Differentiation to improve the articulation between levels
| PhD ceremony: | Mr A.P. (Ton) de Kraay |
| When: | November 21, 2016 |
| Start: | 16:15 |
| Supervisor: | prof. dr. C.L.J. de Bot |
| Co-supervisor: | dr. E.J. Schooten |
| Where: | Academy building RUG |
| Faculty: | Arts |
English language teaching in Dutch primary education is being offered in diverse ways and secondary education does not take the rather diverse English language skill levels of students coming from primary education into account. Differentiation of the language teaching offered in the first year of secondary education could improve the articulation between these two levels.
This thesis describes the sub-studies that answer the question:
How and to what extent does English teaching in the final year of primary school and first year of secondary education differ from each other and what is the effect of differentiated English language teaching on the attitude towards learning English and the English language skills development of students in the first year of secondary education?
The sub-studies consist of: a literature study into the history of English language teaching in the Dutch context; a questionnaire research into the differences in approach to English language teaching between primary and secondary education; a literature study into the various forms of differentiated education; a quasi-experimental study into the effects of differentiated English language teaching and a Delphi study amongst the involved secondary school teachers to ascertain which aspects of the treatment can be improved to optimise future implementation. The conclusion is that the developed treatment for differentiated English language teaching has positive effects on the English language skills development as well as on the attitude towards learning English.