PONDICHERRY UNIVERSITY

(A Central University)

DIRECTORATE OF DISTANCE EDUCATION

PRINCIPLES AND METHODS OF

TEACHING OF ENGLISH
(Paper Code: MAEG2002)

MA (English) – II Year

DDE – WHERE INNOVATION IS A WAY OF LIFE

 PONDICHERRY UNIVERSITY
(A Central University)

DIRECTORATE OF DISTANCE EDUCATION

MASTER OF ARTS
In
ENGLISH

Second Year

Course Code:60 Paper Code: MAEG2002

Principles and Methods of Teaching

of English
Master of Arts in English

Principles and Methods of Teaching of English

Experts

Dr. M. Rajendran
Dr. P. Vasudevan
Dr. K. Shanmugaraj
Dr. Poornavallimathiabaraman
Dr. Ravindra Pratap Singh

All rights are reserved.

For Private Circulation only.
 Paper VII
COURSE CODE: 41 PAPER CODE:H2020

PRINCIPLES AND METHODS OF TEACHING OF ENGLISH

Unit - I:
Principles of Teaching:

Components of Learning and Teaching

Principles and theory of Language Learning.
Psychological principles and influence on Language Teaching.
Linguistic & Sociological Factors influencing Language Learning.
Learning a first language and a second language
The Importance of Mother Tongue vs English.

Unit - II:
Methods of Teaching English

Theories regarding Methods of teaching English

Teaching language Skills
Teaching Grammar & Vocabulary
Teaching Literature

Unit - III:
Material Production

Selection, Grading and Sequencing of teaching items

Planning textbooks and syllabi
Use of Audio-Visual Methods

Unit - IV:
Testing & Evaluation

Necessity for Evaluation

Characteristics of a good test
Processing Feedback

Unit - V:
Professional Development
The Role of Teacher
Large Classrooms & Cooperative Learning Strategies
Dealing with classroom problems
Using Politically Correct Language.
Suggested Reading:
Brinton, D.M., Snow, M.A & Wesche, M. B. Content-Based Second language Instruction.
New York: Nebury House. 1989
Celce-Murcia, M. (Ed) Teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language. Boston: Heinle &
Heinle. 1991
Harmer, J. The Practice of English Language Teaching. New York. Longman. 1997.
Ellis, R. 1986. Understanding Second Language Acquistion. London: OUP
Richards, J.C & Rodgers, T.S. Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press. 1986.
Sterne, H.H. Fundamental Concepts of Language Teaching. Oxford: OUP. 1983
TESOL Quarterly
 UNIT I

COMPONENTS OF LEARNING AND TEACHING

Learning is the key process in human behaviour, parents and teachers always show
concern for children’s learning. Learning influences our language, our skills, attitudes,
interests and even our goals. Without learning all efforts of pupils as well as of teachers are
bound to become purposeless.

Meaning of Learning:

According to Ghates and others, ‘‘Learning is the modification of behaviour through

experience.’’ Kingsly and Gary state, ‘‘Learning is the process by which behaviour is
originated or changes through practice or training.’’

Nature and Meaning:

1. Learning is a process of progressive adjustment to the ever changing conditions

which one encounters.

2. Learning is often a process of improvement with practice or training.

3. Learning develops the individual in any respect good or bad.

4. Learning brings progressive changes in the behaviour of the individual and as a

result the individual gets adjusted with the changing situation.

5. Learning and maturation are closely related to each other. Maturation helps in the
process of learning.

6. All learning is goal directed.

7. Learning involves various dimensions of psycho-logical and mental activities.

8. Learning is universal and continuous. Every creature that lives learns. But man
learns most and has a great power of adaptation to the changing circumstances.

1
The process of learning:

Learning is a process and not a product. This process has continuity and is carried over
through various steps. In the learning processes like typing, reading, driving or solving a
problem we use the following steps.

1. Motivation:

Learning takes place as a result of response to some situation. No learning will take
place unless the individual has some unsatisfied need or drive which causes him to act in an
attempt to satisfy the need.

2. Goal:

Learning is a goal directed activity. Behaviour does not just occur; it is caused by some
needs and is oriented towards a goal.

