Enhancing Students’ Oral Proficiency in Competency Based-Approach Context: Focusing on Secondary Schools in Ouéme Region

Abstract

Recent years have seen many exciting developments in language teaching at the level of syllabus and methodology, with the growth of interesting new approaches challenging our traditional views. Thus, in Benin context, the Competency Based Approach (CBA) replaced the Objective Based Approach (OBA) of English teaching and, offers an open field to explore various methods, techniques, strategies, all based rather on the learners’ skills development and cognitive process than a simple and pure acquisition of knowledge. The reasons which account for carrying out this research work are related to the necessity to highlight the difficulties faced by different actors with the implementation of CBA and to study factors that enhance oral communication. To reach these goals, questionnaires are designed to investigate teachers’ and students’ objectives and strategies to reach their goals and overcome the challenges of this 21^st century. We also use class observation to check the conditions in which lessons take place. The findings of this study have shown that most of EFL teachers lack training. In addition, this study reveals that curricula, activities and teaching methods are the corner stone of efficient teaching/learning. Some communicative activities with appropriate strategies in CBA context (dialogues, role play) are recommended in order to establish teaching/learning situations where teachers and students are as highly motivated as possible to take the challenge of language usage in their daily life.