Researchers on English Language Teaching

Post Date: May 8, 2012
Deadline: May 18, 2012

Company: Ethio-Parents’ School

TERMS OF REFERENCE for conducting research on English Language Teaching at Ethio-Parents’ School

Background of the Company
Ethio-Parents’ School was established and until March 2000 administered by a parents’ association. At the beginning, the school operated as non-profit and parent owned school with the aim to offer quality education to children. In March 2000, Hohete Tibeb Share Company (HTSC) was established by the parents’ association and other individual parents to lead the school. Currently Ethio-Parents’ operates at three different campuses, Gerji, Gulele and Lebu, with more than 3700 students, 265 teaching and 117 administrative staff members. The students’ population is expected to be about 5000 in the coming few years.

The school emphasizes on academic excellence and management efficiency which enabled it to be one of the highly reputable private schools in the capital. Thus the demand is exceeding the capacity of the school from time to time.

Organization’s Mission
The mission of HTSC emanates from the purpose it was established under the Commercial and Business License Proc.No. 67/1999 which reads as follows:-“ensure appropriate and quality education through developing highly qualified and motivated academic staff combined with excellent educational facilities”.

The mission shall be achieved by:-
- Developing suitable physical infrastructure for the school
- Recruiting high caliber academic staff
- Adopting modern teaching methodologies with special emphasis on core subjects such as English, Mathematics and the Sciences
- Participating parents in the management and development of the school
- Establishing a system of monitoring performance of academic staff to ensure quality of education
- Creating partnership with reputable foreign institutions to share experience in the provision of modern education
- Creating a work environment that recognizes and rewards the excellence & commitment of staff and share holders
- Operating profitably and being forward looking for an innovation

English as a language is influencing throughout the world. As it is the medium of instruction in the primary and secondary schools (Grades 7-12), students who are not good in English will not succeed in other areas too. It is also important to produce internationally competent citizens who can express themselves and their ideas very efficiently. The purpose of the company behind this study is to improve the English Language skills of students at all levels so that they can come up to the international schools standard.

Objectives;-
Ethio-Parents’ is a school committed to delivering quality education. Education as a process shall be examined in terms of its inputs, the instructional process, the outputs and the outcomes. A problem in either of these areas will affect the whole process. The feedback from different sources shows that the language skills of our students are not up to the expected level, although it is contrary to their results in the National Examinations. It, therefore, becomes important to identify the gaps in terms of inputs and the process. Thus, the general objective of this study is to assess the teaching-learning process of the English language at the Ethio-Parents’ Schools. More specifically,
o It focuses on identifying the skill gaps in writing, listening, speaking and reading.
o It examines the teaching methodology that is being practiced
o It evaluates the appropriateness of the method of assessment the teachers are following

Scope
The study shall include all levels from preschool to university preparatory. The four basic language skills, reading, writing, speaking and listening shall be examined. Students, teachers and other bodies shall be included in the study as appropriate.

Roles and Responsibilities
People conducting this study shall have a rich knowledge and experience in teaching English at different levels. Knowledge of the current curriculum of the primary, secondary and teachers’ education is an advantage. Having this background the researchers will:
• Conduct a survey on the practices of the English language teaching at Ethio-Parents’ schools using the appropriate methods to gather and analyze data
• Recommend preferable teaching methods that can best be applied at each of the different levels in the schools
• Develop well defined assessment techniques for each level
• Recommend different materials that can be used to support the English Language teaching
• Recommend different teaching materials that shall be developed by the company in order to strengthen the language skills of students
• Suggest effective and workable teaching load for the teachers at the different levels
• Develop a clear performance measurement system for teachers
• Develop a clear feedback mechanism about the instructional process and the desired change of behavior from different parties (teachers, students, parents, supervisors, etc.)
• Suggest co-curricular activities and programs that can be used to support the class room language instruction
• Identify areas to organize refreshment training for teachers
Method

It requires investigating the problem by direct observation of the teaching-learning process and gathering data systematically from the appropriate people by applying personal contact, focus group discussion, interview, etc. Besides this, it also requires to consult some supporting documents. Thus, the researchers shall apply the most appropriate method(s) that can address these needs.

Deliverables
On completing the study, the researchers are expected to produce the following:
1. The final study consisting of
i. An abstract
ii. The data presentation and analysis
iii. Summary of the major findings
iv. Conclusion of the study
v. Workable recommendations with their details of implementation strategies
vi. Copies of the research instruments as indices

2. Other documents
• Teachers’ performance measurement criteria
• Classroom observation checklist for supervisors

Qualification and Experience
The researcher(s) shall have M.A. Degree or above in Teaching English as a Foreign Language. Work experience in teaching the language in primary, secondary and college/university levels for at least 10 years is important.

Application Procedures
All interested and competent applicants, individually, in a group or as a firm, can apply for this task. The applicants are expected to come up with separately sealed technical and financial proposals within 10 days of this advertisement.

Adress:-
Yerer Mebrat Haile MAG Internationl Bld. 4th floor Room No. 412

Tele- 0116 29 73 32 or 011 6 29 70 49

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