Evaluation Report of the English
Time Project 1994-1998
BACKGROUND
During October and November 1993, consultants from the Swedish Educational Broadcasting
Company, Kerstin Jackson and Isabella Thinsz, conducted a study of the educational
situation in Botswana with regard to the possibility of producing new English radio
lessons for Primary schools. At that time Botswana was introducing a new policy for
education and English as the medium of instruction was to be used from standard 2 upwards
in the educational system. The feasibility study had been requested by SIDA and Ministry
of Education. The changes in education in Botswana required a good knowledge of English
among both teachers and students.
The consultants assessed the need for a new programme series for primary schools
through: classroom observations, discussions with primary school teachers, pupils and
lecturers at two teachers' training colleges, interviews and discussion with officials at
Botswana's Ministry of Education, the Department of Curriculum Development and Evaluation
and the Educational Broadcasting Division. The project was given the name of ENGLISH TIME.
The proposed project was approved by SIDA and the Ministry of Education and work
started in April 1994 to coincide with the implementation of the Revised National Policy
on Education. The consultants' most urgent task was to identify and train possible
scriptwriters.
The revised syllabus in use and the new modem English textbooks, MAPEP, made it
necessary to develop a new approach to the teaching of English by radio. The MAPEP books
are used in all Primary schools in Botswana from standard 1 to 4. They were specially
written for children in Botswana and provided with illustrations of real life situations.
The teachers follow the Teachers' Guide which gives suggestions and ideas for the work on
weekly basis.
It was decided that the new English radio lessons should be based on the syllabus and
on MAPEP and follow the weekly objectives of the MAPEP Teachers' Guide.
GOAL
To develop the teaching of English and to improve the knowledge of English among the
children in Botswana
DEVELOPMENT OBJECTIVES
1. To produce stimulating, child-centred radio lessons for all standards of the Primary
Education system. ( Standards 1-7 )
2. To introduce a new system of radio production which will include contributions from
scriptwriters and educationalists from throughout Botswana
3. To develop the skills of the EBD producers and their contributors.
EFFECTS
1. Together with MAPEP- the new English textbook for standard 1-4, the radio lessons have
helped to reinforce and modernize the teaching of English in all parts of the country.
2. The collaboration with outside contributors has helped to develop and broaden the work
climate at the EBD and their participation has also brought in new ideas and impulses.
3. The skills of the producers have been developed through workshops and in every day
working situations. A new way of producing programmes has been introduced.
4. Primary school teachers have in special workshops been trained in how to implement the
English Time lessons.
METHODS
In order to evaluate the success of the project and whether or not the targets have been
achieved the following methods have been used:
meetings with teachers
workshops with teachers
questionnaires for teachers
classroom observation
meetings with scriptwriters and teacher advisors
meetings with producers and technician
meetings with some Senior Officers in the Ministry of Education, involved in primary
education and in curriculum development questionnaires for producers and technician.
ENGLISH TIME PROGRAMMES
The first objective of the English Time project was to produce stimulating,
child-centred radio lessons for all standards of the Primary Education System.
For each standard there are 28 programmes, duration appr. 15 minutes per programme.
Each radio lesson is divided into distinctive parts, each with a different character, in
order to give variety to the English lessons. They supplement the work that is carried out
in the classroom.
The programmes are generally lively and interactive; they include: songs and rhymes,
games, dialogues, interviews, stories with comprehension exercises, and authentic
situations.
The structure of the programmes has remained the same but naturally the degree of
difficulty has increased as the leamers' knowledge of English has improved.
Most programmes end with an open question or an activity which stimulates the
children's imagination, thinking and creativity and the teachers are given lots of ideas
for how to do follow - up activities in the classroom.
