Attitude of Teachers and Learners towards the Use of the Eclectic Method in Teaching English in Public Primary Schools, in Eldoret East Sub County, Kenya

Abstract

The study sought to investigate the attitude of teachers and learners towards the use of eclectic method in teaching and learning of English in Primary Schools, in Eldoret East Sub County. This study was based on Krashens,' Theory of Second Language Acquisition which support the best means of learning and instruction in English are those that supply comprehensive input to the learner. The study was carried out in Eldoret East Sub County of Rift Valley province. Stratified random sampling was used to select 39 schools out of 131 registered Primary Schools in the Sub County. Simple random sampling was used to select the teachers of English in the sampled schools. Purposive sampling technique was used to select key resource teachers of English from the selected schools. Data was collected by means of classroom observation and interviews. Descriptive statistics (frequency and percentages) was used to compare the use of the eclectic method in teaching of English in both public and private primary schools. The use of Eclectic method on the teaching and learning of English was varied during the study. The use of EM enabled the teachers achieve the objectives of learning easily as learners understand the concepts easily and acquire knowledge as learning becomes fun and innovative. The use of EM enhances effective learning of English as more knowledge/ information is retained for a long time that enables learners to speak fluently and perform better grammatically. The use of EM in teaching of English breaks boredom and creates room for acquiring more concepts. Teachers will be expected to be ‘extended professionals' confident and articulate about their aims possessing a varied repertoire of professional skills and accountable for their pupils achievements. Teachers need to have a positive attitude towards teaching English as a second language. Teachers should acquire knowledge about the subject content and teaching skills so as to be competent when teaching English.