3. Exploration of the situation:

The correct responses can not be determined at once. To estimate the correctness of the
response the whole situation needs to be explored.

4. Response:

The individual is eventually led to action; the nature of which will depend on his
interpretation of the situation.

5. Reinforcement:

If the response is successful in action in satisfying the need, that response is reinforced
and on subsequent occasions the individual will tend to repeat it.

6. Integration:

Learning process consists in integrating the successful response with the individual’s previous
learning. So that it becomes part of a new functional whole.

2
Types of learning:

Human learning may be studied under the following categories namely: conditioning, motor
learning, discrimination learning, verbal learning, problem solving, concept learning and
attitude learning.

Variables Influencing Learning:

The many variables which affect different aspects of learning are as follows:

1. Individual Variables:

Maturation, readiness, capacity, motivation and personality traits are variables associated with
the individual learner which affect the outcome of learning.

2. Task Variables:

The meaningfulness of the task to be learned, its difficulty, its similarity to previously
performed tasks, its pleasantness or unpleasantness and the manner in which it is organised or
presented are variables which affect the speed of learning and the amount of retention obtained.

3. Environmental Variables:

Practice, drill, over learning, reward, punishment, competition, co-operation, praise, blame,
grades, honour, roles and so forth - all have influence upon learning.

Learning Curves:

A learning curve is a graphic representation of how learning takes place in a particular

situation. The following diagram represents three types of leaning curves.

A. CONVEX CURVE:
It depicts rapid initial improvement in learning.

3
LEARNING

PRACTICE
B. CONCAVE CURVE:

It depicts slow initial improvement in learning that increases with time ultimately leading
towards the mastery.

C. COMBINATION OF CONCAVE AND CONVEX:

The third type may take the form of concave or convex in the beginning depending upon the
nature of the learner, learning material and the learning environment.

Characteristics of a Learning Curve:

There is an initial improvement. There are various ups and downs in the learning curve. After
a certain stage little learning or no learning takes place. In between the beginning and the end
there comes a stage where there seems to be no improvement or growth called plateau. After
the plateau the learning curve again moves up towards the point of maximum learning.

Language is generally defined as a means of communication. It is a distinctively human

possession. Human beings communicate their experience through language. People utter
sounds (or write letters) to convey meaning and learners (or readers) process the sounds (or
letters) to get the meaning.

Language is organised noise. Sound, form and meaning are the three basic components of
language as a system of communication. Language can be said to be organised at three levels:
phonological, syntactic and semantic. The phonological aspect deals with sounds and their
organisation. The syntactic aspect deals with forms and their organisation. The semantic aspect

4
deals with meaning and its manifestation in the phonological and syntactic patterns of
language. This is diagrammatically represented below:

Educational Implications:

The teacher should keep in his mind the individual differences of the learners. As guided by
the learning curves the teacher has to use methods and techniques and environment. The
students may be acquainted with their own progress. The plateaus arising on account of the
transition from a lower to a higher level of performance or from an old method to a new one
need not be eliminated. The plateaus arising out of fatigue, poor motivation or poor method of
work should be eliminated. Efficient methods creating interest, making the learners aware of
the goals, moving from simple to complex, providing motivation, minimising the distracting
factors and discontinuance of practice for the time being may be encouraged by the teacher.

5
PRINCIPLES AND THEORY OF LANGUAGE LEARNING

Theories and Laws of Learning:

Several theories of learning have been advanced to explain the nature of learning process. They
may be classified into two main schools-Association Theories and Field Theories.

Association Theories:

Behavioural Approach:

To an Associationist, man is little more than a complex, machine. His behaviour is largely if
not entirely, determined by his environment. His purposes or goals are often irrelevant. The
important theories under Behavioural Approach are the theory of connectionism and the
conditioned response theory.

