Environmental aspects of successful English language teaching practices in rural Sabah low enrolment schools / Norazrina Ag-Ahmad and Bernadette Peter Lidadun

This study explores the environmental aspects or concepts underlying successful English Language Teaching (ELT) as well as the support needed and the challenges that are faced by a group of primary school teachers in the context of a low enrolment school in a rural area in Sabah, Malaysia. This study adopted an exploratory qualitative approach which involved seven English language teachers who have had more than five years of teaching experience. A set of semi-structured interview questions were formulated to elicit data on the concepts and the conditions that could either help or hinder the incorporation of those concepts in ELT. Qualitative analysis of participants’ interview data indicated that exposure to the target language, motivation and goals were the environmental aspects of language teaching practices that affect students’ success in second language acquisition. Support from parents, teachers and school authorities were essential in assimilating these aspects in the teaching practices. It was found that the participants expressed tension between what they believed to be good practices and what they were restricted to do due to contextual barriers. Among the main barriers identified in this study were changes in education policy, insufficient financial support and infrastructure as well as lack of monitoring of the execution of activities in schools. Findings in this study have important implications to policy makers and curriculum developers.