Exam- Oriented Language Teaching And Student’s Communicative Competence:The Case Of Grade Ten Students At Saint Joseph Secondary School, Adama

Abstract

This study aimed to describe the effect an exam –oriented instruction has had on student’s communicative competence. Descriptive research method was used to study the variables where both quantitative and qualitative data were used to analyze an exam -oriented instruction has had effect on student’s communicative competence in language class. The participants of the study were two Grade 10 English language teachers and 48 randomly selected s tudents from Saint Joseph catholic schools in Adama. Classroom observations were conducted to look into what teachers’ and students’ practices looked like. To assess teachers’ perceptions about the influence of the exam –oriented instruction on their pract ice, interview was also used. In addition, grammar, vocabulary, reading and speaking tests were administered for 48 randomly selected students. The collected data were analyzed quantitatively using SPSS IBM version and qualitatively. Findings of the study reveal that there is a significant relationship between reading and grammar and exam -oriented instruction yet there is no significant relationship with vocabulary and speaking.