Connectionism (Learning by Trial and Error):

This theory Error Learning is associated with the name of Thorndike. It is also known as the
stimulus response or bond theory. According to Thorndike learning is the strengthening of
bonds or connections between stimulus (S) and response (R). In his experiments on learning
he made use of a puzzle box with a cat placed inside. The motive was hunger. A fish was
placed out side the box, a little beyond its reach. The door could be opened by pressing down
upon a small lever inside the cage. Being hungry the cat to come out, tied various means like
pulling, pushing, clawing, biting, etc. In course of her random movement she happened to
press the lever by chance and the door opened. She thus got the food. The next day she was
again put inside the cage. She made random movements. Within a few days she mastered the
problem. She straight went to the lever, pressed it, got the door opened and got the food. This
type of learning is Trial and Error learning.

The different stages in Trial and Error learning are drive, goal, block, random movements,
chance success, selection of proper movement and fixation.

The three laws of learning propounded by Thorndike are:

6
1. The law of readiness:

It is preparation for action. It is very essential for learning. If the child is ready to learn, he
learns more quickly, effectively and with greater satisfaction than if he is not ready to learn.
The teacher should motivate the students by arousing their interest, attention and curiosity.

2. The Law of Effect:

It means that learning takes place properly when it results in satisfaction and the learner derives
pleasure out of it. Getting reward as a result of some learning motivates the child to proceed
on the same path with more intensity and enthusiasm. Punishment of any sort discourages him
and creates distaste towards that learning.

3. The Law of Use:

It has two sub-parts namely law of use and law of disuse. The law of use refers to the
strengthening of connection with practice. The law of disuse refers to the weakening of
connection or forgetting when the practice is discontinued. The law of exercise emphasises the
need of repetition, practice and drill work in the process of learning.

Education Implications:

Thorndike’s theory and laws of learning have contributed a lot to educational theory and
practice.

1. It has made the learning purposeful and goal directed.

2. The child must be made ready to learn. He should be properly motivated with attention,
interest and curiosity.

3. It has given impetus to the work of practice, drill and repetition.

4. It has emphasised that past experiences and learning should be given an adequate base
for new learning.

5. It has realised the psychological importance of rewards and praise in the process of
teaching and learning.

7
Learning by conditioning (Conditioned Response Theory)

The well known psychologists associated with learning by conditioning are Pavlov and
Waston. Pavlov used a dog for his experiment. Every time when the food was given to a hungry
dog, the bell was rung. Saliva came from the mouth of the dog. After several trials the dog was
given no food but the bell was rung. Even in the absence of food (the natural stimulus) the
ringing of the bell (conditioned stimulus) caused the dog to secrete saliva (natural response).

Waston used a baby for his experiment. The 11 months old baby was given a rabbit to play.
He noticed the pleasant responses of the child. Every time when he tried to touch the rabbit a
loud noise was produced. Now she gave fear response. After repeated trials the child began to
fear the rabbit, even if no loud noise accompanied it.

Educational Implications:

The day to day learning at home, school consists of plenty of examples where the
child learns through conditioning.

1. We develop many of our attitudes, prejudices, fears as well as perceptual

meaning through conditioning. A child who has received painful injection
may develop fear of any doctor.

2. Some academic learning like knowledge on multiplication of tab les,

historical dates, spelling is probably explained in terms of conditioned
response.

3. If a child's experiences with a particular subject teacher are unpleasant, the

unpleasantness becomes conditioned to the teacher, the subject and the class
room. If the experiences of the child with the teacher are pleasant the child
naturally likes the teacher the subject and the class.

4. The principle of operant conditioning may be applied to teaching through

programmed instruction.

8
Gestalt approach or Learning by insight:

Gestalt is a German word, meaning pattern or form. Learning is determined by the

whole pattern to which the learner reacts as a whole. According to the Gestaltists
learning is not so much a matter of reacting to stimuli but it is a process of
discovering and understanding relationships in one's environment.

