XI and XII.  Student's Book, Activity Book, Literary/ Scientific Supplement Book, and

Teacher's Book.

 Student’s Book  4 modules divided into 3 units = 12 units in total.  Teachers have to complete 2 modules per semester.  Each module discusses one main theme, For example  In the first semester of Grade XII

Textbook Analysis continued

 At the end of each module is a Review Section with exercises on grammar and

vocabulary + an optional project in case teachers have time.

 The Activity Book  has activities that parallel the content of Student's Book and targets reading, writing,

grammar and vocabulary = either homework or in class.

 Supplementary Books  The Literary Supplement explores important aspects of English Literature, such as

writers, literary genres, academic writing, and discusses some poems and parts of famous plays.

 The Scientific Supplement on the other hand discusses a variety of vital scientific topics,

such as modern medicines, space research, and recycling waste.

 Teacher's Book,  provides teachers with numerous tips, ideas, and suggestions as to how to discuss the

materials in the books + samples of progress tests that can be used to assess students effectively.

The Curriculum's Approach to ELT

 CLT approach.  Teacher is catalyst ≠ controller or director.  Focus on authentic language through task-based in-class activities.  Learner-centered environment + role-play, pair/group work ≠

individual work.

 Students should initiate problem-solving and work on their learning

process ≠ depend on the teacher.

 Teacher should introduce culture of TL + use TL + encourage

discovery/ inductive approach ≠ word-for-word translation + deductive teaching.

 Skill integration ≠ focusing on one skill.

The CLT Approach

Content Analysis of Grades XI and XII Textbooks

Skill under focus Target of Activities (results shown in percentage) Teacher Role Target of Activities Whole class Groups Pairs Individuals Catalyst Director Grade XI Grade XII Grade XI Grade XII Grade XI Grade XII Grade XI Grade XII Grade XI Grade XII Grade XI Grade XII Discuss 29.62 25.75 14.81 13.63 37.03 40.09 18.51 19.69 68.96 77.14 31.03 22.85 Read 18.18 26.08 18.18 13.04 45.45 39.13 18.18 21.73 81.81 73.33 18.18 26.66 Listen 44.44 25 11.11 11.11 20 33.33 25 81.81 100 18.18 Grammar 25.92 23.08 9.25 11.9 50 38.09 14.81 26.19 68.96 74.28 31.03 25.71 Vocabulary 29.62 23.8 5.55 7.14 46.29 42.85 16.66 26.19 74.28 80 8.57 20 Speak 22.22 40 29.62 6.66 37.03 33.33 11.11 20 89.65 68.75 10.34 31.25

Step 2: Curriculum’s Approach to Writing

 Teachers are both directors and a facilitators of writing.  The majority of the tasks target in-class pair work or individually if

assigned as homework.

 The textbook uses a mixed approach of product /process.  The dominant levels of cognitive demands are:  Level 1: Remembering (describe, list, recall, outline).  Level 6: Creating (create, plan).  Level 2: Understanding (explain, infer, rewrite, explain, give

examples).

Analysis of Writing Tasks

Analysis of Writing Tasks

Writing at the Department of English

 Works on paragraph level in 1st year.  Students should produce a variety of grammatically correct sentences in unified

and logical paragraphs.

 Grammar, sentence structure, types of sentences, and punctuation are focused.  Students are introduced to basic concepts of writing (topic sentence, unity and

coherence).

 Emphasis is on writing of cohesive summaries and explanatory pieces on different

topics.



As for testing, a good command over English is a prerequisite for a pass grade.

 The content and ideas are extremely important. 

Critical thinking, using appropriate examples and the ability to present and debate ideas are essential for scoring.

 Layout, organization, the use of appropriate lexis and terminology.

Step 3: Procedure Level

 The study adopts a mixed-method approach to data collection.  Unstructured followed by Structured classroom observations are

conducted.

 The structured observation adopts Target Language Observation

Scheme (TALOS) developed by (Ullman and Geva, 1984).

 The scheme consists of 2 parts that work together to validate data:

1- Observing low-inference categories during the class. 2- Observing high-inference categories filled by the researcher immediately after the class.

