Challenges of Teaching and Learning Science in English Medium Instruction; A Case Study on a National and a Provincial Level School in Colombo District

Abstract

English Medium Instruction (EMI) in teaching has occupied a prominent status at present with the expansion of English as a lingua franca in the modern world. Sri Lanka has implemented EMI in the secondary level education system in government schools for more than 15 years. Therefore, in this case study, the challenges that are faced in the process of teaching and learning science in English medium were investigated according to the views of the teachers and students who are following EMI in grade 10 and 11. At the same time it examined the significant differences of the challenges in relation to the national level schools and provincial level schools in Colombo district. Accordingly, the present study incorporates a descriptive research design which is based on a qualitative approach. Accordingly, the data collection method comprices semi structured interviews and classroom observations. Thus, one provincial school and one national school from Colombo district were selected for the study. Interviews were conducted with 2 teachers teach Science, and 5 students from the English medium sections of grade 10 and grade 11 of each school. In addition, one classroom observations from each school were conducted during the Science period. According to the preliminary findings of the study, the teachers face challenges in translating the test papers into English and the students have problems in limited integration of L1 in teaching. Further analysis was conducted by using thematic analysis in order to examine the significant challenges in the process of teaching and learning through EMI.