The Effects of Large Class Size on Effective EFL Teaching and Learning--A Study of Grade 10 Teachers and Pupils at 'Instituto Médio Politécnico do Namibe?

N

118

Teachers

Foreign Countries; Class Size; English (Second Language); Second Language Instruction; Second Language Learning; Public Schools; English Teachers; Secondary School Teachers; High School Students; Grade 10; Instructional Effectiveness; Questionnaires; Observation

The purpose of this study was to provide views of teachers and pupils on large class size and its effects on teaching and English learning, at "Instituto Médio Politécnico do Namibe", and by showing that the large class scenario at IMP-Namibe may be attributed to various factors of which the most pertinent is the imbalance between the number of I cycle public schools and II cycle public schools. The investigation was initially prompted by the researchers' perceptions why IMPN, cannot adequately absorb the number of learners exiting I cycle schools and why in classes of about 20 to 40 pupils, teachers are faced with various challenges. In trying to find out the answer, the study set up a research question: How can the problem of large class size be managed at IMPN? A cross-sectional design to enable the researcher to cover a large section of the target population was thus adopted. The participants of this study were 15 EFL teachers and 204 pupils attending Informatics, Designer, Mechanics and Electricity courses. The stratified random sampling method was used. In order to collect data, the research instruments used were 2 questionnaires and direct observation. The findings showed that, first, the participants agreed with the view that large class size affects the quality of teaching and English learning; second, the group method though is time consuming and demanding is the best way to cope with large classes. Third, teachers are faced with similar challenges that their fellows in the developing countries experience. The following are appended: (1) Portuguese Translated Version of Pupils' Questionnaire; (2) Pupils' Questionnaire; (3) Teachers' Questionnaire; (4) Request to Conduct Research at Imp-Namibe; (5) Permission Granted to Conduct Research at Imp-Namibe; (6) English Translated Version of Permission Granted to Conduct a Research at Imp-Namibe; (7) Information Submitted to Pedagogic Director about the Research Conducted at Imp-Namibe; (8) Practical Classroom Activities for Teaching Large Classes; (9) Illustration and Exemplification of Practical Classroom Activities for Teaching Large Classes; (10) Illustrations of Some Photos of the Study Participants'; and (11) Practical and Communicative Activities to Use in Large Classes. (A bibliography is included.)

As Provided

2017

ED572689