Questionnaires
In order to determine whether or not the first objective had been fulfilled the
Educational Broadcasting Division, the Examination Research and Testing Division and the
Guidance and Counselling Division designed a new questionnaire to analyse the impact of
the English Time programmes. (see appendix A)
This questionnaire was used in schools in Maun, Lobatse, Selebi Pikwe, Bobonong and
Mahalapye and it was answered by 440 standard 1, 2 and 3 teachers who use English Time
programmes.
The Department of Statistical Service at the University of Botswana has processed the
questionnaires. ( See appendix nr B)
The questionnaire indicated that the programmes have had a favorable influence on the
children's confidence, fluency, pronunciation and imagination.
On the question :How much English do the children use after listening to the
programmes?.
54 % of the teachers said that the children use a little English after listening to the
programmes, 44 % said that the children speak a lot of English.
Some of the other questions were answered as follows : How much have the programmes
influenced the children's confidence? 3% said not at all, 49% of the teachers said
slightly , 47% said a lot.
How much have the programmes influenced the children's fluency ?
3% answered not at all, 67% answered slightly, 28% answered a lot.
How much have the programmes influenced the children's pronunciation ?
4% said not at all, 54 % said slightly, 41 % said a lot.
How much have the programmes influenced the children's imagination ?
12% answered not at all, 52 % answered slightly and 35 % answered a lot.
The questionnaire was also trying to establish whether or not the different activities
in the programmes had influenced the teachers to use different teaching approaches, such
as stories, games, dialogues, chants, songs. The programmes seem to have inspired some
teachers to increase the variety of different teaching approaches.
The use of songs however had obviously always been the teachers' favourite teaching
approach.
48 % of the teachers used dialogues before listening to English Time (ET) and
65% used dialogues after the introduction of ET.
30% of the teachers used chants before listening to ET and 44 % used chants
after the introduction of ET.
50% of the teachers answered that they used stories before listening to ET 55% used
stories after the introduction of ET.
93% of the teachers used songs before listening to ET and after the introduction of ET
78% said that they use songs.
Songs and games are the children's favourites in the programmes. 86% of teachers think
the children like songs a lot and 83% of the teachers think the children like games a lot.
79% of the teachers do a follow-up after the radio lesson and thy think that the
Teachers notes are relevant. Most teachers 80% also think that the programmes supplement
the syllabus.
Another questionnaire was designed by the EBD and was answered by 60 standard 1,2, and
3 teachers during the evaluation, meetings held in November '97 (see appendix C). The
teachers represented Gaborone, Francistown and Tutume areas. This questionnaire shows how
the individual teachers has been influenced by using the English Time programmes and what
changes have taken place in their way of teaching English through English Time.
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The majority of the teachers who answered this questionnaire said that they have become
more motivated and more confident in teaching English since they gained access to English
Time. As a result, they now speak English during the entire lesson. Comments from teachers
who have been stimulated by English Time include one who said: "I nave become more
friendly with the children. " Another teacher commented that it has changed my
way of teaching English because it has encouraged me to speak English daily. It has
created friendship between me and my children. " Another teacher says: "The
change of speed when speaking has developed for I thought that it was better to speak
slowly... but normal speed is the good one. "
The teachers have become aware of the importance of the communicative approach to
learning a foreign language. Many of the teachers also say that they have been helped by
the new teaching methods used in the programmes.
Some of the teachers want English Time radio lessons to start being broadcast during
the first week of term and to continue up to the end of term. This would mean making two
more programmes per standard.
One of the questions in this questionnaire asked the teachers if they had noticed any
difference in students who have used English Time from standard 1. Some teachers answered
that "A child who has been exposed to the radio programmes copes better with
English than one who hasn't ".
Classroom Observations
The consultants have attended lessons where the teachers have conducted English Time
lessons regularly since the project started.
After three years the consultants have concluded that the teachers have become more
confident and more active during the lessons. They show a friendly attitude towards the
children in order to give them confidence. For example, when students make mistakes the
teachers don't criticise them, instead they say, "Who can help him ? ".