In an experiment by Kholer, a chimpanzee was placed in a cage. On the ceiling a

banana was fastened. It was out of reach. But there was a box inside the cage.
After several trials, the chimpanzee used the box to take the banana. Insight came
after several repeated trials. On another occasion the banana was placed out side
the cage. Two sticks, each too short to reach the banana, were placed inside the
cage. Sultan, the chimpanzee, at first used o ne stick but failed. He sat sadly and
played with the sticks. While playing with the sticks he happened to place them
end to end in one line. The moment of insight came. He got the banana. On the
next day he needed only a short time to get the fruit. He ex plained this behaviour
not in terms of trial and error but in terms of insight. An insight is the sudden
awareness or perception of the essential relationships in a situation. However
insight does not come immediately upon presentation of a problem. It is preceded
by implicit trial and error, a process which involves thinking of possible moves
instead of actually making them.

Educational Implications:

As a whole, insight depends upon experience, intelligence, learning situation,

initial efforts and repetition and generalisation. Based upon this theory of learning
the teachers are required to pay attention to the following aspects.
1. The subject matter should be presented in gestalt form (i.e.) as a whole.
2. A particular subject should not be treated as the mere collection of isolated
facts or topics. It should be closely integrated into a whole. Similarly the
curriculum should reflect unity and cohesiveness.

9
 3. The child should be properly motivated by arousing his interest and
curiosity. He should also be acquainted well with the specific aims and
purpose of his learning.
4. Learning is an intelligent task and it requires mental abilities instead of
blind and automatic responses to specific stimuli.
5. The Learner should be put in the place of a solution fo under and discoverer.
Advanced methods like problem solving, heuristic method and scientific
process should be made more popular.

Field Approach:

Learning according to field theory is the organisation and reorganisation of

behaviour. It results from many i nter-acting influences on the developing
organism acting in its shifting environment. Generalisation and differentiation are
two interchanging activities which are operating in this process of learning.

Generalisation:

Through generalisation, the learner m akes ordered sense of the multitudinous

facts, feelings, attitudes and the like, which he is experiencing or has previously
experienced.

Differentiation:

Through differentiation the learner selects from numerous previous experiences

those clues which are more appropriate and applicable to the solution of the
problem in hand. Meanings are refined and definitions are directed through
differentiation. Without the process of differentiation, learning does not become
mature.

Educational Implications:
1. The teacher should present the whole problem and provide enough assistance
to the learner for ensuring success in learning.
2. Feelings of satisfaction fix the responses in the mind; where as the feeling
of annoyance tends to destroy it. The teachers have to use more of the former
and avoid the latter.
3. The teacher has to make the subject matter vitalising and interesting.
4. A teacher who is neutral and indifferent tends to be less effective in teaching
than one who is dynamic and full of conviction.
10
Guthrie’s Contiguity Theory of Learning

This learning theory is extreme form of connectionism. This theory explains that the stimulus,
as a change in the physical environment, makes an activity. The same stimulus will help to
repeat this activity. For instance, when a dog runs and a whistle is sounded, in future when the
whistle is sounded, the dog will start running. It also ends in a similar way on hearing the
whistle. When the dog cannot run, then the tendency becomes weak. Guthrie’s theory is also
known as contiguous conditioning. It explains that learning occurs when a stimulus and
response occur simultaneously.

Basic Elements
1. Stimuli - Stimuli are changes in the physical environment in which sense organs or
receptors respond by exciting impulses in sensory nerves. It would mean that the
physical changes must be effective in altering the state of nervous system to serve as a
stimulus for learning.
2. Response - Responses are specific movements whether of somatic or autonomous
muscles.
3. Movements - These are the changes in somatic and autonomous muscles, which can be
learnt.
4. Acts - Acts are movements which are considered in relation to the goals attained.

Guthrie does not believe in the learnt behaviour of acts in creating laws of learning. He
considers learning as the association of stimuli with movements. Like Waston, Guthrie
emphasized the contiguity of a stimulus event and its elicited response. He considered that
learning occurs regardless of reinforcement so long as the conditional stimulus and response
occur together. What is learnt is based upon recency-the last response made will be the act
repeated. Reward is not essential for learning to take place.

This shows that if the activities are performed due to a stimulus then in future also the same
stimulus will help repeat that activity. This theory looks for the immediate association of
movements with the stimuli which elicited them. In this theory, the basic rule is ‘‘Contiguity’’.
According to this theory, learning comes in a simple way. The teacher is only to guide and
learning will occur by making some movements for the act. It does not result in permanent
learning, but it disappears in a simple way as it has been learnt. Teachers can try to make

11
maximum association of stimulus and response simultaneously for making learning process
more effective.

