https://kerd.ku.ac.ke/handle/123456789/41 Thu, 01 Oct 2026 23:57:42 GMT 2026-10-01T23:57:42Z https://kerd.ku.ac.ke/handle/123456789/1707 Graffiti Writing and Its Likely Influence on English Language Learning in Selected Secondary Schools in the Larger Laikipia East District, Laikipia County, Kenya Mwangi, Francis Gichuki; Gathumbi, Agnes W.; Bwire, Adelheid M. Graffiti takes the form of written language whose authorship always remains anonymous. It precisely refers to any wall writing, pictures and symbols or markings of any kind on any surface anywhere no matter what motivates the writer. Most graffiti are viewed as illegal or vandalism of property by those in authority. Secondary school students use graffiti as a form of communication when they feel other channels to express themselves, have been blocked by those in authority. The study at aimed at identifying the communicative strategies employed in graffiti writing and the influence of graffiti on learning of English language and classroom learning environment in our schools. Graffiti texts were collected in ten secondary schools purposively sampled in the Larger Laikipia East District in Laikipia County. Out of one thousand graffiti texts collected, two hundred were randomly sampled for analysis. Twenty English teachers were purposively sampled to take part in an interview. One hundred students were randomly sampled to fill in questionnaires. A Focused Group Discussion (FGD) was carried out with another group of five students randomly sampled across the classes in each school. The data collected from this exercise were analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively to arrive at inferences and conclusions. The study used a sociolinguistic approach to the study of graffiti. The study was guided by General System Theory. The findings of the study were that students used varied communicative strategies like humour, symbolism, irony, short forms, acronyms and abbreviations in their graffiti writings. It was also established that teachers expressed varied opinions that graffiti influenced learning of English language and classroom learning environment in secondary schools. The findings of this research may contribute to the study of sociolinguistics in general and communication in schools in particular. It has been established that students use graffiti to communicate a lot of information that would be beneficial to the head teachers, quality assurance officers, students’ counsellors, policy makers and other stakeholders. Classroom teachers may also use graffiti to establish the unspoken students problems and behaviour and thus prevent entropy of the school system. A Paper Presented at the 4th International Conference on Education, Kenyatta University. 13th - 17th July, 2015 Thu, 01 Jan 2015 00:00:00 GMT https://kerd.ku.ac.ke/handle/123456789/1707 2015-01-01T00:00:00Z https://kerd.ku.ac.ke/handle/123456789/1661 An Investigation of Utilization of Teaching Techniques That Enhance Integration of The Four Basic English Language Skills in Secondary Schools in Kenya Gathumbi, Agnes W.; Ogalo, M. O. English language in Kenya is taught as a second language and it is also the country’s official language, as well as the language of instruction (LOI) in secondary schools. It is through English that all the other subject contents are taught and examined (except for other languages). This scenario implies that proficiency in the LOI is essential if learners are expected to advance to institutions of higher learning for tertiary education. The four basic language skills that were of interest in this study are listening, speaking, reading and writing; grammar and vocabulary are embedded in these four. These skills are expected to be integrated during the actual classroom teaching. Performance in English language in Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examinations (terminal secondary school examinations) has been going down, year after year. There was a need, therefore, to find out if teachers used the integrative approach when teaching English. Use of teaching techniques that promote integration of language skills is expected to improve language learning. The study was conducted in ten secondary schools in Gatundu district of Kenya. The sample comprised 20 English language teachers who teach Form three students and 10 Heads of English department. Instruments for collection of raw data were a questionnaire, a classroom observation schedule and an interview schedule. The SPSS program was used to analyze the generated qualitative data, which were presented descriptively using basic statistics. Research findings showed that most teachers found integration of language skills during teaching, a challenge. Classrooms were teacher-centered rather than learner-centered. A negative backwash effect was evident as 80% of the teachers said they ignored listening and speaking skills as they are not tested in KCSE examinations. Conclusions have been drawn and recommendations made. http://cuseinkenya.syr.edu/wpcontent/uploads/2013/01/ICE2011.pdf#page=711&zoom=auto,69,769 Sat, 01 Jan 2011 00:00:00 GMT https://kerd.ku.ac.ke/handle/123456789/1661 2011-01-01T00:00:00Z https://kerd.ku.ac.ke/handle/123456789/1507 The Pedagogic Process of Writing in English as a Second Language (Esl) in Kenyan Secondary Schools Nthiga, Purity Muthoni The present study is a descriptive survey of the