Theory and Practice of Second Language Learning

Abstract

Second language learning can help citizens broaden their thinking capacity and have wide connections to people in the world. Ethiopian governments at different times have been attempting to deliver foreign languages, particularly English, to their citizens. Also, training has been given on how to teach English as a foreign language as well. Thus, this book chapter deals with the theories and practices reflected in ELT as a foreign teaching from the earliest times to the present. Specifically, the syllabus and student books of Grade 10 English, which were in use in three consecutive reigns of Ethiopia, such as Haile Selassie (1930–1974), DERG (1974–1991), and Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) (1991–2022), were assessed and the theories and practices reflected in the teaching materials of each regime, and the changes made in terms of theories, approaches, and methods comparing the past and the present were identified. The audio-lingual method was the most commonly used method during the two regimes (Halie Sillase and DERG). But the content-based and task-based approaches, informed by sociocultural theory, were the most commonly used methods during the EPRDF, as evidenced by the evaluation of teaching materials and practice.

1. Introduction

Second language learning is a liberal education; it is part of a very basic liberal education. That is, to educate citizens means to help them come out of confinement, narrowness, and darkness. Learning a second language and getting soaked into an entirely new culture and worldview are the means to becoming an open-minded, understanding, and tolerant individual. Human beings are products of their culture and environment. So learning a second language means being immersed in a new culture and environment, this means thinking in a different way. When one learns a second language, he or she broadens his or her horizon of thinking. He or she can develop a new perspective on things. Taking this view, into consideration, it was a must for Ethiopia to introduce a foreign language. The introduction of modern education into Ethiopia forced the media of instruction to be foreign languages (French, Italian and English). Heugh et al. [1] support this, saying that the first school in Ethiopia, namely Menelik II was primarily limited to teaching European languages such as English, French, and Italian with the exception of the Italian occupation period, in which attempts were made to make some local languages the medium of instruction. In recent dates (the imperial and military regimes), too, one foreign language, English, was in use in education, particularly from grade 7 upward. English has been taught till now. So, English as a foreign language teaching has long history in Ethiopian Education system. Wubalem [2] narrates that the introduction of English to the Ethiopian curriculum goes back to the period of Emperor Minilik II. Since then, English has been taught from primary schools to the tertiary level. That means, English has continued to spread getting more dominance and importance not only in education but also in business and administration in Ethiopia. In every aspect of cities and towns in the country, English is employed for different purposes. One can easily observe this on the streets from peoples’ ordinary talk, the business banners, logos, office names, etc.

In short, English serves a number of important functions or roles in Ethiopia. The educational or instructional role of English in Ethiopia is the longest-standing and most important one. Trade and commercial communication, marketing and entertainment, administration, and office communication are all expanding responsibilities for English.

Thus, English is taught as a subject in grades 1 through 9 and as a medium of instruction in colleges and institutions across the country. All higher institutions in the country utilize English as their working language; they generate documents, have meetings, and write minutes and reports in English, among other things. Aside from these nationally consistent practices, different regions have adopted different regional policies and attitudes toward English in their educational systems; some regions have made English a medium of instruction beginning in grade 7, while others have begun in grade 8, and still others have begun in grade 9 [1].

Furthermore, most Ethiopian government, public, and commercial institutions, as well as foreign organizations, utilize English as the federal working language or as the sole working language in trans-boundary contacts. It is not necessary to perform research to demonstrate the widespread use of English in practically all industries and services, despite the fact that it is not sanctioned by legislation; a simple scan of websites and papers from various organizations should be sufficient.

With these functions of English in Ethiopia, trainings on how to teach it as a foreign language were provided. So, it is obvious that, staring in the 1950s and 1960s, language teaching represented a reasonably unified body of theory and practice. It was clearly linked in its theoretical foundations to linguistics and psychology. And the language teaching theories employed globally during that time were used in our country as well. So this chapter deals with the theories and insights used to teach a second or foreign language during earlier times and those that are currently used in relation to the practices of second or foreign language instruction in Ethiopia.

2. Theories and practices of second or foreign language learning

The foundation of modern language instruction was created in the early twentieth century as applied linguists and others worked to establish guidelines and procedures for the creation of instructional strategies and materials. They did so by drawing on the expanding fields of linguistics and psychology to support a series of ideas for what they believed to be more efficient and theoretically sound teaching strategies. The twentieth century saw continuous innovation and change in language instruction, as well as the emergence of occasionally conflicting philosophies. Changes in teaching techniques provided a significant amount of the motivation for changes in approaches to language instruction. The idea of a systematic collection of teaching techniques based on a certain linguistic theory is known as the “method concept” in education. The notion that the teaching practices each method supports offer a more efficient and theoretically sound foundation for teaching than the method that came before it is shared by all of them. The introduction of grammar-based teaching techniques that later became known as the structural approach or situational language teaching in the United Kingdom and the audio-lingual method in the United States was the first significant paradigm in modern language education [3].

Following this, different theories of language learning have appeared at different times, starting from the behaviorist theory up to interactionism followed by the sociocultural theory. The behaviorist theory views learning as a reaction to stimuli in the environment; it views a learner as a “creature of habit” that can learn a target language through drills and chorus [4]; in light of the behaviorist theory, the audio-lingual technique, in particular, views second or foreign language learning as a process of habit formation that can be accomplished by drill and pattern rehearsal. Later on, the behaviorist learning theory was deemed insufficient since it views instructors as the exclusive suppliers of information and learners as passive recipients. As a result, the cognitive learning theory rose to prominence.

