English for Speakers of Other Languages Students' Perceptions of a Communicative Curriculum in a Family English Class
Year: 2010
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Although communicative language teaching is a successful methodology for teaching languages, the effectiveness of this approach is not necessarily universal when applied to different cultural styles of learning (Chen, 2003).In fact, across the globe, students from many different cultures had difficulties in adjusting to a communicative curriculum (Barkhuizen, 1998;Chen, 2003;Li, 1998;LoCastro, 1996;Shamim, 1996).Because cultural differences play a part in a student's reception to communicative language teaching, understanding the student's perceptions about the communicative curriculum is of vital importance in the success of CLT.Through this research, the researcher explored students' perceptions about communicative curriculum through study of a family English class in Bowling Green, Ohio.The purpose of this study involves understanding what this population of learners thinks about curriculum in order to better understand their needs.The participants in the study were ESOL students in a Family English class in a Midwest American university town.The students originated from a variety of different backgrounds, cultures, and countries.The study was conducted by administering a mixed-method survey to the class in order to gather both quantitative and qualitative data.Data was collected and analyzed using descriptive statistics and a content analysis.Findings of the study showed that the students have positive perceptions about the communicative curriculum and that students' backgrounds did not impact their experiences in a communicative classroom.Finally, it is noteworthy to suggest areas for future research, which may include a larger population sample, and research methods that allow for more in-depth data collection.
Author: Sarah Price
Institution: Bowling Green State University
Language: English
Subfield: Language and Linguistics
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
SDG: Quality education
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2243784385