Karavas, Evdokia (1993) English language teachers in the Greek secondary school : a study of their classroom practices and their attitudes towards methodological and materials innovation. PhD thesis, University of Warwick.

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Abstract

The study set out to investigate the degree of implementation of a communicative learner-centred
curriculum and textbooks in the Greek secondaiy school English language classroom. The aims of the
research were: a) to investigate the Greek English language teachers' actual teaching practices and the
degree to which they are in accordance with the philosophy and principles of the curriculum, and b) to
examine the extent to which certain factors (i.e. teachers' understanding of, and attitudes towards, the
communicative learner centred approach, teachers' non- involvement in the innovation process, teachers'
opinions of the textbooks, lack of systematic teacher training) may be associated with the teachers'
classroom behaviour.
For the first part of the research, classroom observations of 14 Greek English language teachers,
working in schools within and around the Athens area, were carried out. An observation scheme was
developed focusing on the teachers' implementation of activities. The aim of the scheme is to describe the
roles the teachers adopt in the classroom. 'reacher roles were also investigated through an analysis of the
teachers' linguistic behaviour. Transcripts of the 14 observed lessons were analysed in terms of teachers'
error correcting practices (amount and types of learner errors corrected by teachers and the error
treatments used) and their questioning practices (amount and types of questions asked by the teachers). For
this latter focus a question typology derived from the data was developed.
Teachers' attitudes towards, and understanding of, the communicative learner-centred approach were
investigated via a Likert type attitude scale developed for the purposes of this study and a questionnaire.
The questionnaire consisted of 28 closed-type items eliciting teachers' opinions of the textbooks and the
teachers' guides, and reports of their teaching practices. The questionnaire and attitude scale was
completed by an additional 87 teachers working in public secondary schools within and around the Athens
area. Finally, as a means of achieving methodological triangulation, interviews with the observed teachers
were carried out. The interviews focused on the teachers' knowledge of, and attitudes towards, the
approach they have been asked to use.
The thesis is divided into 10 chapters. Chapter 1 sets the context of the study, its main objectives and
research questions. Chapters 2 and 3 contain reviews of the literature relevant to the communicative
approach and the implementation of curriculum innovations. The research questions, model of the study
and a detailed account of the development of the research instruments employed in the study are provided
in chapter 4. Chapters 5 to 9 deal with the implementation of the research instruments and the results of the
data analysis. More specifically, chapter 5 deals with the analysis and findings of the teachers' error
correcting practices, and chapter 6 with the findings of teachers' questioning practices . The results of the
observation scheme analysis are dealt with in chapter 7. Chapter 8 focuses on the results of the attitude
scale and questionnaire completed by the 14 teachers and chapter 9 on the results of the interviews. A
summary of the study's main results, a critique of the various research methods employed in the study, as
well as implications of the study's findings for practice are presented in chapter 10.
The findings of the classroom observations revealed a disparity between the principles of the
curnculum and textbooks and their implementation in the classroom. The teachers tended to front the
classroom and perform a restricted range of roles, overwhelmingly favouring the roles of transmitter,
controller of students' language and evaluator. The analysis of teachers' linguistic behaviour corroborated
these findings. The results of the attitude scale, questionnaire and interviews revealed that teachers, due to
their lack of training, had a very limited understanding of the main principles of the approach they had been
asked to implement. The teachers tended to translate innovatoiy concepts to conform to their existing
theories of language and language teaching/learning.
The study has aimed to contribute to two areas where language teaching research is largely lacking: a)
classroom implementation of a communicative approach in a foreign language teaching context and b) the
investigation of language teachers' attitudes and their importance in understanding language teachers'
classroom behaviour. Based on the findings of the study, recommendations for would-be curriculum
developers working in contexts similar to the Greek one are provided in the concluding chapter of the
thesis.

Item Type:	Thesis or Dissertation (PhD)
Subjects:	L Education > LB Theory and practice of education > LB1603 Secondary Education. High schools
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH):	English language -- Study and teaching (Secondary) -- Greek speakers, English language -- Study and teaching -- Methodology, English language -- Textbooks for foreign speakers, Curriculum enrichment -- Greece, Educational innovations -- Greece
Official Date:	October 1993
Dates:	Date Event October 1993 Submitted
Institution:	University of Warwick
Theses Department:	Centre for English Language Teacher Education
Thesis Type:	PhD
Publication Status:	Unpublished
Supervisor(s)/Advisor:	Khan, Julia
Extent:	viii, 381 leaves
Language:	eng

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