The Use Of Indigenous Techniques Of Communication For Language Learning The Case Of Cameroon

The use of indigenous techniques of communication in language learning

The Use of Indigenous Techniques of Communication for Language Learning: The Case of Cameroon

This study aimed at determining whether the use of indigenous techniques of communication can have a positive impact on the motivation of the learner of English as a foreign language in Cameroon. By indigenous techniques of communication we mean techniques like role-play, songs, the telling of folktales, riddles and proverbs. This work is intended as a contribution to the search for improvement of student motivation and enthusiasm, whereby they can be more responsive as they participate spontaneously in learning English as a foreign language. Some writers agree that it is beneficial to learn a foreign language using the material that the learners are familiar with (Lado 1964, Gee 1987, Post and Rathet 1996). The telling of folktales, role-play, songs, and the use of riddles and proverbs are found in all societies and every indigenous society uses them in teaching in one way or the other. Most foreign language learners are familiar with them. Their abundance in the Cameroonian society presents an excellent opportunity for foreign language teaching/learning. My interest in this research has been substantially influenced by my experience of working for almost a decade with learners of English as a foreign language in Francophone secondary/high schools in Cameroon. This work led me to the realization that students respond to English language teaching with very little motivation and enthusiasm. They make little or no progress in learning the language, much less in communicating in it. One of the major questions I have often asked myself is why Francophone students find English language learning boring and what could be done to solve the problem of teaching English to these students. I have tried on a number of occasions to tell folktales or teach a song in class when I found the students were bored with the lessons and discovered that the students immediately became alert. Their alertness was probably not for the direct purpose of making any linguistic gain but for the s.

International Perspectives on Motivation

Bringing together motivation-related practical concerns and debates from diverse international contexts and educational settings where English is learned, this book shows how locally produced insights and issues can have wider global significance, resonating with the experiences and concerns of English teachers and learners across the world.