Most of the teachers conduct the lessons very well, they prepare the pupils before
listening and they spend some time on the follow-up, e.g. they dramatize dialogues from
the programmes, they organize a race to practise concepts like ordinal numbers, some sing
the songs and enjoy the "right brain" activities.
Regrettably the consultants have also observed teachers who still remain passive in the
classroom, teachers who obviously have not taken part in training on how to conduct a
radio lesson nor have they used the programmes regularly. The over all impression,
however, is that English Time radio programmes are used all over the country in most
schools.
Many teachers complain about the poor quality of radios that break down easily, the
lack of batteries and cassettes. (see Equipment page 10)
Teachers Notes
The radio lessons are accompanied by Teachers' Notes which help teachers to make full use
of the programmes.
The Teachers Notes outline the objectives of the lesson and give examples of the
contents of the programme, e.g. the language, grammatical structures, songs, games,
stories. chants and dialogues. They also help the teacher to use the teacher to use the
right brain activities and give ideas on how to follow up the lesson.
The Teachers Notes can't be written until there is a final version of the radio
programme. They are prepared gradually as the programmes are being finalised and
are published a year after the actual broadcast has taken place. However. a version of the
Teachers' Notes is distributed during, the first year that the programmes are
broadcast.
The Teachers Notes are very helpful to the teacher and there is a remarkable difference
between teachers who are using them and those who can't yet use them.
Equipment
At the time when the English Time Project started the Local Government and Lands was
making a big effort to provide all schools with cassette radios so that radio lessons
could be used all over the country, either at the actual time of broadcast or from a
cassette.
Unfortunately, the radios that were supplied to the schools proved to be of poor
quality and started to break down almost immediately. Either no provision for maintenance
had been made or schools were not aware of it so even minor problems were not attended to.
Today, four years later some schools don't even have one single radio that works and can't
listen to the school broadcasts.
In many parts of the country the reception of radio programmes in general is poor. Good
quality radios would help when the reception is poor. We observed out-door lessons where
the teacher is holding up the radio trying to pick up at least some parts of the
programme. It is understandable if some teachers give up after a while.
Another problem that the conscientious teacher encounters is the lack of batteries
which are not provided effectively. The Education Secretaries at the Councils provide the
schools with radios and batteries. It is unfortunate that there's little communication
between the Education Secretaries and the EO:s in some regions. The EBD has tried to
overcome these problems by inviting Mr.Kgopo from Local Govemment Land and Housing and a
number of Education Officers and Educational Secretaries to a meeting to discuss the
problems. Mr.Kgopo then assured that his department was willing to purchase the most
appropriate type of radio if only the EBD could guide them in choice of radio. The matter
was referred to the Department of Information and Broadcasting by the EBD as requested by
the Central Tender Board. (see appendix D)
Since those teachers who use the programmes regularly seem to be so happy about them
and the pupils seem to make such steady progress, we suggest that an extra effort be made
to supply good quality radios, batteries and cassettes, so that all pupils get the same
good basis for their further studies of English.
The cassettes
All English Time programmes are copied on cassette and before the start of each term
the Education Officers receive cassettes of the new programmes in order to distribute them
to all the schools in the area. However, something often goes wrong and many cassettes are
missing in the schools. They may have the standard 2 cassettes but not the standard I
cassettes or vice versa. Sometimes you find cassettes lying around on the wrong shelf in
the wrong place.
The teachers appreciate the cassettes because this enables them to use the programmes
at their own convenience. They can repeat parts of the programmes that the children have
not fully understood, listen to the songs several times or divide the lesson into several
parts. In areas where reception is poor the cassettes make it possible to use the
programmes.
PRODUCTION GROUPS
The second development objective was to introduce a new system of radio production which
would include contributions from scriptwriters and educationalists drawn from through out
Botswana.
