I have complied with the ethical standards given by the University of Sussex. The participants of the research were all adults; therefore, there was no risk involved. They were fully informed of the purpose of the study in advance. I explained to all participants - teachers and students - that the data collected from them will serve research purposes only. Written consent was obtained for the questionnaire (Appendix 1). Proper channels were followed to access the classes for teaching, and permission was sought in advance from the Head of the Institute of English Language and Literature for using classroom facilities for research. Anonymity has been maintained in the data discussion by coding the names of the respondents into alphabetical letters that can only be deciphered by the researcher.
Filling the consent form for the questionnaire was problematic during both phases of data collection, as students were not used to filling them and revealing their perception in written form. Therefore, they could not understand its use. They were explained the purpose of the questionnaire and their use in the study. Moreover, I always attempted to explain the purpose of the research at every stage when their response was required through interview, discussion or in a written form.
Prior to the video recording during first phase, teachers introduced me and explained the purpose of the video recording. Students always gave their consent to the video recording mainly due to the hierarchical power of the teacher. However, late-comers were not informed about the purpose of the recording until after the class was over. No one expressed any objection over the recording of the classes. Students were told that the focus of the recording was the teacher and that the camera would be placed at the back of the class.
During the second phase of the data collection, students were also informed about the purpose of the video recording of the teaching. Students were already prepared to expect classes to be recorded as they were aware that a new teaching method was going to be adopted for the class. Unlike the recording in the first section, the focus of the recording was not just to observe the teacher’s activities during the class, but also to observe the students’ engagement in the task. Therefore, they were told the purpose of the recording in the research prior to the recording.
Teachers were shared the interviewstranscripts that become the part of the thesis. I also sought their permission to include their conversation in the thesis also. I maintained and reconciled with the ethical values for the research with practical concerns throughout.
4.16 Summary
I have tried to show the methodological issues connected to this research. I have also shown the need to choose action research for the present research as a process of methodology. I have also discussed the educational theories for action research, which are relevant to the study. In the second section of the chapter, I discussed research design and presented various data collection tools used to establish the validity of the results. The research field
was my home department; therefore, I was given help and support from all sides to conduct the research. I will present the critique of my own practice through video recording, observation, and other data collection tools in the later part of the thesis. My commitment to improve language teaching helped in finding creative solutions to the problems that I encountered during the fieldwork.
The advancement in research was guided through reflective practice which is informed through the choice of methodology. The study has not only helped in developing pedagogical solutions for ELT in large classes, but it has also contributed to my professional development. My epistemological stance has not been static, but has developed through action and reflection. It has also strengthened my belief that pedagogical development is an on-going issue, which can be improved through a practice-based approach.
The context of study has great importance in understanding the research, therefore my teaching plan was affected with the social settings of the institute and the unpredictable nature of the timetable. Hence, I went into the field with a flexible plan open to changes. I used the criteria for success of action research on the basis of my commitment to improve language teaching in large classes guided by the critical feedback of the participants through various data collection tools. Thus, my work can be judged based on my own criteria established for the success of the work along with the research participants. In the next sections, I will narrate some aspects of research by providing a discussion on the data as evidence for the claim of knowledge and developing my own theories of educational practice.
Chapter Five: Reconnaissance
5.1. Introduction
This chapter contains the narrative of the first phase of the field work. The chapter starts by discussing how I started the fieldwork, where I explain how I was offered help during the fieldwork. Next, I discuss the data exposition where I present an account of my coming to know about language teaching through the teachers’ and students’ perception of the classroom through interviews and my observation of classes. I also discuss the teacher’s role in enhancing education, their beliefs about education and their motivation to bring improvements in teaching. I have categorised their responses into various themes: socio- culture influence, group work, peer assessment and willingness to change. Then, I discuss the contextual issues, which influence the teacher’s ability to teach effectively. This contains two important aspects: physical setting and student politics. The next section contains a detailed description of some of the most important aspects teaching method like how teachers teach and give feedback to students. It also depicts students’ learning patterns, participation in the class, treatment of gender segregation, and examination. Overall, this chapter gives an insight into the language teaching pattern at the UoSJP.
