Participation in Professional Programmes and Curriculum Implementation: Perspectives of Senior High School French Teachers in Ghana

Professional development is a sine-qua-non to increasing teachers’ skills and abilities in curriculum implementation. Yet, in recent times, policy makers, school heads and teachers have given it little attention. This study therefore focuses on investigating the impact of teachers’ participation in professional programmes on curriculum implementation at the SHS. The research adopted the concurrent mixed approach in documenting facts about teachers’ professional development and implementation. Evidence was gathered through surveys and interviews on seventy two (72) and eight (8) teachers respectively, drawn using multiple sampling procedures. It was found that teachers of French at the SHS participate in professional programmes such as the ones organised by CREF, GAFT and the GES. However, teachers had negative perceptions about the content of these programmes since they did not in enhance teacher knowledge, skills of teaching and students’ achievement. It was also found that a positive significant relationship [r(72) = .804, p < .05 given ? = .05 and p –value =.008] exists between participation in professional programmes and curriculum implementation. Based on these outcomes, the study recommends that for maximum impact, content of professional development programmes be aligned with the curriculum so teachers’ implementation challenges could be addressed for enhanced student learning. Keywords: SHS, curriculum implementation, French teachers, CREF, GE

Teaching and learning French as a foreign language in Ghana,the gap between the culture of teaching and the culture of learning

L'enseignement/apprentissage d'une langue étrangère en situation scolaire suppose l'intégration de multiples facteurs sociaux. Cette recherche s'intéresse aux stratégies communicatives en classe de français langue étrangère dans quelques lycées au Ghana. Nous avons filmé neuf séances (6 heures) dans trois lycées de la municipalité de Cape Coast. L'analyse des données est basée sur les différents comportements verbaux et non verbaux retenus au cours de la transcription des séances filmées. Ainsi, nous puisons dans des concepts de l'ethnographie, en nous enrichissant des outils anthropologiques, sociologiques, psychologiques, didactiques, interactionnistes, linguistiques, etc. Les résultats montrent que l'inférence en tant que technique d'enseignement joue plusieurs rôles et peut contribuer au développement des stratégies communicatives en classe de FLE. Cependant, l'approche dans les lycées ghanéens se heurte à une incompréhension entre la culture européenne et la culture de socialisation des élèves. Par ailleurs, l'alternance des langues en classe de français langue étrangère prend diverses formes contrôlées par les enseignants. En outre, la communication non-verbale se reflète également dans les échanges à fonction communicative complexe que les enseignants et les élèves jouent en classe. Enfin, l'analyse révèle l'importance de l'affectivité dans l'acquisition des langues étrangères à l'école même à l'âge de la fin de scolarité.The teaching/learning of a foreign language in the school set up require the integration of multiple social factors. This research attempts to describe patterns of communication in French as a foreign language class in some senior high schools in Ghana. Lesson sessions are videotaped in three schools in the Cape Coast municipality. The results show that inference as a teaching technique plays several roles and may contribute to the development of communication strategies in foreign language classroom. However, the approach is hampered in Ghanaian schools by a misunderstanding between the European culture and the culture of socialization of the students. Moreover, code switching in French as a foreign language classroom takes many forms controlled by teachers. Different linguistic codes within the class are therefore limited to only metalinguistic discourse. In addition, nonverbal communication is also reflected in various complex communicative functions that teachers and students play in class. Finally, the analysis reveals the importance of emotion in the acquisition of foreign languages in Ghanaian secondary schools

Teaching and learning French as a foreign language in Ghana,the gap between the culture of teaching and the culture of learning

L'enseignement/apprentissage d'une langue étrangère en situation scolaire suppose l'intégration de multiples facteurs sociaux. Cette recherche s'intéresse aux stratégies communicatives en classe de français langue étrangère dans quelques lycées au Ghana.The teaching/learning of a foreign language in the school set up require the integration of multiple social factors. This research attempts to describe patterns of communication in French as a foreign language class in some senior high schools in Ghana.