EFFECTIVENESS OF USING DIGITAL LIBRARIES AS A PEDAGOGICAL TOOL TO ENHANCE ESL LEARNERS' SPEAKING AND READING SKILLS

Abstract

This research seeks to study the effectiveness of using digital libraries as a pedagogical tool to enhance ESL learners’ speaking and reading skills. It is no longer news that the standards of English in Cameroon are falling and studies like Ndongmanji (2005) and Tabah (2010) attest to this. The literature on falling standards of English in Cameroon is not limited and it’s not sufficient either. Some factors attributed to this falling standard of English in Cameroon such as the method of teaching, curriculum, and class sizes amongst others. Many measures have been implemented to redress this situation but no results have been attained. The point of interest here is access to a good digital library and its effective use will contribute greatly to better knowledge acquisition and English in particular. To attain good results for this study, data was collected using observation of students and teachers, administration of questionnaires, and interviews, the theoretical framework used to analyze our data is the constructivism theory. Among the six schools wherein this study was conducted, four schools had access to digital library resources while the others did not. It was observed that among the four schools with access to the digital libraries, two make effective use of it by teachers and students which is reflected in their performance in spoken and written English in general which ties very well with our hypothesis. At the end of this research, it was purposed that the government of Cameroon and school authorities should take up the issue of digital libraries seriously since the world is becoming more digitalized and there is the rising need tag along starting from our schools.

Keywords

• Digital Library
• English As a Second Language
• Pedagogy
• Cameroon

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