Abstract:

This study compares the effects of Multimedia method (MMT) of teaching with Conventional Direct method (CDT) of teaching English Language to Junoir High School (JHS) students in Ghana. It sought to measure the achievement of Junior High School (JHS) students in the various domains of the English language course – which is core component of the JHS curriculum.

The study was structured in a form of a quasi-experimental research design. The settings of the study were in Awutu Senya East Municipality in the Central Region of Ghana. Two schools, matched by intellectual competencies and had computers, were sampled for the study. In all one hundred and eighteen (118) students participated in the study. Sixty-two (62) students from one school – constituting the controlled group were instructed using Multimedia approach, whereas another fifty-nine (59) from the other school was taught using the Conventional Direct method. Subsequently, both groups received Multimedia and Conventional instructions respectively. The levels of achievements of the groups were measured in the form of Pre-test and Post-test achievement test. The findings of the study indicated that both Conventional Direct Methods and Multimedia help students improve upon their English Language scores. However, the Multimedia Methods was found to be more effective than the Conventional Direct Methods. The study did not find a statistically significant difference between the achievements of the MMT group and that of the CDT group on the English Language components; Reading Comprehension, grammar, and vocabulary. Since both methods (MMT and (CDT) contributed to the improvement students English Language proficiency, it is recommended in a typical English Language teaching scenarios both approaches should be blended to enhance student acquisition of the language.

Keywords:

Conventional direct teaching, multimedia teaching, language studies, Ghana.