Also, in this chapter, I present how I came to know about the teachers' practice and students’ learning process at the UoSJP through action research reconnaissance. My understanding of the education process was based on various factors affecting learning: interviews and discussions with groups of students, classroom observations, and the teachers’ view-point which was articulated through interviews regarding their understanding of teaching patterns and affecting factors involved in teaching and learning. It also increased my understanding of the sociocultural conditions surrounding the UoSJP. My own experience as a teacher in the same context also added in revealing the complexities involved in language teaching at the UoSJP. Teachers discussed their beliefs and general principles about teaching; they also discussed students’ learning patterns from a subjective point of view based on their experience. They discussed their beliefs about the community and the context for teaching which justified the choice of their teaching style.
Classroom observation helped in comparing a teacher’s point of view with their teaching practice. Students’ discussion and analysis of the questionnaire also helped in comparing the classroom observation, and the teacher’s point of view with theirs for understanding the scenario better. The study also explores the sociocultural aspects, which affect the teaching and learning conditions. Understanding of the learning process also involved in studying factors such as the physical setting of the classroom, and the factors involved outside the classroom, for example, student politics, which has played a prominent impact on education in general in Pakistan, and in public sector institutes in particular. It also involved reviewing the curriculum.
The emerging factors through the initial data collection problematize the situation, which otherwise looks simple and taken-for-granted. Along with understanding the process of language teaching through multi-process data collection, assumptions of reforms were also discussed with the teachers and students. The suggestions motivated action to improve language teaching, which was developed in the light of the analysis of the initial data collection. On the basis of discussion, reflection and exposition of the complexities, action research intervention was conducted to address teaching and learning issues.
5.1.1. Starting the field
I started my journey of understanding language teaching by discussing the phenomenon of language teaching with colleagues who are here in the UK doing PhDs at various universities under the same scholarship programme as mine. We share a common background of language teaching at the UoSJP. The discussion was aimed at understanding the reasons and logic of teaching patterns being adopted at UoSJP. The issue of large classes remains dominant as the most affecting factor in teaching. Secondly, the lack of teachers’ training is an important issue and thirdly, poor infrastructure is identified as the affecting factor for teaching. Despite their will to teach effectively, teachers confess their inability to make learning more effective as factors influencing teaching are beyond the control of teachers.
After an initial discussion with the teachers about ELT, I proceeded to attain in-depth understanding of teaching practice at UoSJP. Since I have been working as a teacher in the
English Department, now known as the Institute of English Language and Literature (IELL), I found colleagues and staff members supportive in the process of data collection. The Director of the Department provided all the required facilities needed for my data collection such as access to teachers, classes, and sitting space to conduct interviews and discussion. Some of the colleagues had been my teachers when I was a student, and most of the newly appointed teachers were my students or juniors in the University. These factors made the process of data collection relatively easy.
It was perhaps the first time that anyone formally discussed their teaching practice with them; therefore, it was a daunting experience for many of them to reveal and reflect about their teaching. Therefore, some of the teachers avoided talking to me about their teaching practice. Probably they wanted to avoid sharing their teaching methods, as it is not customary in my teaching context to reflect on each other’s teaching practice in meetings and discussions. They, therefore, found my questions about their teaching as something new. Although there were frequent meetings arranged for administrative work and to discuss arranging university co-curriculum activities, there was a lack of collaborative and institutional effort for engaging in discussion on teaching methods and the learning outcomes of students. However, this does not imply that teachers didn't reflect on their own teaching.
5.1.2. Hierarchical system
The most dominant factor of Pakistani society is that ‘we have in place an hierarchical system, which operates at every level of the society-at the home, school, college, university and workplace’ (Memon, Joubish and Khurram, 2010, p. 677). Due to the effects of culture, a teacher is seen as an authority and is given respect due to his/her post, age, and seniority. The distribution of the department/s for teaching Remedial English is also given on the basis of seniority. Young teachers go outside the English department to teach English in other departments which are within walking distance of ten to thirty minutes from the English department. Senior teachers avoid the hassle of going outside the department whereas young teachers accept this without any resistance.