At the time of the feasibility study of the project, the consultants noticed that the
production of programmes to a large extent was done by the producers themselves and seldom
included specialists and other contributors outside the EBD. Many scripts were written and
recorded by the producers themselves, with little input from outsiders. To chance this and
instead make the programmes more varied, lively, interactive, child-centred and
interesting the consultants suggested that all English Time programmes should be written
by scriptwriters who were to be trained especially for the English Time project. The
training of scriptwriters for English Time started in April 1994. For this
evaluation the producers were asked to re-read part of the project document in order to
give their opinions on whether the intentions in the document have been fulfilled or not.
The first question to the producers was whether the EBD's responsibility had changed in
any way ?
The following answers are representative of all the producers:
" It has changed especially on the production side. We are now using
outsiders and teachers to write scripts. There is good communication
between technician, consultant, producers, scriptwriters and teachers.
" The working style of the EBD producers has dramatically changed due to
working with scriptwriters and teachers' advisers. The producers
attitude towards work has also changed and they are more able to plan
organise their work. "
Studio recordings have improved when it comes to the co-operation between
the technician, the producer and the participants. The technical quality is better though
not perfect. The children participating in the programmes have become real stars. Actors
from a local drama group are being trained for radio recordings.
Another objective of the English Time project was to develop the skills of the EBD
producers and their contributors.
This has been partly done by the consultant in every-day working situations and partly
through workshops for the whole production groups. Twice a year workshops in
scriptwriting, have taken place. All together there have been seven scriptwriting,
workshops. Sub-consultant Douglas Campbell, an experienced BBC producer has together with
the Swedish consultants trained the producers and a number of scriptwriters on how to
write relevant, interesting, and childcentred radio programmes. The EBD producers have
been to all of them but the number of scriptwriters has varied. At the moment the EBD is
using six scriptwriters who have been trained at these workshops.
The question on in-service training and workshops was answered by one of the producers
as follows:
The workshops have been very valuable, in the sense that they stimulate creativity.
The-v have been very helpful especially to the scriptwriter and the
producers.
One of the producers would like more formal feed back from the consultant while being
trained "on the job ."
The technician at the EBD plays a very important role in the English Time project. He
has recorded almost all the programmes and the music. He has experienced a change
in the working climate in the studio e.g. the co-operation between the technician, the
producer and the participants runs more smoothly and the atmosphere is more positive. He
would like the producers to book time with him to go through the scripts the
sound effects and the music a few days before the actual recording.
The technician is responsible for the technical quality of the programmes. The level of
the programmes must be properly checked by the production team before broadcasting. This
has not always been done.
The technician is also responsible for putting, all English Time programmes on CD in
order to keep them for the future.
LAUNCHING OF THE ENGLISH TIME PROGRAMMES
Workshops
Workshops on the implementation of the programmes have been held for the in-service
team from TT&D every year since the project started in 1994. This training has become
more focused over the years it now provides practical examples on how to use the radio
programmes for further practice in the classroom.
The launching of the programmes has been built on the idea of a multiplier effect. The
EBD trains the in-service team from TT&D who in their turn train Headteachers and some
Education Offices. They in turn run school-based workshops for the teachers. It is obvious
that part of the initial information is diluted on its long way from the EBD to the
in-service teams to the Headteachers and finally to the teachers.
In areas where the Education officers and head teachers are active and enthusiastic
about English Time, the workshops have been successful and the teachers have learnt to use
the programmes in an effective way. In other areas these school-based workshops have been
a failure or have not even taken place. We have noticed a big difference in areas where
the training has been effective.
During one of the school-based workshops L.S Molol - headteacher at Xhosa Primary
School presented the following poem.
