Abstract:

Language discipline in higher education institutions is one of the oldest disciplines. Consequently, people regard it as the boring and less challenging discipline. This perception emerged because the focus has always been only on improving language skills and language proficiency such as listening, reading, speaking and writing. This is coupled by the assumption that language teachers know enough in such a way that there is no need for development and innovation. There is a dire need to improve effectiveness and efficiency in language teaching, and also by adopting new teaching pedagogies. This calls for improving oral proficiency than focusing in four language skills mentioned above. This paper looks at how to teach the language effectively and efficiently. Hence the purpose is to promote innovations in language teaching and learning in order to stimulate interest in students. The innovative teaching and learning could be achieved by doing situation analysis which will lead to improving the strengths and eliminating weaknesses. However, innovations will require identifying problems and come up with solutions to those problems. Language lecturers need to carefully think about exercises and activities to be given to students. Adopting new pedagogies will result in activities like game playing, acting, coping without a teacher, etc. Technology innovations lead to reviewing of past and current practices calling for the use of effective activities and resources. This also calls for the use of content and language integrated learning to ensure innovations. Digital tools could also be instrumental in language education. In order to be able to answer the question raised in this study, interviews will be conducted at the selected case study. The theory which will best explain the phenomena will be used.

Keywords:

Innovations, language teaching, language learning.