Mental, psychological, and cognitive processes are the focus of cognitive or psycholinguistic theory. Within this camp, there are two groups called “interactionism” and “linguistic cognitivism” [5]. According to linguistic cognitivism, all human languages are primarily intrinsic and share similar universal principles [6]. However, these presumptions have come under fire for failing to take into account how language acquisition develops. Furthermore, it has been said that the native competence categories of knowledge and the competence-performance dichotomy present a constrained picture of what is taught [5].

To fill this gap, interactionism took the lead. Indeed, interactionism encompasses not only the interaction techniques, but also broader cognitive perspectives that frequently explain L2 learning. It focuses on interactions between learner-internal and learner-external factors that are clearly delimited [5].

Many academics have criticized the cognitive/psycholinguistic camp for its heavy concentration on the individual, separating the individual from the social environment and giving a secondary position to the social milieu [7, 8, 9, 10]. The way this school of thought understands foreign language learning is described by Atkinson [7] as “lonely cactus” (p. 536).

Second or foreign language learning was predominantly “mind/brain” focused until the mid-1980s, when the “social” part of language learning began to gain greater attention, and “sociocultural theory” began to impact second language learning. The strong sociocultural theory was built on Vygotsky’s work. Sociocultural theory (SCT), according to Lightbown and Spada [6], is based on the notion that all learning is social first, then individual. SCT is based on the “ontology of the social individual,” in essence [11]. However, it should be highlighted that SCT’s emphasis on the social component does not imply “a separation from psychological processes.” Vygotsky’s “consistent stress on the link between individual physiological features and socially and culturally created settings and artifacts that modify the person’s cognitive or mental functioning” is emphasized by SCT [12]. Different researchers have expanded socio-cultural theory (SCT) in different ways. “Current SCT techniques have many and rather different emphases,” as Lantolf and Thorne [13] correctly point out. As with some of the varieties of SCT, there are currently different alternative approaches to SLA, such as neo-Vygotskian, complexity theory, socio-cognitive approach, and identity approach.

In general, there are three types of second language or foreign language learning theories: nativist theory, environmental theory, and functional theory. Krashen [14] are two of the most prominent proponents of the nativist hypothesis, which holds that humans are born with the potential to acquire a language. Some talents or laws are shared by all humans within the capability of language. As a result, “universal phenomenon” or “universal grammar (UG)” refers to what all humans have in common when it comes to language development. The environmental theory focuses on personal experiences in order to explain the language acquisition process using the learner’s external variables. One of the most common approaches is the Schumann cultural adaptation model, which states that the learner’s mother language and cultural differences influence L2 learning. The degree of language development is determined by the acculturation level. First, the target language’s cultural adaptation can govern the quantity of exposure for learners; second, it represents the learner’s learning intent. According to Schumann, input that learners receive and learning objectives may completely determine second language acquisition. Functional theory (interaction theory) explains the language acquisition process by combining congenital and environmental elements.

3. Integration of the two camps

Perspectives from the cognitive and social spheres appear to be incompatible with each other. According to Larsen-Freeman [15], they are based on two distinct ontological stances that have radically different perspectives on learning. To highlight how dominant the cognitive method is in SLA, some overstate this fact. For instance, SLA’s “cake” is cognitive, but its “icing” is social, according to Smith (1991), cited by Zuengler and Miller [10]. In support of this argument, Zuengler and Miller [10] provide evidence that the majority of the literature published in prestigious refereed journals such as Language Learning, Studies in SLA, Applied Linguistics, and TESOL Quarterly deals with cognitive-based concepts and strategies. Jhonson [16] further emphasizes the primacy of cognitive thought over social factors. She suggests that a new paradigm be constructed to combat the cognitive approach’s dominance in order to highlight the shortcomings in current second or foreign language learning models and theories, which mostly adhere to cognitive and information processing paradigms while disregarding the social aspect.

Despite the fact that each technique has a unique set of drawbacks, they may all support second or foreign language learning in various ways. For instance, according to psycholinguistic theory, learning occurs when a person is exposed to understandable input, given the chance to negotiate meaning, and given the chance to receive unfavorable feedback [17]. In order to improve input understanding, Long also emphasizes that the input should be just one level above the learner’s current level of language proficiency. Claros [18] continues by stating that the cornerstone of language growth for better comprehension is the manipulation of input through interaction. Long [17] asserts that understanding increases when students use a variety of interactional modification techniques (such as comprehension checks, confirmation checks, and explanation requests) to resolve communication breakdowns. In general, cognitive theories such as the input hypothesis proposed by Krashen, the compressible output theory postulated by Swain, the interaction hypothesis proposed by Long, the communicative competence hypothesis, and the interactional competence hypothesis seek to enhance second or foreign language learning. The cognitive element has also come under fire for failing to maintain a balance between the social and cognitive aspects, concentrating only on the mind while excluding language use.

The social perspective, on the other hand, has made contributions to second or foreign language learning of its own, highlighting the importance of society and culture in the development of language and cognition. According to Jhonson [16], the fusion of Bakhtin’s dialogism and Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory (SCT) offers a remarkable opportunity for second or foreign language learning to bridge the gap between the learner’s socio-environment and his mental functioning. According to Jonson, the learner’s social environment may help him or her advance cognitively in addition to providing language instruction. The sociocultural theory may also be applied in a classroom. Jonson underlines the relevance of changing pupils capacity from other-regulated to self-regulated and the significance of delivering appropriate corrective feedback in the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) during dialogic exchanges. Jonson claims that the ZPD provides language teachers with novel perspectives and strategies for helping students.