E English used as second language
N No translation needed
G Games, rhymes and dialogue instead
L Learners learn by play
I Interest arose through activities
S Start while learner are young,
H Happiness arouses interest
T Teachers work harder
I Improve the standard of English
M Mount workshops at your respective schools
E Extend knowledge to all learners
P Productivity our daily cry
R Research and be creative
O Objectives the key to learning
J Joy, the sweet Time that entices
E Energy the essence of good teaching
C Curriculum Department we praise you
T To train us to be skillful and productive
Teachers' Forum programmes
In another attempt to bring information about the English Time programmes directly to
the teachers, the EBD has planned three Teachers' Forum programmes to be used in the
future. These programmes will give illustrations from classroom teaching to show how the
programmes are best used. They will also try to explain and show how new ideas in the
English Time programmes can be taught. One of these programmes is currently under
production.
EBD English Time Workshops
Since July 1996, the EBD has conducted 11 workshops at different Education Centres all
over the country. Previous visits to schools and meeting with teachers had shown that the
teachers did not know how to make full use of the ideas in the English Time programmes.
These workshops have encouraged the teachers to do creative exercises corresponding to the
contents of the radio programmes. The approach has proved successful and the evaluations
of the teachers have been very positive.
Extracts from some of the evaluations:
" The workshop was very educative. We have harvested a lot from it. I have learnt
that someone can learn better when she/he enjoys what she/he does. I really do appreciate
the idea of radio lessons because they supplement the teachers and they do things the
teachers can't do so easily.
" The English Time project is really helping us to teach the language but the
main problem is shortage of batteries and not enough radios.
"The workshop taught us how to make pupils use the language. It shows that
pupils should be involved in every activity. It should be child-centred and the teacher
must motivate the pupils to speak by varying the activities."
MEETINGS - Evaluation feedback
Bontle Molefe, Senior Education Officer Curriculum - English
Tony King, Curriculum Officer - English.
The officers have listened to some English Time programmes and they have talked to
teachers who were using, the programmes. According to their experience the programmes were
used a lot, up to three times a week and in some instances, the teachers and pupils
listened to the same programme three times a week without a follow up. This
made them worried that the programmes would lessen the impact of the classroom teaching
time.
Curriculum is presently trying out a range of English textbooks for Primary Schools
some of which were originally made for the South African market and is evaluating their
overall efficiency and effectiveness.
Since the standard 1 and 2 English Time radio programme are closely tied to the MAPEP
books there is a danger that the teachers won't be able to use the programmes in the
future if new textbooks are introduced.
TT&D
Kgomotso Motlotle, PEO
Olga Seretse, Senior Education Officer in Maun(Okavango,Maun, Ngamiland)
responsible for 49 schools. 439 teachers in her area have been trained to use English
Time.Rhoda Wigget, Senior Education Officer in the Central-South region
(Serowe North and South and Pahalapye North) responsible for 68 schools.K.
Mautle, Senior Education Officer in Gaborone South and
East, responsible for 49 schools.
G. Jenswold, Senior Education Officer for the Breakthrough programme.
Olga Seretse gave a very positive picture of the usage of English Time in her area.
She said that the students are able to use English better in real life situations, they
are more confident when speaking English and they respond to commands. The teachers have a
more positive attitude towards teaching English but one problem is the "shy"
teachers, those who don't feel confident in English and who have never had a chance to
communicate in English. Teacher training is very important and the EBD must make an effort
to reach the teacher trainees at the Teacher Training Colleges. It was also emphasized
that there is a need' for pre-service training on the use of broadcast media education.
Another problem they stressed is poor quality radios and lack of batteries. One worry
among all the officers was the possible introduction of new English Textbooks initiated by
the CD&E.
Mr. M. Mogasha - Director of Primary Education
Mr. Mogasha said that he has a special interest in the English Time project and enjoys
listening to the programmes. He can see a positive difference in how the pupils have
gained knowledge from English Time. Children hear spoken English and learn to communicate
from their own feelings in real life situations. English must be taught as a language for
communication and must not end in the classroom. Mr Mogasha stressed that English is the
most basic subject in order to learn other subjects. The teachers are exposed to new
teaching methods but do not always know how to handle radios and cassettes. He would like
to see the English Time project become a programme. Mr Mogasha is aware of the problems
that teachers encounter because of bad reception, poor quality radios and lack of
batteries. "We can't invest a lot of money in a project like English Time and then
abandon it", he said. Mr. Mogasha would like to see more direct communication
between his office and the EBD.