pedagogic process of ESL writing in selected secondary school classes in Kenya. The study describes the input provided by teachers with regard to writing in the ESL classes, explores the steps in the writing process followed by the learners, uncovers teacher feedback provision practices and finally surveys learners‟ reactions to the writing lessons and to the feedback. The motivation for the study was the continued poor performance in the K.C.S.E English composition writing paper. The subjects of the study were Form Two students plus their teachers of English (writing) in eleven secondary schools selected using stratified random sampling. Data collection was by classroom observations, tape-recording of lessons, questionnaires, interviews and document analysis of marked essays. Data analysis and discussion of findings was guided by the tenets of Ellis‟ theory of instructed second language acquisition, the affective filter hypothesis and the process-genre approach to the teaching of writing. Input in the classroom was found to touch on all important areas of writing though its comprehensibility could be improved by adopting a wide variety of learner centered classroom activities and use of a variety of resources. Learners were found to follow all the steps in the writing process but need training in specific strategies especially for pre-writing and revising. The most prevalent teacher feedback provision method was indirect uncoded error feedback accompanied by teacher commentary. The feedback focuses largely on weaknesses, touches on all important areas of writing but has a bias towards LOCs. Learners revealed that their writing lessons are interesting, but can be improved by including more writing practice, a wide variety of resources and samples of written communication. The learners also revealed that teachers provide useful and fair feedback that largely focuses on LOCs. The learners would prefer feedback in all areas, top among them vocabulary usage. Using a variety of error feedback strategies plus other methods of feedback provision as well as incorporating a requirement for revision of marked essays into the feedback process could improve provision of feedback in the learners‟ view. The findings of this study imply the need for: improvement of classroom practices, activities and resources; a better preparation of teachers especially with regard to feedback provision, and a re-evaluation of the examination practices for composition writing. A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Applied Linguistics of Kenyatta University, May 2010 Fri, 01 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT https://kerd.ku.ac.ke/handle/123456789/1507 2010-01-01T00:00:00Z https://kerd.ku.ac.ke/handle/123456789/1153 Perceptions of English Language Teachers and Learners about an Effective English Language Teacher (Eelt) in Kenyan Secondary Schools Napwora, Jesse,; Masibo, Edwin; Likoko, Sarah Between January, 2013 and March, 2013, an investigation of the perceptions of teachers and learners of English about an effective English language teacher was carried out. The research involved 10 teachers of English and 50 Form Three students of English in Kimilili-Bungoma district, Bungoma County, Kenya. Specific objectives of the study were to: investigate English language teachers’ perceptions about the qualities of an effective English language teacher (ELT); to investigate English language learners’ (ELLs) perceptions about the qualities of an effective ELT and to investigate the factors that promoted and/or impeded effective English language teaching in Kenyan secondary schools. The study adopted a qualitative research approach, constructivist-interpretative philosophical paradigm and descriptive design based on neuro-linguistic programming, cognitivist, constructivist and transformational theories of adult learning. Stratified, simple random and purposive sampling techniques were used to get the sample. In- depth interview and Focus group discussions (group interview) were used to collect data from the teachers and learners respectively. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics. From the analysis and the interpretation of data, it can be deduced from the findings that most of the teachers perceived possessing academic, professional and pedagogical knowledge; reflective teaching and inspiring students to learn the language as the most important characteristics of an EELT while most of the students perceived teacher’s pedagogical skills and personality as the most important characteristics of an EELT. Most teachers perceived heavy work load and lack of motivation while students perceived lack of enough teaching and learning resources and scarcity of ELTs as the most important factors that impeded effective English language teaching. Consequently, it is recommended that English language teachers (ELTs) should inspire their students to learn the language ;should be motivated by their schools and the government; should individually and collaboratively engage in continued professional development ; and schools and the government should support them in this endeavor in order to bring about desired learning of the language among the students. A research article in International Journal of Scientific Research and Innovative Technology Sun, 01 Jan 2017 00:00:00 GMT https://kerd.ku.ac.ke/handle/123456789/1153 2017-01-01T00:00:00Z