Here, the primary problem is how a second- or foreign-language teacher can combine these two camps in the classroom even if they are at opposite ends of the spectrum. In Ethiopia, there are generally few opportunities to use the sociocultural environment outside of the classroom. The mother tongue has a significant influence on the environment. On the other hand, the teaching tools teachers use to teach English are heavily behaviorist or cognitive theory oriented. They concentrate on teaching English to students who are linguistically competent. This holds true in other places on the globe as well. Larsen-Freeman [19] summarizes the work of various scholars and concludes that the application of UG to SLA, form-focused instruction, task-based language teaching, input processing, output production, noticing, and the interface between explicit and implicit knowledge continue to receive a lot of attention in SLA. Larsen-Freeman [19] suggests a procedure that blends the two techniques, dubbed a socio-cognitive viewpoint that maintains a balance between cognitive participation and social connection, to overcome the divide between the two approaches. As a result, we may combine the two approaches by scaffolding and applying the strategies in the ZPD to assist cognitive-based training and establish an environment that can aid in the learning of a second language. Individual variances should also be considered, and students should be encouraged to utilize the language outside of the classroom to fully complement cognitive learning.

4. Practices of second language learning in Ethiopia

Linguists and psychologists in the 1950s and 1960s were unfamiliar with a number of areas that are now used in language education. Current approaches do not have to be viewed as haphazard or extreme deviations from the main stream of applied linguistic thinking and practice. Today’s educational innovations are variations on known themes rather than completely new techniques. It is conceivable to design a model for the systematic description and comparison of language education approaches based on this premise. As a starting point, Anthony’s three-part distinction, which he established when he offered an examination of language teaching approaches using the terms “approach, method, and technique,” can be used (Anthony 1963 quoted in [3]). The method specifies assumptions, ideas, and theories about the nature of language and language acquisition, which serve as axiomatic structures or reference points for what language learners do in the classroom. To put it another way, an approach is a collection of related assumptions about the nature of language teaching and learning. It is self-evident. It describes the topic content that will be taught. The link between theories of language and learning is defined by the form and function of instructional materials and activities in instructional environments. Design is a linguistic content definition, a content selection and organization specification, and a description of the teacher, learner, and instructional materials responsibilities. Techniques can be found in the classroom. Procedure also includes the classroom skills and practices that are the result of certain approaches and designs. A method is a specific trick, stratagem, or artifice used to achieve a certain goal quickly. Techniques must be consistent with methods and, as a result, in sync with a strategy ([3], citing Anthony 1963).

In light of the aforementioned theories and models, the practices apparently observed in the processes of syllabus design and teaching material writing as well as classroom practices in the three reigns of Ethiopia have been determined as follows:

5. English syllabus during the Reign of Haile Selassie (1930–1974)

During this time, students were heavily exposed to learning English they were required to ask questions, talk, present skits in class, and write in school notebooks. They were also encouraged to write letters to their teachers to share their views [2]. According to Wubalem, secondary school English syllabuses revealed that the primary goal of English instruction was to improve spoken and written English fluency and accuracy. As a result, the primary goal of English curricula throughout the monarchy was to improve spoken and written English competence and correctness, giving very little attention to listening and reading skills. No attempts were made to integratively teach the macro skills (listening, reading, speaking, and writing) as well as the grammar and vocabulary of the English language.

6. English syllabuses during the DERG Regime (1974–1991)

The goal of education during the Military System (DERG) government was to improve productivity, scientific research, and communist awareness. It was also chastised for its concentration on quantity and commitment to putting Marxist-Leninist doctrine into practice. The most serious flaw in the English curriculum was that it paid little attention to learners’ needs and the development of their communication talents because the emphasis was on the form of the language.

During the Defense Education Reform Group (DERG) period, the learning of English, the curriculum, and the teaching technique used by teachers were unable to make significant improvement in students’ English language proficiency or communicative competence [20]. As a result, the primary goal of English education was to assist students in improving their grammatical precision in their writing and speaking abilities. Receptive skills, such as listening and reading, were not given emphasis.

7. English syllabuses during the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) (1991–2022)

The English language syllabus of the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (DERG) regime failed to help students develop their communicative competence. Students who had completed grade 12, which means those who learned the English language for about 12 years, could not express themselves in English. As a result, there was a need to revise the curriculum and syllabus of English language education and design a syllabus that could enable students to develop their communicative competence in English. According to Bedilu [20], the education and training strategy was created in 1994 when the EPRDF took control. ELT syllabuses were created with a communicative emphasis during this period, and they were implemented in a student-centered way. Furthermore, according to Awoke [21], ELT syllabuses developed during the EPRDF promoted a pragmatic approach by prioritizing education as a means of resolving the current problems of citizens.

The syllabus has been intended to provide students with ongoing language development instruction, including basic language and study skills, allowing them to speak successfully in English at school and in everyday situations. Additionally, an effort was made to establish favorable conditions in which students’ English language abilities could be strengthened through problem-solving tasks. The English language syllabuses were made to integrate all the language skills as well as the grammar and vocabulary of English.

The English language syllabus was created primarily to enable students to utilize the English language confidently and clearly in both spoken and written form, particularly for academic reasons at both secondary and tertiary levels. Basic study skills, which are part of the English curriculum in grades 9 and 10, are reinforced. The syllabus seeks to produce students who can communicate successfully in both educational and non-educational situations by providing ongoing language development instruction. Problem-solving and posing skills should be used to improve students’ English language abilities wherever feasible. Critical reading and listening, discussion, debate, and a range of solo and group writing projects are all required of students. As a result, syllabi aim:

• to give pupils the ability to speak and write English fluently and flexibly, especially for academic applications.

• to assist students in acquiring excellent communication skills for use in both academic and non-academic contexts.

