Influence of Teachers’ Lived Experience on Conceptualization of ESL Teaching

The purpose of this study was to establish secondary school teachers’ conceptualisation of ESL teaching in Luanshya District of the Copperbelt Province in Zambia. The objective of this study was to ascertain how secondary school teachers conceptualised ESL teaching using their lived experiences within the Zambian context. This study was interpreted using the narrative theory whose primary claim is that information is more convincing when provided in a narrative format rather than in an argumentative approach. The sample size was made up of eight (08) secondary schools, from which eight (08) teachers were drawn, one (1) teacher from each school. A purely qualitative research design was adopted, following the narrative inquiry strategy. Data was gathered using face to face narrative interviews and classroom observations, and analyzed thematically. The findings had shown that ESL teachers of secondary schools in Zambia conceptualized ESL teaching in various ways such as it being cognitively oriented, rule explanation dominated, increased exposure to material, eclectic oriented and practice dominated. In view of these findings, it is recommended that ESL teachers of Zambia should reconceptualize their view of ESL teaching as constituting isolated elements and adopt an integrated approach.