Abstract:
The Namibian school syllabus covers literature as from the primary level to the highschool although the teachers fail to use appropriate methodologies and models tointerpretand present literary texts creating uplifting opportunities and engaginglearnersdevelop theirpassion for literature. Lack of sound subject delivery methodshinders the performance of learners in English as a second language (ESL).Namibian teachers have been introduced and trained to base their classroompractices on the learner-centered principle which promotes participatory pedagogyand active learning. Much focus has not been given to learners‟ participation in theEnglish classroom setting. A questionnaire with 5 open-ended and 15 close-endedquestions was distributed to English teachers and learners to find out the effects thatliterature had on the views, experiences, and practices of the teachers regarding lackof participation and performance in their English classes. FGDS and observationswere also conducted to triangulate data. It was found out that the commonly usedmethod of learner involvement was the discussion method and learners respondingto questions. The teachers‟ roles were merely to give instruction and facilitate thelearning process. In many situations, learners did not ask realistic questions andteachers preferred arranging learners to sit in groups. Teachers used the discoveryand experiential methods through questioning techniques. However, despite theefforts to enhance participation, factors such as poor subject knowledge, littleunderstanding of the topic, being coy, fear of making mistakes, lack of subject interest,hunger/tiredness, fear of teasing by classmates, and poor language proficiency hinderthe performance of learners in ESL.
