Teachers’ role in Second Language Acquisition

Teaching pedagogies are evolving from teacher-centric to learner-centred in western countries. As learner- centred and constructivist methods are highly propagandised, it is crucial to understand that the implementation of this method highly hinges on the learning and environmental context as well as available resources.  I have also come to realise the challenge in converting policies into practices, particularly in using a constructivist approach for teaching a foreign language to professional adults.  Researchers highlight three important elements in Second Language Acquisition (SLA):

Motivation (teachers ability to motivate students), interaction (teacher’s ability to increase students’ participation) and vocabulary (teachers’ ability to make students learn new words) (Moss &Ross- Feldman, 2003).

I categorise these three elements into teachers’ key skills, knowledge and attitudes (KAS)

1.      Attitude (motivation)  → 2. Skills (interaction) → 3.  Knowledge (vocabulary)

Teacher’s attitude could unleash and support students’ motivation, for instance the teacher’s self- motivation could have a knock-on effect on students’ motivation. When students are mobilised, incrementing their participation using the right skills can also sustain their interest. Finally, the teachers’ subject knowledge is key to students’ learning. The vocabulary is easily picked up and memorized after students have engaged well in the learning process.

Table 1 below shows examples of KAS that teachers should demonstrate to support students’ motivation, interaction and vocabulary acquisition.

	Knowledge	Attitude	Skills
Motivation	Learning needs	Self-motivation, inclusive, enthusiasm, confident, culturally- sensitive, energetic, open-minded, respect, patience	Good and strategic communication  (clear voice, engaging body language), clear instruction, creativity, diversity of activities, time-management, target/goal-setting, effective evaluation and assessment tasks
Interaction	Learning environment, classroom layout, materials, students background and culture	Inclusive, learner-centred, participative, engaging, encouraging, flexibility, responsibility	Fostering team work, peer tutoring, collaborative learning, cooperative learning, good listening, efficient use of materials, managing students of different levels, age and attitudes
Vocabulary	Subject, various types of learning materials, students’ levels (indicators of students’ level), interactive assessment tasks	Guiding, displaying, using materials	Review of previous learning, recommendations to build on class activities, efficient use of materials, good planning and organisation

As previously stated, there can be a world of difference between policy and actual practice, particularly when teachers are lacking adequate resources and when they are not confident that the policy can be successfully implemented. Moreover, even when lessons are well-planned, the variability of classroom dynamics are likely to affect the teacher’s ability to implement the pedagogy proposed on table 1.  A response to this challenge would be for the teacher to internalise key pedagogical concepts and employ flexibility, creativity and spontaneity in order to keep momentum in the learning process. The teacher should keep in mind that learning added with students’ satisfaction is the goal. Besides, after teaching the same class for some time, teachers can also design their own pedagogy which will adjust with the learners’ needs. An example of teaching methods and practices for foreign language could be as set out below.

-Beginning of the lesson (Motivational part): 1. general subject discussion, related to lessons previously seen. Put key vocabulary on the board for students to use. Monitor the peer discussion with minimal intervention

2. Recap of key points of previous lesson: should be visible with minimal students intervention

3. clearly define learning outcomes of current lesson and set targets. This is when students identify their short-term goals which is effective to motivate them.

- Middle of the lesson (Interactive part): 1. didactic when addressing new topic. People in general like learning new things. Clearly instructing on new topic, teaching new vocabulary and explaining grammar and metalinguistic can generate student interest. However this part should be short, concise, visible or audible.

2. Practice new knowledge through exercise: try to avoid passive exercises as much as possible. Activities should be participatory, engaging and possibly diverse. This part should include activities that foster group cohesion and build a sense of belonging and community. Activities can range from peer-tutoring to cooperative learning, interactive use of visual aids, demonstrations, problem-solving tasks, information gap tasks, to presentation of project work.

Dornyei and Csizer (1998) point out that using varied and challenging instructional activities help learners stay focused and engaged in instructional content. Appreciating students’ efforts and correct answers along the exercises is also a great motivator.

-  End of lesson (Assessment part): 1.Have students’ actually learnt? How do you recognise that they understood the lesson and gained new knowledge? An efficient way of measuring students’ learning is by allowing them to self-evaluate against the targets set at the beginning of the lesson. A short individual writing activity before answering evaluation questions can enable students to determine their own level and give them further opportunity to ask questions to the teacher.

