The teaching of literature in English in selected senior secondary schools in the Manzini region of Eswatini.

Abstract

This study sought to investigate the teaching of Literature in English in selected senior secondary schools in the Manzini region of Eswatini. The study aimed at addressing three research questions: 1. What literary competencies are taught in Literature in English in the selected schools? 2. How do the teachers teach Literature in English in these selected schools? 3. Why do the teachers teach Literature in English the way they do? This qualitative case study was conducted in three underprivileged senior secondary schools in the Manzini region of Eswatini and was guided by the interpretive paradigm. Vygotsky’s social constructivist theory was employed as the study’s theoretical framework and data was generated through four methods namely: semi-structured Zoom interviews, audio recorded lessons, document analysis and focus group discussions through Zoom. Through qualitative methods of data analysis, three broad themes emerged. These were: literary competences taught in the Literature in English subject, approaches and instructional strategies used, and lastly reasons behind the participant teacher’s way of teaching. The literary competences taught were: content knowledge, language and critical thinking skills, and lastly values and attitudes. The participant teachers employed a number of approaches in their teaching which included: the eclectic approach, learner-centred approach, information-based approach, moral-philosophical approach, reader response approach, and the language-based approach. Teachers’ knowledge and belief on the effectiveness of their instructional strategies coupled with their desire to make a positive contribution to humanity influenced them to use learner-centred methods and taught skills, moral values and desirable attitudes to their learners. However, due to several reasons such as, learners’ poor English language proficiency, lack of resources, inadequate lesson preparation and time constraints due to the COVID-19 pandemic, their teaching was more teacher-centred. It was recommended that teachers strive to prepare well for their lessons and employ more learner-centred strategies, while schools and the Ministry of Education work jointly to avail basic resources such as the literary texts. It was also recommended that a larger study in a different context be conducted in order to get deeper insights in the phenomenon of teaching Literature in English.