Dr L. Ramahobo - Head of Department for Primary Education -
University of Botswana
The Primary Education Department at UB knows about the English Time Project but are
not familiar with the programmes. A closer contact between the EBD and the UB could be
useful for the future of English Time.
Mrs H. Mogami - Deputy Permanent Secretary - Ministry of Education
A courtesy call was made to Mrs. Mogami whereby many important matters concerning, the
future of the English Time project were discussed.
EBD STAFF
The staff involved in production at the EBD consists of only five producers, one
technician, two secretaries and the acting head who also produces programmes.
When the project started in 1994 the Division had been promised more staff. Since then
only one producer has arrived but at the same time one producer has left. The EBD is
presently lacking, four producers.
The situation has been aggravated by the fact that Queen Pilane, the Head of the
Division retired in August 1997 and a successor has not yet been appointed However Queen
Pilane is back temporarily at the EBD from November1997 until March 1998. The post has not
yet been advertised Ambrose Munyadzwe is occupied with the cassette project at the
division. Thandie Hirschfeld attended a three year degree course in communication design
radio and television at a university in USA, she came back in January 1997.
Mokgethi Van Vuuren studied for an advanced diploma in Education and Mass Media in
England for nine months and came back to the EBD in September 1995.
Nonofo Mankhi attended a training, of trainer course at Radio Netherlands training
center in Holland for five months during 1997.
When it comes to the production of standard 5 - 7 there is a great risk that the
project will be seriously delayed because of shortage of staff. The project is very
vulnerable - it doesn't allow anyone to be absent from work for any length of time.
One of the objectives of the long-term consultant was to train
new staff.
This objective has not been fulfilled since no new staff have been available.
The English Time project has put a heavy workload on the small EBD staff
and it is little short of a miracle that it has managed to produce 28 English
Time programmes a year with accompanying Teachers' Notes and at the
same time maintain all the other series.
THE FUTURE OF THE ENGLISH TIME PROJECT
The future of the English Time project depends entirely on the staff situation at the EBD.
Unless a new Head and more staff are appointed it will be extremely difficult to pursue
the project.
Thandie Hirschfeld is to be project leader and responsible for the standard 5
programmes. As she has been in the USA during the years that the other producers have been
trained, she will now be trained on the job by the Long-term consultant.
In March 1996, a meeting with the English Review Committee was held. One point on the
agenda was to discuss what they would like standard 5,6 and 7 programmes to be like.
- the programmes should be based on the syllabus and not on any particular textbook
- there should be continuity with regard to the standard 1-4 programmes and the same
programme formats could be used : warm-up, revision, new material and follow-up
- the programmes should include : stories, games, songs, quizzes, debates, drama,
dialogues, literature and poetry, traditional stories, comprehension exercises and have a
cross-curricular approach
A problem when planning these programmes for standard 5, 6, and 7 is that the new
syllabus for English in Primary Schools has not yet materialized. A close cooperation with
the English Education Officers at CD&E will therefore be necessary.
When the long-term consultant leaves in December 1998, the small EBD staff will be
under a lot of pressure to complete the English Time project. It would help the project if
new staff could be appointed as soon as possible to be trained by the consultant before
she leaves.
RECOMMENDATIONS
- When the new syllabus is introduced and new teaching, materials are determined, it
should be considered that English Time programmes for standard 1 and 2 depend on the MAPEP
pupil's books as support material, consequently complementary teaching materials should be
developed instead of completely replacing MAPEP.
- Good radio-cassettes with a service package should be identified and recommended to the
Councils.
- The English Time project should become a programme and the training, of teachers should
be assigned to the TT&D.
- The vacant posts at EBD must be advertised immediately.
- New job descriptions should be written for the programme producers.
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