• engage students in a range of activities, including critical reading and listening, discussion, debate, and a variety of solo and group writing projects, which can help students develop their problem-solving abilities [20].

The following Table 1 tries to summarize and show the similarities and differences among the syllabi of the three regimes.

Similarities	Differences
	During the Monarchy	During DERG	During EPRDF
Fluency of English language was given little attention in both the Monarchy and the DERG syllabi. Both the Monarchy and the DERG syllabi could not help students to be proficient in the English language Both syllabi did not integrate the four language skills as well as the grammar and the vocabulary of English.	Form oriented approach. Accuracy of language was prioritized. spoken and written English were the focus of the syllabus Communicative competence was not given focus.	Form oriented approach Grammar was prioritized Language items were taught discretely. The learners’ communication talents received little attention.	meaning-oriented approach A student-centered approach. All four language skills and aspects were integrated. Pragmatic approach, problem solving, and communicative approaches were stressed. Fluency is focused. Communicative competence is promoted.

Table 1.

Similarities and differences in English syllabi during the three reigns.

In order to identify the foreign language teaching and learning theories and methods that have been reflected in the Ethiopian teaching materials of English, three types of student textbooks at the same grade level (grade 10) but which were used at different times were taken as a sample and comparisons were made among them.

8. Book 1

The first book, titled “The Oxford Secondary English Course for Ethiopia: Pupil’s Book for Grade 10 (Book 1),” was produced by Oxford University in 1971 (during the reign of His Majesty Haile Sellase I, Emprere of Ethiopia). The Birhan and Selam printing press printed the book, which contains roughly 175 pages. This author attempted to assess the book both externally and internally.

Externally, the book was divided into four parts, each of which was referred to as a course of study. The first section was titled “Comprehension Course of Study,” and it consisted of listening passages with texts from the instructors’ guide and exercises from the students’ text book. A listening passage was included in each unit. Each unit had around eight questions. It also included reading passages, with one reading passage for each unit. There were 10 reading sections with questions about comprehension. The questions were multiple-choice or short-answer in nature. There were eight questions in the choice section and 10 questions in the quick answer section of the book.

The second section was titled “The Meaning Course of Study,” and it concentrated on the study of word meanings. Section A, Section B, and Section C were the three portions of each unit. The literal definition of terms is given in Section A, along with instances. Take, for example, p. 43. To “dispute” is to argue, disagree, or mean a conflict. A border, for example, may be contested at times. Section B contains activities based on the words chosen in Section A. Blank areas, multiple-choice items, matching items, and filling gaps were all used as activities. Section C contains additional matching tasks for new words. Defining words was one of the exercises, with one term having several meanings. The dog, for example, barks. He lets forth a bark (speaks loudly, angrily, etc.).

The book’s third section was titled “Grammar Course of Study,” and it consisted of 10 units with various grammatical components. The grammar section covered topics such as past continuous tense, past perfect tense, sentence structures, transitive and intransitive verbs, and so on. Each unit includes a variety of activities. Drills were used to complement the exercises. The forms also provided detailed explanations.

“A Composition Course of Study” was the title of the book’s fourth section. This section was all about honing your writing abilities. Section A, Section B, and Section C were the three portions of each of the 10 units. The composing section includes activities, such as combining short answers, making sentences using glide words (given words), describing pictures, matching different parts of a sentence, completing sentences, inserting the missing verb forms, and choosing the most suitable b word from a word list.

An internal evaluation of the same book was also tried. Accordingly, the book was found to state general objectives, and some of them were to:

• improve students’ understanding of spoken English, that is, to listen better,

• improve students’ understanding of written English, that is, to read better,

• use sentence patterns and words correctly when students are speaking,

• employ sentence patterns and words correctly when students are writing, and

• develop their ability to look at and think about topics in different areas.

Furthermore, the contents of the book suggested that it was created according to a structured syllabus since it placed a strong focus on grammar, vocabulary, and deductive reading. Direct explanations for a specific grammatical topic, such as past tense usage, were followed by examples and exercises.

The text (writing) contained comprehension (listening and reading), meaning (vocabulary), grammar, and composition. The speaking exercises were not written in such a way that they could stand alone. In addition, there were no exercises in the book to assist pupils with practicing their pronunciation and spelling.

To get to the information, there were two phases to the comprehension course study (listening and reading). Part 1 was about “health,” while Part 2 was about “childhood.” There were two paragraphs in each part: one for listening and one for reading. There were five sections under “Health,” each with two passages. The paragraphs were all about “health” issues. The second section, which concentrated on childhood, was divided into five parts, each with two passages, one for hearing and one for reading.

An attempt was also made to see the instructions provided under various contents. For example, it is possible to see the following instructions for a vocabulary section:

• Choose the best answer to finish the sentences.

• Identify which definition probably fits the word.

• In each of the following groups of sentences, there is one word missing. Guess the word from the context.

Similarly, some instructions given under the grammar part are stated as follows:

• Rewrite the following sentences with the verbs in brackets in the past continuous tense.

• Repeat this sentence.

• Answer the following questions as in the example: Use the time phrase in brackets.

Thirdly, instructions given under the composition part are read as:

• Choose the words from each box to make a good sentence in each series.

• Complete these sentences by using the verb indicated in brackets in the past perfect.

• Write two paragraphs in your exercise book, describing the events in the pictures.

It is possible to deduce from all of the instructions that there was no room for group or pair discussion to share ideas. The book instructed the pupils to do the exercises on their own. Furthermore, little effort was made to contextualize the exercises and represent a communicative approach to teaching English as a second language. The lessons did not include language games, exercises to improve critical thinking abilities, or additional tasks to improve problem-solving skills.