Skinner’s Operant Conditioning Theory of Learning

Skinner’s view of learning is explained in operant conditioning theory. This theory believes
that the reinforcing stimulus occurs not simultaneously with or preceding the response but
following the response. The reinforcement occurs when the probability of a response has been
increased by the stimulus that has followed it. A ‘‘reinforcer’’ is any stimulus which follows
a response and increases its probability of occurrence on the next occasion.

Skinner distinguishes between two types of behaviour called “respondent and operant.”

a) Respondent behaviour: It is that behaviour which is caused by known stimuli or event in

the environment.

b) Operant behaviour: It is that emitted response which need not be associated with any known
stimuli. This type of behaviour may be emitted by the individual and may be brought under
the control of stimulus.

These two types of responses are related two types of conditioning - type ‘S’ and type ‘R’.

In type ‘S’ (respondent or classical) conditioning the response is called an “unconditioned

response” and the subject has no control over it. This is also called as “respondent
conditioning.” Here, the subject becomes conditioned and does the things. The type ‘S’
conditioning is associated with respondent behaviour because the reinforcement is related to
the stimuli. It is similar to classical conditioning explained by Pavlov in his experiment. In the
Pavlov’s dog experiment the conditioned stimulus (CS, bell) is presented together with the
unconditioned stimulus (CS, food). This activity was repeated several times. The CS acquires
the properties of UCS to elicit the response, salivation, which is called a conditioned response.
The dog salivated by hearing the bell even without the presence of food. Here, the dog loses
control and becomes salivated due to old experience. It is associated with respondent behaviour
because the reinforcement is related to the stimuli. But Skinner’s view was that type ‘S’
12
learning is relatively unimportant in human behaviour and believed that type ‘R’ conditioning
is much more important.

In type ‘R’ (instrumental or operant) conditioning, the reinforcement is correlated with

response rather than with stimuli. The learner has control over himself to get conditioned. In
operant conditioning the activity of the subject becomes instrumental to effect the final
response. In type ‘R’ conditioning, reinforcement becomes contingent upon the stimulus. The
response or operant is strengthened and not the S - R connections.

Skinner conducted a rat experiment in a puzzle box. The rat pushed a lever and got the food
when it felt hungry. He demonstrated that we see only response and we need not try to discover
the cause. He called it as ‘‘emitted response.’’ He explained that the rat learnt to press lever
and this tendency strengthened the resulting reinforcement.

According to Skinner’s view, reinforcement may be of two types (1) positive reinforcement
(2) negative reinforcement. Both of them strengthen the probability of occurring events. This
has great educational implications.

Hull’s Reinforcement Theory of Learning

Hull made an attempt to give a comprehensive theory in which theory of substitution and
theory of effect may be combined together. His theory, in a simply way, can be explained as
‘‘Whenever a response (R) follows quickly upon a stimulus (S) and this conjunction of S and
R is closely associated in time with the diminution of a need, there will be an increased
tendency of that S - R to recover on later occasions.’’ In this theory, diminution of need is the
main element. When we have some needs in certain situations which have to be fulfilled, then
what we have been experiencing earlier become related with our responses.

Hull formulated a series of postulates by which he defined the intervening variables essential
to learning namely-

(1) Habit strength (2) Drives (3) Incentives - Motivation (4) Reactive inhibition (5)
Conditioned inhibition (6) Reaction potential (7) Generalised habit strength (8) Generalized
reaction potential (9) Aggregate inhibitory potential (10) Oscillation reaction potential etc.
13
Antecedents variables are 1) Number of reinforcements 2) Drive conditions 3) Intensity of
stimulus 4) Work in response 5) Amount of reward.

