The Teaching of English As a Foreign Language in South Morocco (Tinghir Province): Descriptive and Analytical Study of Middle School and Secondary
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Facultad de Ciencias de la Educación Programa Oficial de Doctorado en Formación del Profesorado TESIS DOCTORAL The Teaching of English as a Foreign Language in South Morocco (Tinghir Province): Descriptive and Analytical Study of Middle School and Secondary Souad Zakki Las Palmas de Gran Canaria 2017 Facultad de Ciencias de la Educación Programa Oficial de Doctorado en Formación del Profesorado (Bienio 2013-2014) TESIS DOCTORAL The Teaching of English as a Foreign Language in South Morocco (Tinghir Province): Descriptive and Analytical Study of Middle School and Secondary Dirigida por las doctoras: Mª Victoria Domínguez-Rodríguez Mª del Carmen Mato-Carrodeaguas La doctoranda: Souad Zakki Las Palmas de Gran Canaria 2017 Acknowledgements The completion of this PhD dissertation was possible thanks to the continued support, impulse, advice and constructive criticism provided by a number of people to whom I would like to acknowledge in the following lines. First of all, I want to express my heartfelt gratitude to my PhD supervisors at the Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Dr M.ª Victoria Domínguez- Rodríguez and Dr M.ª del Carmen Mato-Carrodeaguas, for guiding me throughout the development of this work, for sharing with me their expertise as researchers and educators, for showing me the right way to follow when the path in this doctoral journey was hard and stressful, and for awakening in me a real passion for Educational Technology. Second, my most sincere thanks are due to all the members of the middle and secondary schools in the Tinghir Province (Morocco) who contributed each in his/her own way to the provision and/or collection of precious information for the study. Special mention is made here to those headmasters and teachers who collaborated kindly and selflessly in the questionnaires, interviews and, particularly, in the videos since, without them, this study would not have been experienced-based and, definitely, so much enriching and enlightening. Their daily work and commitment to teaching, as well as their readiness towards change and innovation despite the context and the determining circumstances, have inspired me in so many ways that I will be also struggling to change and innovate in the field some day. Special thanks must be given to Mr Arjdal Lhoussaine, Mr Abdelouahed Oulgout, Mr Rahhou Lhoussaine and Mr Younes Jabbour for their inestimable cooperation and readiness to participate. 1 Also, I would like to mention my peers and colleagues, for having shared my concerns, for having understood my needs and for always being there with a helping hand, and Ms Yvonne Quintana-Naranjo for her thorough and diligent editorial assistance. Likewise, I am indebted to the staff and resources available at the Biblioteca Universitaria de la Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, which have been essential to articulate this work. Lastly, but not less important to me, I would like to thank my always- supportive family, my parents and siblings, for all their help, care and encouragement throughout my life. I especially dedicate this PhD dissertation to my daughters, Nor lazhar and Yasmine Lferdaws, and to my husband, Ahmed, for their understanding, patience and unconditional love. Souad Zakki Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, May 2017 2 Table of contents Acknowledgements ........................................................................................ 1 Table of contents ............................................................................................ 3 Maps, figures, graphs and tables .................................................................... 7 Acronyms ....................................................................................................... 9 1. Introduction .......................................................................................... 11 1.1. The place and status of the English language in Morocco ......... 13 1.2. Purpose of the research ............................................................... 17 1.3. Structure and objectives of the dissertation ................................ 22 1.4. Notes on data collection .............................................................. 23 2. The public education system in Morocco............................................ 27 2.1. Historical context ....................................................................... 29 2.2. Education levels ......................................................................... 30 2.2.1. Nursery (or pre-Primary) School .............................. 31 2.2.2. Basic Education ........................................................ 32 2.2.3. Secondary Education ................................................ 33 2.2.4. Vocational Training .................................................. 35 2.2.5. Higher (or Tertiary) Education ................................. 35 2.3. Guidelines for TEFL: Middle School and Secondary ............... 36 2.3.1. Preliminary considerations ....................................... 36 2.3.2. General objectives of the EFL curriculum ............... 39 2.3.3. TEFL in Middle School ............................................ 41 2.3.3.1. General objectives ....................................... 41 2.3.3.2. Specific objectives ...................................... 42 2.3.3.3. Methodology and assessment ...................... 43 2.3.4. TEFL in Secondary Education ................................. 45 2.3.4.1. General objectives ....................................... 45 3 2.3.4.2. Specific objectives ....................................... 47 2.3.4.3. Performance descriptors .............................. 52 2.3.4.4. Methodology and assessment ...................... 55 3. Motivation in the English language classroom: An overview .......... 61 3.1. TEFL in the 21st century: CLT approaches ............................... 63 3.1.1. Constructivism and Social Constructivism learning theories ..................................................................... 65 3.1.2. How can CLT enhance EFL students’ motivation? 67 3.1.2.1. Intrinsinc vs. extrinsic motivation ............... 68 3.1.2.2. Motivation in L2 acquisition ....................... 70 3.2. Sample resources to motivate EFL students ............................. 72 3.2.1. Using games ............................................................. 72 3.2.2. Incorporating ICTs .................................................. 74 3.3. Current situation in Morocco .................................................... 76 3.3.1. Background .............................................................. 76 3.3.2. Motivation in Middle School and Secondary Education: Study cases ............................................ 78 4. Descriptive and analytical study ......................................................... 81 4.1. Study design .............................................................................. 83 4.1.1. Instruments and criteria for data collection ............ 84 4.1.1.1. Questionnaires ............................................ 84 4.1.1.2. Interviews .................................................... 85 4.1.1.3. Video recordings ......................................... 87 4.2. Results: Description and analysis ............................................. 90 4.2.1. Questionnaire ........................................................... 90 4.2.1.1. Question #1 ................................................. 90 4.2.1.2. Question #2 ................................................. 92 4.2.1.3. Question #3 and #4 ..................................... 95 4.2.1.4. Question #5, #6 and #7 ............................... 96 4.2.1.5. Question #8 ................................................. 97 4 4.2.1.6. Question #9 ................................................. 98 4.2.1.7. Question #10 ............................................... 100 4.2.2. Interviews ................................................................. 101 4.2.2.1. Question #1 ................................................. 101 4.2.2.2. Question #2 ................................................. 102 4.2.2.3. Question #3 ................................................. 102 4.2.2.4. Question #4 ................................................. 108 4.2.2.5. Question #5 ................................................. 111 4.2.3. Onsite video recordings of EFL lessons ................... 118 4.2.3.1. Video #1 ...................................................... 119 4.2.3.2. Video #2 ...................................................... 123 4.2.3.3. Video #3 ...................................................... 127 4.2.3.4. Video #4 ...................................................... 131 4.2.3.5. Video #5 ...................................................... 136 4.3. Summary ................................................................................... 139 5. Conclusions ........................................................................................... 141 5.1. Setting the scene ........................................................................ 143 5.2. Study findings ............................................................................ 144 5.3. Further research ......................................................................... 147 References ............................................................................................. 149 Appendix ............................................................................................... 165 Resumen ...............................................................................................