Grade 9 English language teachers’ perceptions, classroom practices, and challenges in implementing Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) at Amanuel Secondary School in 2018 E.C.

Abstract

This study investigated Grade 9 English language teachers’ perceptions, classroom practices, and challenges in implementing Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) at Amanuel Secondary School. The study was guided by three specific objectives: to examine teachers’ perceptions of CLT, to explore their classroom practices, and to identify factors influencing the implementation of CLT. A descriptive research design was employed, and data were collected through questionnaires, semi-structured interviews, observation and document review with three teachers and 97grade 9 students. The data were analyzed qualitatively and supported by simple descriptive statistics. The findings revealed that teachers generally held positive perceptions toward CLT. They understood that CLT emphasizes interaction, integration of language skills, and student participation in meaningful communication. However, some inconsistencies were identified in their understanding, particularly regarding immediate error correction and the dominance of teacher-centered instruction. Despite these inconsistencies, teachers generally valued CLT as an important approach for improving students’ communicative competence. In terms of classroom practice, the results showed that teachers attempted to apply CLT principles through group work, pair work, discussions, and question-and-answer activities. However, both interview and observation results indicated that the implementation was not consistent. Traditional teaching methods such as lecture and grammar explanation were still dominant, and student participation in communicative activities was limited. Classroom observation further confirmed that teacher talk time was high, and opportunities for student-student interaction were relatively low. The study also identified several factors affecting the implementation of CLT. These included large class sizes, low student proficiency in English, lack of teaching materials, limited time, insufficient teacher training, examination-oriented assessment, and lack of administrative support. These challenges were found to significantly restrict the effective application of communicative activities in the classroom. Additionally, findings from Unit 4 methodology tools (questionnaires, interviews, observation checklist and document review) consistently supported these results. In conclusion, although teachers showed favorable perceptions of CLT, its practical implementation remained limited due to pedagogical, institutional, and contextual challenges. Therefore, the study recommends continuous professional development training, provision of adequate teaching materials, reduction of class size, and improved institutional support to enhance the effective implementation of CLT in English language teaching.