THE FIDELITY APPROACH TO THE TEACHING OF CORE ENGLISH LANGUAGE IN BOMPEH SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL – A CASE STUDY

ABSTRACT

The study examines the approach used by teachers of Core English

language to teach the core English language curriculum in Bompeh Senior High

School, in the Western Region of Ghana. Specifically, the study focused on the

academic qualifications teachers of the Core English language curriculum

possessed, how topics were arranged in the syllabus, the method used by these

teachers to teach, the teaching and learning materials they used during the

teaching and learning process. A case study which employed both the quantitative

and qualitative methods, enabled cross-validation of the data and ensured

consistency and authentication. The population was made up of one head teacher,

one circuit supervisor, eight teachers (six females and two males) and 135

student-participants who were randomly selected. Data was collected through

documentation, questionnaires, interviews and observation of classroom lessons.

The outcome of the study revealed that majority of teachers were degree

holders of English language. The results also revealed that the most prominent

method for teaching English language was the lecture method, which was

sometimes combined with demonstrations. The study concluded that the teachers

have the skills, knowledge and competencies required to support the

implementation of the core English Language curriculum. However, on-going inservice

training should be given to teachers in curriculum implementation so that

they would be able to implement the curriculum effectively to reflect on ideas

expressed in the developed curriculum.