An investigation of the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) integration strategies used by Junior Primary teachers in teaching phonemes in the Oshana region

Abstract

This study investigated ICT integrating strategies used by Junior Primary School Teachers in teaching phonemes in English in the Oshana Region. The study adopted a qualitative research approach using a phenomenological research design to collect data from the junior primary teachers. The population of this study comprised 134 Junior Primary school English teachers in the Oshana education Region. The sample consisted of 15 teachers selected through purposive sampling from the four schools in Oshana region. The qualitative data was collected by means of in-depth face-to-face unstructured interviews. Data collected from the interviews were then transcribed, presented and then analysed using thematic analysis. The findings of the study indicated that the English teachers in the Oshana region acknowledged the role played by ICT in the teaching of phonemes. The findings of the study further indicated diverse varieties of ICT gadgets such as were YouTube videos, PCs and mobile phones, the jolly phonic programs, projector, and whiteboard, which they made use of in their teaching of English phonemes in schools. It can be concluded from the findings of this study that the most common ICT tools used in the teaching of English phonemes by Junior Primary school teachers in the Oshana Region were YouTube videos, PCs and mobile phones, the jolly phonic programs, projector, and whiteboard in teaching phonemes. The study recommended better ways to improve the ICT integration strategies for teaching English phonemes such as conducting teachers’ training or workshops on the use of digital tools in the education sector for the benefit of all teachers.