Effectiveness of using multimodal approaches in teaching and learning listening and speaking skills

Abstract

This study examined effectiveness of using multimodal approaches in the teaching of listening and speaking skills to Grade I learners in primary scholls in Western Kenya. The study was based on Howard Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligence and Michael Halliday’s Social Semiotic Theory. This study was carried out in the Western region where four counties namely Kakamega, Bungoma, Busia and Vihiga were sampled for investigation. 75 schools were used to elicit primary data for analysis. Further, the 75 schools were stratified into public rural (30), public urban (15), private rural (15) and private urban (15). Questionnaires, interviews and observation were the main instruments of data collection. The study adopted a descriptive research with quantitative and qualitative paradigms. Stratified sampling was utilized in sourcing for appropriate sample of respondents who included teachers of English and their pupils in Grade 1 as well as 7 Curriculum Support Officers (CSO’S). The spearman’s rank- order correlation was administered to determine the correlation amongst the variables. To determine the performance analysis which compared the two tests that had been administered to the learners on different occasions, the Wilcoxon Signed-Rank Test was administered to compute the difference between each test of the matched pairs. Validity of research instruments was determined through two expert judgments whereas their reliability was determined through Cronbach’s alpha formula. The findings revealed that the learners’ scores improved with constant application of multimodal approaches effectively catered for learners with different learning styles.