| dc.description.abstract | This thesis aimed to explore the issue of pupils’ Englishoral participation in an English Foreign Language classroom in a primary school in Norway. Action Research was conducted to explore if AR could be implemented in an average EFL Norwegian classroom and if the teacher developed a greater understanding of their own teaching practices. The AR aimed to result in positive developments in the pupils’ EFL oral participation by the end of the study. The study addressed three research questions regarding increasing pupil oral participation in English, the potential explanations for the lack of oral participation, and the validity of the AR. In addition, three subquestions were explored in order to provide information on the research questions.
This was explored through classroom research in a 4th-grade EFL classroom with 24 pupils. The data was collected through mixed methods; the quantitative method was three questionnaires answered by 24 pupils, and the qualitative method was observation and four short teacher-pupil interviews. This AR study showed that implementing AR in one’s own classroom is achievable and provides the teacher with a greater understanding of their own teaching practices. Through AR, it was established how the teacher was able to increase the pupils’ English oral participation in the EFL classroom. Lessons were created to fit the Norwegian curriculum while adding additional opportunities for pupils to speak English during the lesson. The pupils participated in verbal communication activities and were provided with an English translation of the most commonly asked questions throughout lessons. The aim was for the pupils to speak English instead of Norwegian in EFL lessons.
Oral participation tasks appeared to have a positive impact on the development of the pupils’ oral participation in this particular classroom. In addition, the teacher achieved an insight into their personal learning practices, The findings of the study suggest that AR is an effective method to understand the reasoning for a problem in the classroom, and allows for exploration of methods to resolve the issue.
The thesis aimed to contribute to the knowledge on the use of AR in the Norwegian EFL classroom, and, to provide an example of how to conduct AR. In addition, the thesis aimed to gain an understanding of how to increase pupils' oral participation, and explore if the pupils’ practice of EFL oral communication affected their motivation or language anxiety. | |
