Action Research: The panacea for challenges in ESL teaching in Kenya
Abstract
Teachers of English in contexts where English
is a second language are constantly thinking about their
practice. It may be about routine classroom events or an
initiative that one wishes to implement but wonders how best
to. While solutions to some of these concerns may be found
in In-service experiences, literature and study findings, most
of the solutions do not consider the context and are majorly
prescribed in a one-size-fits-all manner. The situation is not
helped by in-service opportunities that are organized to avail
‘new’ knowledge which facilitators feel teachers lack. This is
exacerbated by the lack of follow-up support that teachers
may require when implementing the new ideas in their
classes. However, this need not be so as demonstrated by
literature and studies which reveal that teachers can learn
from their practice and in their context by identifying the
challenging area and working alone or with colleagues.
Action Research (AR) is one method that has been indicated
for a number of reasons. Its key attribute is that it allows
teachers to engage in collaborative actions that will lead to
their understanding of practice while at the same time
developing themselves professionally. This positional paper
will make a case for AR as a solution to the challenges that
face language instruction in the Kenyan ESL context. The
paper will also briefly point out the thorny issue of ethical
considerations in researching one’s practice. The authors
consider this an invitation to debate on how teachers can
navigate ethical issues in the Kenyan ESL context.
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