TEACHER ASSESSMENTS IN ENGLISH PROFICIENCY: RESULTS 2010

1. TEACHER ASSESSMENTS IN ENGLISH PROFICIENCY: RESULTS 2010 JET EDUCATION SERVICES 20 May 2010

2. Contents Background Rationale for teacher assessments Rationale for English proficiency The test The samples The results Conclusions and recommendations

3. Background JET works in various projects in the education sector: • as the implementer of intervention programmes • as an external evaluator • independent research projects This presentation deals with: • the FP and IMP teacher results • on a English proficiency test • from two independent teacher training projects which JET is implementing • the results are from two districts in two different provinces

4. Rationale for teacher tests and specifically in English Proficiency • Need for specific information regarding the current state of teachers’ knowledge of and specifically their proficiency in English • To guide our teacher development activities • To ensure we the address content areas most in need • Lead to more effective training and intervention programmes • English is frequently used as medium of instruction • Most schools teach English as FAL from grade 1 and/or switch to English as LoLT in grade 4 • Thus, teachers’ proficiency in English would influence teaching and learning in most schools • In teacher training and development programmes the medium of instruction and most textbooks and materials are in English. • Thus, teachers’ proficiency in English would also influence their own learning and development

5. The test: Primary English Proficiency The test tests teacher’s own knowledge, comprehension and skills in English. The test: • Is set at the level of proficiency that would be required of a grade 7 English speaking learner with a pass mark set at 70% • Contains a mixture of multiple choice, restricted response and longer writing questions • Contains six content areas: • Direct comprehension • Inferential comprehension • Vocabulary, e.g. word meanings, abbreviations, synonyms and antonyms • Language structure, e.g. genre, sentence structure (object subject, verb, adjective, noun, adverb, phrases and clauses) and word structure • Grammar, e.g. spelling, punctuation, subject-verb-agreement and tenses • Writing, e.g. constructing paragraphs, tables and graphs

6. Some examples of items There is a mistake in each sentence. Find it and correct it. a. He went to the shops to by milk. Write a short paragraph (3-4 sentences) about one thing you think should be done to fight crime in this country. Explain and justify what you say. ‘He told me to put them on, which I did and they were roughly the correct length, although the waist was far too large.’ What is the opposite of the word roughly as it is used in this text? • gently • precisely • nearly • approximately

7. Some more items ‘Miss Mdingane told me that my new name was Nelson.’ a. What part of speech is the word ‘new’ in this sentence? • What part of speech is the word ‘told’ in this sentence? • What is the subject of this sentence? Choose the correct word for each sentence. Put a circle around the word you choose. • Each of Mandela’s children ( has / have ) had a good education. • Every man, woman, and child in the country ( know / knows ) who Mandela is. ‘Indisputably’. What is the root of this word?

8. The samples All teachers tested taught English as a subject Project 1 consisted of 33 FP and 15 IMP teachers Project 2 consisted of 26 FP teachers and 3 Literacy curriculum advisors from the district office Specialised in teaching English:

9. The samples continued Highest formal qualification:

10. The results

11. The results continued

12. Conclusions and recommendations • The majority of the teachers do not seem to be proficient in English, even though: • The majority of them had at least a teaching diploma or degree • All taught English as a subject • Teachers in different projects and phases struggled with different aspects of English • A need to know what the teachers struggle with in order to guide interventions • Our tests are not yet diagnostic enough, and we hope to move to an adaptive testing procedure in future • There might be multiple reasons for these findings , but the implications remains clear: • Lack of proficiency in English are likely to impact not only on the teacher’s teaching of English, put also his/her own ability to learn through the medium of English as well as to teach other subjects through the medium of English • Thus, teacher training and development programmes should address teachers’ needs in regard to proficiency in English.