Abstract:
The purpose of this study was to investigate the implementation of active learning methods
(ALS) in Amuru Secondary School of Horo Guduru Wollega Zone Oromia Region. The
study sought to find out the extent to which teachers and students implement ALS in English
classes, to distinguish the dominant methods used in English in the school. In order to
achieve this purpose, a descriptive design was employed along with quantitative and
qualitative research methods. With this respect, teachers and students were the sources of
data for the study. Questionnaires, interview and observation were used as data collection
instrument in this study. The total populations of students were 600 and 5 English teachers.
Then, 60 students were selected with systematic sampling technique and five teachers were
taken by availability sampling. The data obtained through questionnaires were analyzed both
quantitatively and qualitatively and interpreted whereas the information obtained through
interview was qualitatively described to supplement the quantitative data. The results of this
study revealed that the extent to which teachers implement active learning strategies in
English classes was found to be unsatisfactory and low. Teachers used dominantly the
traditional teaching methods and students remained passive recipient of knowledge in
English classes. Moreover, the study revealed that teachers and students tendency to prefer
traditional lecture method. Students‟ poor background knowledge and negative attitude
towards their learning, lack of adequate teaching resources and shortage of time to cover the
portion, large class, lack of teachers commitment, insufficient training and workshops of
teachers on ALM, inaccessibility of facilities and teachers high workload were among the
main factors that hindered the implementation of active learning strategies in Amuru
Secondary School. Therefore, all concerned bodies should take measure to maximize
teachers‟ maximization the implementation of active learning methods in Amuru Secondary
School.