In addition, the tasks were graded according to the major and sub-skills of a language. Speaking, on the other hand, was not assigned its own unit among the major and sub-skills, and there were no exercises on pronunciation, spelling, or pronunciation. When I looked at the distribution of the activities, I found that the activities that focused on grammatical knowledge covered 1039 (58.01%) of the abilities in the book, followed by composition 252 (14.07%), and word practice (vocabulary) 242 (13.4%). There were 180 (10.05%) reading activities and 80 (4.47%) listening activities. My assessment also indicated that the book was written in light of the structural view and behaviorist theories. There was also an unbalanced distribution of activity with grammatical knowledge activities clearly taking the lead. The grammar exercises were full of drills that could encourage repetition and memorization of the different forms of the structures of the target language. The exercises promote students’ practice of new grammatical items by rewriting and repeating the same sentences several times. For example, the following instructions were predominantly observed in the grammar exercises:

• Repeat the sentences.

• Answer these questions in the same way.

• Ask and answer the following questions in the same way.

• From the drills above, make a list in your exercise book of verbs.

Grammar was the most emphasized aspect of English, which occurred in the majority of exercises in the grade 10 English Student Book. However, the activities were not contextualized. They did not encourage learners to discover rules by using certain clues from the context. The exercises let students passively receive information about grammatical rules. A deductive approach to teaching English was predominantly observed in the exercises. When it comes to the reading tasks, no skimming or scanning questions were observed. The writing tasks were not communicative either. There were no integrations between the macro and the micro skills of the English language.

It is necessary to note that the activities did not encourage learners to participate and communicate using target language aspects; most of them were individual-type activities, which did not promote pairs and/or group work. These types of activities were observed in the grammar, vocabulary, reading, listening, speaking, and writing exercises.

In short, as discussed earlier, the activities in the comprehension, word practice, grammar, and composition exercises were form-oriented, which did not make students learn a target language aspect in context and in a communicative way. The activities were mechanical, which did not lead students to learn the English language aspects through discovery learning methods, for example, guessing using certain clues in a given context. Almost all the activities were limited to classroom activities, which means that they did not expose students to project work and cooperative working strategies.

8.1 Concluding remarks on Book 1

One of the book’s virtues is that it attempted to use legitimate sources for its reading passages. It was jam-packed with images, graphs, charts, and drawings. The listening and reading comprehension activities were evenly dispersed between the 10 modules. The reading passages’ contents are beneficial to personal growth and care. Appropriate tasks and activities were included in all four sections of the investigations. The definitions and examples of new language terms were explained in detail in the word study section. Despite the fact that the authors were foreigners, they attempted to use Ethiopian instances. The drills and exercises for the four courses of study were created by four different writers. The information was grouped around the topics, which might aid in the integration of language learning with other subjects. Furthermore, the reading comprehension questions may aid in the extraction of specific information. However, the book is not without criticism. The primary and sub-skills were given in an unbalanced manner. Speaking was given the same weight as the other macro-skills. More focus was given to grammar. The importance of practicing pronunciation and spelling was completely overlooked. The book had given very limited attention to collaborative or group and pair works. Individual activities received a lot of attention. This means the exercises did not promote student interaction. There was no intention of using English for communication reasons. Extensive reading and out-of-classroom activities, which might help students connect what they learn in the classroom to their everyday lives, were not found. During reading and listening comprehension, skimming and scanning were not given attention.

9. Book 2

The Kindergarten and Formal Education Curriculum Division English Panel developed the second book, “English for New Ethiopia Pupil’s Book for Grade 10.” Neil Fekadu Maasho wrote it, and the Educational Materials Production and Distribution Agency released it in 1980/1972E.C. (During the Derg Regime).

Part 1 was written for the first semester, while Part 2 was written for the second semester. There were 10 units in semester 1 and 10 units in semester 2, for a total of 20 units. The book was organized in such a way that the lessons were delivered in the following order:

1. Go across the passage.

2. A list of words with their meanings

3. Vocabulary drills

4. Questions of comprehension

5. Explanations based on structure.

6. Activities relating to the structure

7. After each unit, go over the exercises again.

The lesson’s objectives are not communicated in the book. The goal might be put in the teacher’s manual. The emphasis on grammar, vocabulary, and reading suggests that the book was a structured curriculum based on the contents. All of the necessary language abilities are covered. Reading passages, vocabulary lessons, word practice, review exercises, comprehension questions, structural explanations, and activities were all included in the book. As a result, speaking and listening were left out of the text. Though there were activities that could be done through writing, they were not created with the intention of improving writing abilities.

Different subjects were covered, including self-reliance, assisting others, enhancing performance, research answers, animal life, transportation, weary land, corruption, justice, profit making, illnesses, airplanes, kebele activities, and so on.

Only four of the 20 reading sections (Inscription on the Grave, An Introduction to Socialism, Way of the World, and Reading Faster) were taken from other sources. The other 18 were written for classroom use by their writers. Taking into account the disparities among students in 1980, the grade 10 pupils’ book placed a greater focus on reading and placed less emphasis on other abilities. Visual learners had fewer opportunities to visualize what was taught in class. Kinesthetic students were also limited in their ability to walk about the classroom and engage in various activities. Almost all of the exercises used questions and responses to stimulate teacher-student interaction.

Because the contents enhance understanding while providing restricted replies, there were few opportunities for participants to express their thoughts and experiences. The work was written with socialist ideas in mind. The reading section “Class War,” for example, was derived from “Introduction to Socialism.” The book attempted to build a socialist cooperative culture. “Overall, it had been a successful, united endeavor,” P 2 adds. Rather than religious or social group practices, many of the chapters were devoted to developing and promoting Communist culture. The reading passages did not give room for the students to reflect on their feelings and associate them with their personal lives. They had no way to talk about them.

