The University of Dodoma University of Dodoma Institutional Repository http://repository.udom.ac.tz Humanities Master Dissertations 2015 Technological devices in teaching english vocabulary in Tanzanian primary schools: the case of Chake-Chake district Khamis, Issa Kassim The University of Dodoma Khamis, I. K. (2015). Technological devices in teaching english vocabulary in Tanzanian primary schools: The case of Chake-Chake district. Dodoma: The University of Dodoma. http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12661/708 Downloaded from UDOM Institutional Repository at The University of Dodoma, an open access institutional repository. TECHNOLOGICAL DEVICES IN TEACHING ENGLISH VOCABULARY IN TANZANIAN PRIMARY SCHOOLS: THE CASE OF CHAKE-CHAKE DISTRICT By Issa Kassim Khamis A Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in Linguistics of the University of Dodoma The University of Dodoma October, 2015 CERTIFICATION The undersigned certifies that he has read and herby recommends for acceptance by the University of Dodoma a dissertation entitled: Technological Devices in Teaching English Vocabulary in Tanzanian Primary Schools: the Case of Chake- Chake District in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Linguistics of the University of Dodoma. ……………………………………………….. Dr. Elias Manandi Songoyi (SUPERVISOR) Date……………………………………… i DECLARATION AND COPYRIGHT I, Issa Kassim Khamis declare that this dissertation is my own original work and that it has not been presented and will not be presented to any other University for a similar or any other degree award. Signature …………………………………… No part of this dissertation may be produced, stored in any retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior written permission of the author or the University of Dodoma. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I wish to extend my sincere gratitude to all people who helped me in one way or another during the whole period of my research. I am especially grateful to my supervisor, Prof. Elena Dolgova for her excellent requisite guidance, advice, constructive criticisms, encouragement and support from the very beginning to the end of this work. I would further like to acknowledge the contribution from various Education institutions in the Chake-Chake district, for without their support, my work would have faced a serious obstacle in data collection. These institutions are Chake-Chake district education Office, Madungu primary school, Vitongoji primary school, Wawi primary school, just to mention a few. I really appreciate Chake-Chake district education officer, Head of schools, English language teachers and Students who supported my work by providing me with necessary data for this study. To you all, I say thank you. I will always remain thankful and indebted to my parents, my lovely mother Zakia Issa Ali and my father Kassim Khamis Rashid for bringing me up and supporting me as well as encouraging me at various levels of my academic endevour. I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to my delightful wife Fatma Nassor Juma whose love, support and patience encouraged me to pursue this course and for enduring all the pain of missing my company for the whole time I was busy with studies. iii Moreover, I wouldn’t forget to highly appreciate my daughters Zakia Issa Kassim and Maryam Issa Kassim and my son Nassor Issa Kassim for their tolerance for all time they were far away from their father, missing the wonderful parent’s company, passion, devotion and care. Above all, my sincere gratitude are extended to my whole lovely family, My sisters Rukia Kassim, Safari Kassim, Fatma Kassim, Halima Kassim, Khadija Kassim and My brothers Is-haq, Yahya, Said and Taimur Kassim who always prayed for me and encouraged me to work hard in my study and who also discharged my family and social responsibilities for the whole time I was in my study. However, I remain solely responsible for any errors and omissions that may be found in this dissertation. iv DEDICATION This work is dedicated to my beloved parents, my mother Zakia Issa Ali, my best parent, and my father Kassim Khamis Rashid. There is nothing more wonderful in my life than being your son. May Our Almighty God bless you and give you a nice end of your lives. v ABSTRACT In the recent global educational development, the successful integration of technological devices in English language teaching and learning has proved to be something innovative and potentially beneficial to teachers and learners. In various developing countries including Tanzania in particular, accessibility of technology in language teaching is witnessed although at a small pace. This study has attempted to assess the uses of technological devices in teaching English vocabulary for improving primary school students’ English language proficiency in Chake-Chake district, Zanzibar, Tanzania. During this study, ninety seven (97) respondents from a total population were selected including students, English language teachers, heads of schools and education officers. In order to come up with effective results and generalize the findings, data were collected by using questionnaire, standardized test and interview methods and analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively using the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 13.0 and Excel programmes. The findings revealed that the use of technological devices is a profitable aid of English vocabulary teaching. Also, education stakeholders show positive attitude in integrating technological devices in English language teaching but the scarcity of technological devices persist in various schools and that those few available TDs are not effectively utilized as a result of a range of challenges the TDs are not found to be effective aid in teaching English in Zanzibar primary schools. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS CERTIFICATION ...................................................................................................... i DECLARATION AND COPYRIGHT .................................................................... ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ........................................................................................ iii DEDICATION ............................................................................................................ v ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................... vi TABLE OF CONTENTS ......................................................................................... vii LIST OF TABLES .................................................................................................... xi LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................. xii LIST OF IMAGES .................................................................................................. xiii LIST OF APPENDICES......................................................................................... xiv LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS.................................................................................. xv CHAPTER ONE......................................................................................................... 1 BACKGROUND INFORMATION OF THE STUDY ........................................... 1 1.0 Introduction ............................................................................................... 1 1.1 Background to the Problem ....................................................................... 1 1.2 Statement of the Problem .......................................................................... 3 1.3 Objectives of the Study ............................................................................. 4 1.3.1 General Objective ...................................................................................... 4 1.3.2 Specific Objectives .................................................................................... 4 1.4 Research Questions ................................................................................... 5 1.5 Significance of the Study .......................................................................... 5 1.6 Scope of the Study ..................................................................................... 6 1.7 Conclusion ................................................................................................. 6 CHAPTER TWO ....................................................................................................... 7 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK AND LITERATURE REVIEW .................... 7 2.0 Introduction ............................................................................................... 7 2.1 Theoretical Framework ............................................................................. 7 2.2 Literature Review .................................................................................... 11 2.2.1 Technological Devices and English Language Proficiency Improvement11 2.2.2 Using of Technological Ways for English Vocabulary Learning Improvements .......................................................................................... 13 vii 2.2.3 Studies’ Attitudes towards the Technological Devices in Language Learning .................................................................................................. 15 2.2.4 The Challenges in the Application of Technological Devices in Tanzania17 2.3 Research Gap ........................................................................................... 20 2.4