The Effectiveness of Grade One English Interactive Radio Instruction Programs in Ethiopia

Abstract

The aim of this study was to find out whether Interactive Radio Instruction (IRI) English Programs in Grade One were effective in Ethiopia.

The primary objective of the study was to measure student learning gains in English Listening Comprehension. A secondary objective was to determine if IRI programs had differential impact on girls and boys, and on urban/rural schools. A basic experimental design was used to compare the learning gains of children in classes using the IRI English programs and children in traditional English classes. Participants in this study constituted control and experimental groups and they were randomly selected and assigned to their respective groups. The sample size was 1466 children for both groups. The dependent variable, student scholastic achievement score was measured at two occasions: pre-test and post-test. For the pre-test both control and experimental students were given a listening comprehension test, which was recorded on a cassette. After an interval of seven months, which constituted a treatment period, the same test was given to the same students in their respective groups. The treatment consisted of 5 fifteen minute interactive radio lessons every week in experimental schools.

Traditional instruction was given in the control schools and there was no exposure of the students to IRI in these schools. Results indicate that students exposed to IRI gained significantly more than students in non-IRI or traditional instruction. In addition, in the IRI classes, female students gained more than male students. From this it was recommended that the use of interactive radio programs has to be expanded to benefit all students in Ethiopian primary schools.