English language teaching and whole school professional development in Tanzania

• Changes to teachers’ practice were achieved in a low-income country context.
• Teachers’ English teaching strategies with pupils were enhanced.
• Teachers’ linguistic understanding of communication and semantics were enhanced.
• Engagement with new resources impacted on teachers’ pedagogical practices.
• The whole school approach built professional capacity and agency.

This paper reports a two-year in-depth qualitative enquiry into English language teaching in a typical primary school in an economically disadvantaged ward of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. The research found that modest but significant changes to teachers’ pedagogy, practice and understanding of the teaching of English could be achieved. One of the most important changes was the teachers’ increased understanding of the benefits of engaging learners in a greater range of interaction styles. Another important change was greater understanding of the importance of communicative intent and semantics in the teaching of English. The whole school approach to teacher development, including the research team's sustained engagement with the head teacher of the school, was an important context for the changes to practice.