Participants

Participants

Sample Teachers Teacher Gender School Years of experience Type Location Gender A Female Public City-center All-female 16 B Female Public City-center All-female 19 C Male Public City-center All-male 33 D Female Public Urban All-male 16 E Female Public Urban All-female 34 F Male Public Urban All-female 30 G Male Public Urban Mixed 18 H Male Public Urban Mixed 35 I Female Public City-center Mixed 25 J Male Private Urban Mixed 46 Total numbers of teachers = 10

Part 4 Results

Unstructured Observations

 Teachers stress the importance of the final Grade XII national

examination ≠ focusing on teaching language use.

 Grammar and vocabulary are taught deductively ≠ inductive/

discovery approach.

 Heavy use of translation and explanation is done in Arabic ≠ TL use.  Culture of TL is not explored.  Teachers dominate the class + no active interaction.  Students do not initiate problem-solving and participate when asked

to.

 Pair/group work is rare.  Skill integration is neglected.  Speaking and listening are skipped (unimportant for the test).

Unstructured Observation Continued

 Writing is not practiced inside the classroom and tasks are

handled in three ways: 1- Teachers assign them as homework and students submit them for evaluation and written feedback. 2- Teachers provide students with ready-made samples for all writing tasks, and students are free to memorize the samples and use them in tests or to write their own paragraphs similarly. 3- Teachers skip writing tasks altogether since ready-made samples are available for students to purchase from various libraries or from private tutors.

Structured Observations

Low-inference categories Target of in-class activities Individuals 56% Pairs 10.5% Groups 4% Whole class 33.5% Focus of activities Form 74.4% Function 25.5% Culture 0%

Structured Observations

Low-inference categories Teacher role Explain 45.5% Narrate 0% Discuss 10% Ask 24% Answer 2.5% Facilitate 9% Motivate 19% Translate 78.5% Types of student utterances Nonverbal 0% Word 6.5% Phrase 27.33% Sentence 34.66% Question 3% Lengthy 4.5% Silence 6.6% Translate 16.9% Language use Teacher Student L1 75.3% L2 24.7% L1 71.2% L2 28.7%

High Inference Categories

Task-oriented instruction Very low Low Fair High Very high 0% 40% 30% 30% 0% Teacher’s humor Very low Low Fair High Very high 0% 30% 50% 20% 0% Teacher’s enthusiasm Very low Low Fair High Very high 0% 0% 70% 30% 0% Students’ attention Very low Low Fair High Very high 0% 0% 60% 40% 0%0 Student’s participation Very low Low Fair High Very high 0% 20% 30% 50% 0%

High Inference Categories

Use of L1 Teachers Students Very high High Fair Low Very low Very high High Fair Low Very low 60% 30% 10% 0% 0% 40% 40% 20% 0% 0% Use of L2 Teachers Students Very high High Fair Low Very low Very high High Fair Low Very low 0% 20% 0% 20% 60% 0% 10% 10% 50% 30% Speaking time Teachers Students Very high High Fair Low Very low Very high High Fair Low Very low 50% 50% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% 20% 40% 40% Initiation of problem solving Teachers Students Very high High Fair Low Very low Very high High Fair Low Very low 90% 0% 10% 0% 0% 0% 0% 10% 0% 90%

Conclusion

 Although the curriculum is based on CLT, it is taught through classical GTM.  Heavy focus on grammar and vocabulary.  The objective of school education is teaching for the test, rather than to learn

language.



(Fanetti et al., 2010, p. 82) name this phenomenon as the "factory model“ = scores and rules over process and leaners.



Teachers are not to blame since it is a social pressure to get high marks.

 Grade XII national final test is the qualifier for the university level.  There is a huge gap between high school and university, where the teaching

process is entirely in English.

 Students are expected to be able to perform oral and written discussions and

analyses of literary concepts

 The relationship between MoE and MHE is severed.

Recommendations

 Modify the testing system and incorporate listening and speaking in

the evaluation process.

 Genuine and effective teacher-training programs and workshops

should be organized.

 Continuous evaluation of the curriculum and teaching practices are

also quite important to ensure the quality of education.

 Further research into the primary and intermediate school levels is

recommended to study the teaching process and identify any issues retraining the use of the recommended communicative approach.

Thank You!