Reflective Teaching: Exploring The Influence Of The Curriculum On Language Acquisition

Abstract

Curriculum design has a direct impact on the process of teaching and learning. In Sri Lankan education structure, English is included as a compulsory subject through educational reforms, yet it is visible that fluency and proficiency are limited despite the heavy curriculum. The possibility of completing specific language skills within the predicted time is questionable since the learner's needs and the proficiency level is different from one learner to another. Reflective teaching which facilitates the teacher to perceive the leaner‟s proficiency level and explore the different teaching strategies can be suggested as a solution for problems in the classroom (Disu, 2017). However, the problem of the efficiency of the curriculum in language acquisition prevails. This study explores the influence of the curriculum on language acquisition of English as a Second Language, among Learners according to teachers' perception. This study demonstrates how curriculum design has affected language acquisition related to different language skills and functions. To achieve the objectives of this study, 30 reflective summaries from 10 undergraduates from the University of Kelaniya who completed the Internship in Teaching English as a Second Language degree program were collected and a questionnaire was administered to gather information about the alternative methods in which the student teachers used to acquire language during their secondary education period. The collected data were analyzed through mixed methods approach. The findings of the study outlined the amount of influence the curriculum has on English language teaching and learning and the importance of identifying learner needs and the proficiency level before applying any teaching methods. Furthermore, this study attempts providing an analysis of the influence of the curriculum on English Language Teaching (ELT) and the different teaching strategies the teachers could use in a language classroom (Piaget, 1958 & Vygotsky, 1978).