Girls’ access to scientific and technology training in higher education in Ivory Coast

Following the post-electoral crisis in 2011, Ivory Coast was plunged into a gloomy pit of decline, for which the economy and educational sectors were among others, the most affected.

Small villages and cities had been deserted, and bigger cities included the capital, were overcrowded. The results of the overpopulation led to a repartition of 3 classes to the care of one teacher. School results became historically disastrous. The urgent challenge was bravely taken up by the new ministry of education in place, which recruited and trained 3000 teachers, in the course of the year 2012, to mitigate the deficit. New schools were also built and others renovated. Students performances improved considerably compared to the previous year, and the current educational system seems to have relatively dampen the chronic fragility and instability Ivory Coast’s education had suffered for several years.

The government’s focus has now shifted to stretching every sector towards development. Its objective is to enable Ivory Coast to become an emerging country by 2020. Therefore, all areas of development are being explored. An area of education which was previously seen as secondary is now at the forefront of discussions and interests, namely: Girls’ access to scientific and technology training in higher education.

For decades, girls have been significantly underrepresented in faculties of sciences, research and development. This deficit is not only visible in universities, but also in public and private sectors.

Given that Ivory Coast is positioning himself in line with the 2015 and post 2015 Millennium Development Goals, measures are being sought to solve the issue. It is in this perspective that the board of the ministry of  higher education and scientific research has recently organised a brainstorming session on the topic, in order to find out the reasons for which girls are not engaging in technology and scientific courses and how to remedy to this huge gap. In her own terms, the Ministerial principal private secretary exclaimed: “I am delighted that we are having this brainstorming session, which indicates the institutional acknowledgement of the much necessary equality of opportunities between men and women, with regards to scientific knowledge”.

It is true, indeed that the issue is getting more recognition and it justifies that Ivory Coast  included in the National Development Plan of the Education/ Training sector (1998-2010), the intention of reducing all the disparities in education. This plan included among other actions, the development of a national scientific and technological culture, and the promotion of an environment conducive to girls’ access to general learning and training in sciences and technology.  Despite the long-running implementation of the plan, women still hold a striking minority place in the faculties of sciences, technology and research.

It becomes beholden to policy makers, practitioners and the education authorities to critically think about the causes of this problem and find an effective solution.

What could be the reasons why women are not interested in technology, research and scientific subjects? Are they following a traditional, local, national, or international pattern of interests for girls? Before going further, it is worth noting that scientific and technology subjects are widely recognised as not very attractive to girls across many countries, a state of affairs revealing to be more poignant in low income countries, such as Ivory Coast, where financial and material resources are limited.

Considering such a generalised situation, efforts to convert the trend appear to be a great challenge. There is more likelihood that influencing our perspectives on the subjects will have greater impact.

In any case, an element of gender perceptions will have to be treated duly to influence choices of schools or higher education subjects.

But before the gender issues are discussed, it is necessary to understand what has been the general perception of the population in Ivory Coast of technology, scientific and research education. Were there even considered as relevant subjects to the development of the country? Have all elements contributing to Ivory Coast’s development been thoroughly researched and promoted? Admittedly, the local government has understood the worth of technology and sciences in development, which explain why these subjects were intended to be promoted as part of the National development Plan.

The question is, how much has it been promoted? Were the strategies used to change the national culture towards these subjects strong enough to yield the desired results? We know the answer since the plan which run for over a decade did not succeed.  It therefore becomes imperative to change strategies, modify plans and have greater impact! The promotion of sciences, technology and research subject have to move from the backyard, to the front of promotion for Development in Ivory Coast.

A system of campaigns can be put in place which will lead individuals to realise first of all that greater participation in these subjects is conducive to finding means of developing the country.

Arguably, people are unaware of certain personal and societal benefits that girls’ participation in research, technology and sciences can produce. First of all, it will contribute to having a diversity of
scientific knowledge, but also will enable women to have a balanced participation in responsibilities.  

Besides, science, technology and innovation can facilitate efforts to eradicate poverty, achieve food security, fight against diseases, improve the quality of education and increase decent work opportunities, given that scientific and technological subjects are also the most productive in employment of quality.

As these benefits are promoted and highlighted, investigations should also be carried out, to find out if girls are not discouraged from attending such courses. Do parents encourage or deter girls who express a desire to follow a scientific career? What are the measures taken in schools to support girls who want to follow this path? How do boys react to girls choosing this path? The government and educational system in place should ensure the environment in which girls are raised and educated is conducive to learning sciences, technology and do research.