Tímarit um menntarannsóknir - 01.01.2009, Page 119

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Tímarit um menntarannsóknir, 6. árgangur 2009
Breytingar á uppeldissýn í leikskóla
language use through oral communication
with others. Opportunities for practicing the
use of the language are essential for expanding
their knowledge and building fluency in the
language (Cameron, 2001; Pinter, 2006).
The National Curriculum Guide emphasizes
the use of English as much as possible during
instruction. However, research has shown that
teachers often do not use the target language
as much as is prescribed (Kim & Elder, 2005).
Teachers have given several reasons for not
using English during instruction and one of the
main reasons is their lack of confidence in their
English skills. They do not feel comfortable
enough to use the target language for all oral
interaction in the classroom, for example for
giving instructions, explanations, praising and
disciplining pupils (Brown, 2001; Cameron,
2001). Sometimes teachers are afraid of making
language mistakes and setting a bad example.
However, it is important that teachers send their
pupils the positive message that they should
try to use English as much as possible and it
is acceptable and normal to make language
mistakes (Edge, 1989). If teachers are hesitant
about speaking English in the classroom and
only use it for teaching purposes, they send
the message that English is a school subject
which is studied in books rather than a means
to communicate with others or use for personal
pleasure and benefit.
In the 2006 evaluative study commisioned
by the Ministry of Education the teachers and
pupils were asked to estimate the amount of
English used by both the teachers and pupils
during English lessons (Lovísa Kristjánsdóttir
et al., 2006). Less than half of the pupils in
grades 9 and 10 (44%) reported that their
teachers used English “always” or “often”
during lessons. A fifth of the pupils in grades
9 and 10 (21%) said that pupils “always” or
“often” used English when answering the
teacher and only 5% said that pupils “always”
or “often” used English when talking to one
another during lessons. The pupils’ responses
can be seen in Figure 1.
The teachers’ responses to the question
were consistent with the pupils’ answers. A
little less than half of the teachers said they
mostly used English during instruction while
most teachers said they used English and
Icelandic interchangeably during instruction.
Figure 1. English use in the classroom
Figure 2. How much English do teachers speak in the classroom?
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
Grades 9
& 10
Grade 5 Grades 9
& 10
Grade 5 Grades 9
& 10
Grade 5
Teacher uses
English
Pupils answer in
English
Pupils speak English
with each other
Always
Often
Sometimes
Seldom
No answer
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
0-20 20-40 40-60 60-80 80-100
Percentage of the lesson
Grades 1-4
Grades 5-7
Figure 1. English use in the classroom.