There were around 20 reading portions in all. The book, on the other hand, did not encourage pupils to read supplementary sources. The text book was devoid of creating or providing language games, it did not include activities that could promote learners to search for solutions for given problems through inquiry methods and it did not employ e-learning method.

When looking at the exercises, which include main and sub-skills of language, the book involves reading passages, comprehension questions, vocabulary, grammatical explanations, and activities which help to develop grammatical knowledge, as previously said.

The types and amounts of activities were also examined, and it is clear that not all English language skills were given the same amount of practice time. Listening, speaking, and writing, for example, received little emphasis. The activities were inequitably distributed. A total of 49.41% of the exercises were dedicated to improving grammatical understanding. Vocabulary or word practice was allocated 22.6% of the time, while reading comprehension was assigned 18.33% of the time. Pronunciation (6.5%), function (3.04%), and dialogues received the least amount of attention (0.11%). The nature of the exercises suggested that they were not participatory in the sense that the teacher posed questions and the pupils attempted to answer them. The directions in the text book can be used to deduce these. The majority of the tasks focus on mastering structural units and comprehending the passages. As a result, there was little room for experimentation and critical thought.

Almost all of the tasks, including exchanging ideas, working in groups, and utilizing the Internet, were to be completed separately. As a result, the amount of time spent discussing ideas, interviewing people for information, and talking with friends was limited. The utilization of technology to assist pupils in their studies was likewise minimal. The children were not given enough opportunities to articulate their own meaning.

Furthermore, we could deduce from the nature of the activities that almost all of them did not encourage students to use the language outside of the classroom because they did not ask students to participate in outside-of-class activities, and the activities were decontextualized and unrelated to the learners’ everyday lives.

Only once did the book employ skimming as a pre-reading practice in connection to skimming and scanning skills. This means that understanding (skimming), scanning, forecasting, and guessing procedures were overlooked.

As previously said, grammar was the most heavily exercised section of the book; yet, it was delivered without context and in a deductive manner, first providing grammatical explanations and then delivering a variety of tasks based on them. Spelling exercises, on the other hand, were completely disregarded. Finally, because the activities were limited to the classroom, the possibility for fact-finding and identifying circumstances by investigating a certain subject was limited.

9.1 Concluding remarks on Book 2

From the explanations given in Book 2, it is possible to say that the book gave much attention to grammar, vocabulary, and reading. The reading passages in the book were good at creating awareness about the political issues of the time. The book also had a number of grammar, vocabulary, and comprehension questions. But it did not communicate its objectives. In this book, some language skills were not included. For instance, listening and speaking were marginalized. Games were not included as alternative methods of language teaching. The majority of the readings were not authentic. Individual variations were not taken into account. Students were not encouraged to contribute their thoughts. Collaboration was not promoted. There was little area in this book for learners to customize what they learned. Extensive reading has been underutilized. Because the exercises were discrete in nature, they had fewer roles to play in training students for real-life language use. Grammar was the most commonly occurring form of activity among the exercises. Furthermore, the pronunciation was not well practiced. There were few activities to encourage critical thinking and discovery learning, and the book did not include any comprehension tools.

10. Book 3

The book, which was prepared by the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, Ministry of Education, was entitled “Grade 10 English for Ethiopia, Student Text Book” an it was written by Donna Bailey and published by Pitambra Books Pvt. Ltd., India. The year of publication was 2003E.C. (at the time). Its number of pages is 251. To come to its layout and organization, the book has 12 units (six for the first semester and six for the second semester), a revision after every third unit, and appendices. Every unit has:

1. Objectives

2. Introduction

3. Listening

4. Reading

5. Language focus or grammar

6. Writing

7. Speaking

8. Study skill

9. Fun with words

10. Increase your word power activities.

Parts “A” and “B” are also included in every unit. Visual materials are used adequately. Pictures, sketches, and colorful presentations abound in this book. Indeed, there are pictures and images that reflect Ethiopian life styles. Photographs of veteran Ethiopian sportsmen and singers are available to view. Colored headings such as objectives, introductions, listening texts, reading texts, and so on are used.

Every unit has an introduction, which is mostly presented in the form of questions. For instance, in unit 1, that is about sports and fitness, there is an introduction presented in question forms. For example, how much do you know about athletics? This and other related questions are included in order to help students get ready for the reading, listening, word-building, etc., activities that follow. Also, the introductions involve tasks that encourage students to share ideas based on pictures related to the unit. There are even activities that let learners think and work on a title by themselves individually.

An attempt was also made to take a look internally at the same book, and unlike the other two old books, the objectives for all the lessons were clearly stated. The type of syllabus employed for this grade level is an integrated syllabus, which could involve task-based, content-based, notional-functional, lexical, etc. It is communicative in its nature. All the macro and micro skills are included in the ways that can enhance students’ participation. All four language skills are included.

Alternative methods which can engage students in the activities, including games, stories, jigsaw activities, opinion gap activities, etc., are reflected in the activities of the book.

The book has 12 units. Each unit has a specific title for discussion. Some of the contents are sports and fitness, health, reading, moral education and personal responsibility, advertising, drugs, natural disasters, education, seas and rivers, energy, applications for jobs or college, births, weddings, and funerals. Under each unit, there are contents on listening, reading, language focus, writing, speaking, study skill, fun with words, or contents to increase word power. The thematic areas were from different sources. Some were from authentic sources. Others were created for classroom purposes; the remaining ones were adapted to fit classroom objectives. Stories, newspapers, websites, and extracts from different sources were used.

