Muianga’s doctoral research focused on language assessment in foreign language teaching in Mozambique. He focused on formative assessment in English language teaching, teachers’ language assessment literacy, conceptions of assessment and willingness to engage in assessment-related activities. His work was supervised by Světlana Hanušová, who also received the MU Vice-Rector’s Award.
However, the dissertation was not an easy subject to tackle. “When I decided to research this area of Mozambican education, I had no idea of the challenges I would face. It was not just the sheer complexity of a study based on mixed methods, as the Covid-19 pandemic and the reluctance of teachers to participate in the study also made my work very difficult,” said Felizardo Armando Muianga, explaining what he had to deal with as part of his doctoral research.
He focused on teaching English in secondary schools in the Mozambican capital, Maputo. He collected the quantitative data through a questionnaire completed by eighty teachers and qualitative data through in-depth interviews with twelve participants and classroom observation.
Muianga was a full-time student, i.e. he lived in the Czech Republic, so he wanted to collect the necessary data for the research online. “But that didn't work. I wasn’t getting responses from potential research participants, so I ended up having to go to Mozambique in person.”
Having completed the necessary research and interviews, he returned to Brno, but after the first presentation of his dissertation, the panel of experts pointed out some gaps in his research, requiring him to return to his home country. “The evaluators encouraged me to add direct observations of participants in the classroom to my study, to see if what they said in surveys and interviews was actually what they did in the classroom”.
Muianga’s work has highlighted gaps in the preparation of foreign language teachers in Mozambique and, he says, sparked a much-needed debate in the country. “More and more, I see undergraduate theses citing my dissertation and highlighting the same issues. I have also taken part in several workshops on the evaluation of language teaching, involving active teachers, which is crucial because they are the ones who implement changes in this area,” says the MU graduate, who now works in Mozambique as a lecturer at the Pedagogical University of Maputo. He believes that these first small steps will lead to bigger changes in the future.
The graduate from Mozambique spent many years in Brno, having already studied at Masaryk University for his Master’s degree in Lower Secondary School English Language Teacher Training. One of the things that motivated him to continue his doctoral studies was the realisation that there were several areas of language education in Mozambique that were overlooked.
“When I decided to continue my doctoral studies, I had to choose between Brno and Victoria University in Wellington, New Zealand. Apart from previous experience, the cost of living, which is lower in the Czech Republic, was also a factor.”
He has many fond memories of the Czech Republic and Brno in particular. It is where he met his wife and where his daughter was born. He has fond memories of the quality of Czech beer, which he enjoyed with friends at weekends.
“My stay and studies in Brno also shaped my perception of education in general, especially issues related to the teacher-student relationship. In Mozambique, teachers tend to have authority over students, which in most cases does not help to create an environment conducive to learning, as students are sometimes afraid to express their opinions or ask questions,” adds Muianga, who plans to return to the Czech Republic in the near future to look for work opportunities.