An Autobiographical Reflection of an English as a Second Language Teacher: Teaching in Ghana

Abstract

English is vital in Ghana because it functions as the country's official language and arguably as the nation's lingua franca. It is also the primary language used for instruction and assessment at all levels of education. In this paper, I reflect on my over ten years of experience teaching English in Ghana. I highlight the marginalization of teachers in discussions about curriculum issues. Further, I present my teaching philosophy regarding reading and writing. I also discussed and reflected on my teaching practices in relation to the selection of texts for my reading and writing class. While discussing my role as a teacher, I also emphasized the role of students in the reading and writing class. This paper highlights the need for teachers to adopt learner-centred teaching approaches.

Keywords

• curriculum
• ghana
• esl
• teaching english
• teaching reading and writing