Under these thematic areas, there are activities that provide students with opportunities to use different learning styles. Visual learners, auditory learners, and kinesthetic learners have ample opportunities to practice according to their preferences. A number of visual representations are included. Students also have opportunities to interact with one another and share ideas. As the material is communicative by its nature, there are a number of opportunities for students to share their ideas. For instance, many of the introduction sections invite students to work together and share ideas. For instance, the instruction, which is stated as “Discuss in groups the importance of health and fitness and prepare a presentation on one of the following topics: health, diet, fitness, and hygiene,” promotes students to work together and share ideas. The activities in the book help learners to personalize and make use of what they discuss in groups and collaboratively.

The book is communicative by its nature. Therefore, it gives value to the sociolinguistic aspect of language learning. This implies the significance of giving respect to the cultural aspect. The book tries to present prominent figures so that the young can learn from the life experiences of renowned athletes and musicians. In addition, titles like “Moral Education and Personal Responsibility” can help students understand themselves, their environment, their culture, and even others’ culture. The book inculcates new cultures into the students by making them work on managing their study time, organizing their work, managing themselves, etc.

The book includes several reading texts, for example, additional reading materials. In every unit, there are more than two reading texts in different forms. It also incorporates gamification, critical thinking skills, research skills, and e-learning. Different from the above two textbooks, the current Grade 10 text book provides a variety of games for the students. For instance, “Fun with words and pronunciation games” can be cited. Moreover, the book is full of activities, that enhance critical thinking, for instance, the instruction: “Prioritize the skills and areas you need to focus on in Grade 10 education. “Say which is your strongest skill and why, and which skill you need to work on more, and why” encourages students to think critically and provide their answers.

The activities in the book are participatory. It fully engages the learners in learning and making use of the language items presented. Also, the book is rich in a variety of activities. The introduction parts invite students to do different type of activities from the outset. There are a number of speaking, listening, reading, language focus, writing, study skills and fun with words activities that help students be engaged in them .When compared with the preceding two books, the current book is enriched with balanced activities for both macro and micro skills, that promote students to’ use of the skills for communicative purposes. In communicative language teaching, mental engagement and fact discovery are common practices. Therefore, the book is advantageous in this regard. Almost all activities are to be completed cooperatively by assisting students in sharing ideas, working in groups, using the internet. Therefore, sharing ideas with others, interviewing others for information and communicating with friends are the apparently observed activities in the book. The use of technology to support students’ learning is found to be very encouraging. The opportunity for the students to express their own meaning is well valued.

The purpose of communicative language teaching is to make learners use the language in real-life situations. The classroom tasks are mostly simulations of real-world tasks, which help students acquire the four language skills naturally. That means their activities promote implicit knowledge of the language items. The book also overtly encourages students to apply skimming and scanning skills. For instance, the instruction says: “Choose one of the following texts.” Skim the text to get the general idea, and then work in groups to complete the following chart and make a cover design for the story. This clearly shows the use of one of the skills in reading. Note-taking and note-making skills are highly practiced. These skills can be applied in real-life situations and academic tasks.

Unlike in the other two books, the grammar section in this book is highly focused. All the language skills and language aspects have been presented proportionally. The grammatical items have been presented in context. For instance, to talk about relative clauses, the book presents the items by creating a context based on famous Ethiopian Athletes, such as Darartu Tulu, who was born in Ethiopia, is a famous runner. Haile Gebresilasse, who starred in a film called Endurance, was born in 1973. These sentences are taken from the reading and listening texts students read and listened to earlier.

Finally, reaching skills and discovery learning have been focused on in the book. The book provides students with opportunities for fact-finding and creativity by researching a solution for a given problem. For instance, the instruction says, “You will be asked to compare information about the people shown in these two photographs.” “This promotes students to look at the photographs and find facts about Mahmoud Ahemed and Asnakech Worku beforehand,” which encourages students to look at the photographs and find facts about the two veteran artists before they come to the classroom.

10.1 Concluding remarks on Book 3

The book has pictures, drawings, and photographs, which are full of color and highly related to the real lives of Ethiopians and Africans. This helps them to know more about their culture and environment. The book clearly communicates objectives at the beginning of units. Introductions are also well provided. Every major macro and micro skills is covered. The activities are of varied types. They are also participatory and encourage cooperative work. In a nutshell, the book is colorful and timely. The book gives value to meaningful interaction and use of the language in real-life context. It relates the activities to the daily life of the students. Moreover, every aspect of language learning is supported by adequate activities. For instance, there are ample activities on listening, speaking, reading, writing, vocabulary, pronunciation, spelling, etc. Very helpful life skill constructs under study are found to be relevant to changing the lives of the students.

11. Reflection

From the explanations given above, it is possible to understand that each new policy, in the Ethiopian material writing context, contains the traditional approaches to teaching English as a foreign language and adds a contemporary approach to ensure that students can learn more and more complex structures and develop their communicative competence in the second or foreign language. The teaching materials during the Hailesellase and Derg regimes were written based on behaviorist learning theories and structural views. The books are full of exercises, which could help students get a lot of practice in drilling and substitution forms. Students were supposed to develop their English language skills by doing several exercises. To come to the third teaching material, it uses cognitive and sociocultural theories as insights.

The material is designed using content-based approaches, particularly theme-based and task-based approaches, which are based on cognitive learning theory. The exercises in Book 3 make extensive use of pair and group work, implying that collaborative learning, which could be a tenet of sociocultural theory, is reflected. Students practice all of the language skills in a fully integrated, communicative manner.

The theme-based approach is used to integerate language skills and elements into a theme's study. There are three primary forms of content-based language training (urban violence; cross-cultural differences in marriage practices; natural wonders of the world; or a broad topic such as change). The task-based approach was another strategy employed in the instructional materials. In this technique, students participate in English communicative tasks. Tasks are activities that may stand alone as essential components that involve the interpretation, production, manipulation, or interaction of natural language while focusing on meaning rather than form. The content-based instruction or theme-based model is informed by cognitive learning theory [22]. Collaborative learning was evident, as there were numerous group and/or pair projects in this textbook.

As mentioned above, there have been a lot of activities that invite students to discuss and share ideas, which implies that such kinds of tasks have been designed based on the principles of sociocultural theory. The sociocultural theory of Vygotsky [23] is concerned with the collaborative construction of knowledge and the external social activities in which learners participate and contribute to cognitive development; indeed, learning starts with object regulation and proceeds to others’ regulation, such as teachers and peers, who mediate learning, followed by self-regulation.

According to Faze [18], there are two perspectives on how the two camps should be integrated. The first position, known as “pro-pluralism,” contends that diverse options may coexist and that it is feasible to “let all the flowers bloom” [24] so that they can “cross-fertilize” [25]. Differences in techniques, according to this viewpoint, can aid in the richness of SLA. The exclusivist “or” or “either/or” position, on the other hand, promotes only one approach, cognitive/psycholinguistic. Some researchers (e.g., [17, 26]) believe the cognitive or psycholinguistic paradigm is superior to the alternatives and have advocated for SLA to be recognized as a “normal science”.

Thus, Ethiopian practice demonstrates that the pluralistic view, which states that the two schools of thought, cognitive and sociocultural, can produce better results than either camp alone, is correct.

When we see EFL classroom practice, the trend in Ethiopia indicates that teaching materials are prepared centrally, and teachers have no freedom to use any other materials other than the centrally prepared teaching materials. As a result, teachers and students put the teaching methods, strategies, and techniques reflected in the teaching materials into practice. Furthermore, teachers receive centralized training in teaching theories, approaches, and methods. That is, all of the country’s teacher training institutions use the same approaches to train teachers. For example, during the Hale Sellasae and Derg regimes, teachers were trained in how to apply the principles of the structural and behaviorist views to EFL classes. Teachers were indoctrinated with the audio-lingual method, and they were trained with teaching strategies, for example, drilling or “say after me” types of activities. However, communicative approaches to teaching a second language are reflected in current English teaching materials, which are drawn from various theories that can be found in either the cognitive or sociocultural camps. This means that since the trend of depending on the centrally prepared teaching materials has continued, teachers employ the communicative methods applied in the teaching materials.

12. Conclusions

To begin with Book 1, detailed definitions, explanations, and examples were given to new terms in the word study sections. Drills and exercises for the four courses of study were given. The information was grouped around the topics, which might aid in the integration of language learning with other subjects. Furthermore, the reading comprehension questions may aid in the extraction of specific information. However, the macro and sub-skills were given in an unbalanced manner. Grammar was the focus of the activities. The importance of practicing pronunciation and spelling was completely overlooked. The book had little focus on group collaborative works. Individual activities received a lot of attention. This was not the case when it came to student interaction. There was no intention of using English for communication purposes. Extensive reading and out-of-classroom activities, which might help students connect what they learn in the classroom to their everyday lives, were not found. During reading and listening comprehension, skimming and scanning were not allowed. From these, it is possible to conclude that the behaviorist theory and the structural view at the theory level and audio-lingualism at the method levels were predominantly employed in the teaching materials used by the Haile Selassie Regime.

Coming to the second book, it gave much attention to grammar, vocabulary, and reading. The reading passages were good at creating awareness about the political issues of the time. The majority of the readings were not authentic. Listening and speaking skills were marginalized. The activities did not encourage students to express their ideas. Collaboration was not promoted. There was little opportunity in this book for learners to customize what they learned. Extensive reading has been underutilized. Because the exercises were discrete in nature, they had fewer roles in training students for real-life language use. That means students were passive receivers of information. Grammar was the predominant theme of the exercises given in the book. Focus was given to form. Definitions were given for vocabulary words. No attempt was made to present vocabulary words in context. No adequate attention was given to meaning in teaching both grammar and vocabulary; furthermore, pronunciation was not well practiced. There were few activities to encourage critical thinking and discovery learning, and the book did not include reading strategies such as prediction, skimming, and scanning. From this, it is possible to conclude that Book 2 was designed in light of the structural view and the behaviorist theory. At the method level, an audio-lingual approach was predominantly used.

Finally, Book 3’s analysis revealed that it has pictures, drawings, and photographs that are highly related to the real life of Ethiopians and Africans. This helps students relate the activities to their real lives. All the macro and micro skills were integratively presented. The activities were of various types. In a nutshell, the book emphasized the importance of meaningful interaction and the use of language in everyday situations. It tries to relate the activities to the daily lives of the students. Moreover, every aspect of language learning is supported by adequate communicative activities. For instance, there are ample activities for listening, speaking, reading, writing, vocabulary, pronunciation, spelling, etc. The communicative approaches, such as content-based instruction and task-based approaches are predominantly reflected in the activities. The activities were participatory and encouraged cooperative work. This implies that the tenets of sociocultural theory are in use.

In summary, in the English student books that had been employed in the former two regimes (Haile Sillies and DERG), the form-oriented language teaching approaches were in use, whereas, as in the recently used textbook, the communicative approaches to language teaching have been used.