Hull’s postulates have been paraphrased in order to make an easier grasp of his theory. He
developed 17 postulates:
1. Psychological equipment (postulates 1 and 2)
The first postulate states that an organism has a hierarchy of goal oriented responses at birth.
According to the second postulate, there is an interaction of mental and neural and they effect
on subsequent interactions.
2. Drive and response evocation - (Postulate 3).
This states that if a response is associated with stimulus trace and the two are associated with
decreasing drive produced stimuli, that stimulus trace may have an increasing tendency to
evoke the response.
3. Habit formulation and reinforcement (postulate 4).
According to this postulate, the habit strengthens. There is reinforcement on every trial, and
successive reinforcements give a combined strength to habits.
Factors affecting reaction potential (postulates 5, 6, 7, and 8).
4. Reaction potential is the strength of tendency to respond. Factors which influence
reaction potential are namely-
a) Drive - Reaction potential depends upon drives. The concept of drive is very important
in Hull’s theory.
Drive is essential for primary reinforcement.
Drive activates habit strength into reaction potential.
Drive regulates habits by the needs of organisation.
b) Stimulus intensity - Reaction potentials depend upon the intensity of stimulus (6th
postulate).
c) Incentive motivation - Reaction potentials depend upon the magnitude of incentive (7th
postulate).
d) Habit strength - Reaction potentials depend upon the habit strength multiplied by drive,
incentive motivation and stimulus intensity relationship (8th postulate).
5. Inhibition of reaction potentials - There are two kinds of inhibitory potentials-
a) Reactive inhibition - Once we perform an act we are unwilling to repeat it. The occurrence
of response inhibits reaction potential.
b) Conditioned inhibition - It is conditioned non - activity depending upon generalized habit
strength and reaction potential (9th postulate).
6. Generalized habit strength and reaction potential.
14
a) Habit strength is a generalized potential when stimuli are equivalent (10th postulate).
Generalized reaction potential depends upon the habit strength, drive, incentive,
motivation and stimulus intensity.
b) Reaction potential varies from time to time. This behaviour is known as behavioural
oscillation (12th postulate).
7. Actual response - Actual response occurs above the reaction potential threshold (postulate
13). If two and more incompatible reaction potentials exist, response with greater reaction
potential would be evoked.
8. Inferring reaction potentials - Reaction potentials - Reaction potential is a function of
“reaction latency.” The shorter the reaction latency, the greater can be reaction potential
(14th postulate). Reaction potential depends upon “reaction aptitude”, and relationship is
linear (15th postulate). Reaction potential is a function of massed unreinforcement (16th
postulate).
9. Individual differences - There are differences among individuals and differences exist in
the psychological states within the same individual at different times (17th postulate).
10. Goal gradients - According to Hull’s concept, actions which are nearest the goal are learnt
more quickly than the actions which are farther from the goal.

These relationships of the intervening variables mentioned in the postulates are expressed in
the formula-

sEr=f (sHr.D.K) - Ir

Where sEr - excitatory potential

sHr - habit strength

D - drive

K - reinforcer

Ir - reactive inhibition

Therefore, Hulls theory is more theoretical and consistent. His theory is in the form of
postulates and theorems directing significantly towards the quantitative law of learning.

Tolman's Theory of Purposivism (Sign Learning Theory)

This is one of the most development cognitive theories of learning. Tolman believed in some
sorts of purposive behaviourism. This theory is also known as sign or cue learning, cognitive
theory of learning or expectancy theory of learning. The most significant concept in this theory
is purpose or goal. He believed that it is the route to the goal which is learnt and not the
15
responses. We learn meanings and not the movements. For getting meanings we learn the
relationship of signs or clues to the goals. Learning consists of recognizing the signs and
understanding their meanings in relation to goals or the forming of cognitions. In this theory,
learning involves not S - R bonds but changes in cognitions as a result of experiences with
external stimuli. ‘‘Cognitions’’ are intervening variables built out of perceptions about one’s
environment.

Main Tenets of this Theory are as under:

1. Genuine behaviourism - Tolaman’s system rejects introspection as a method. When he
referred to phenomenon as consciousness, incentive ideations etc., it implied
interpretation of observed behaviour.
2. Molar behaviour - Tolman observed molar behaviour and not molecular behaviour. Molar
behaviour has the following qualities:
a) It is goal directed - It is always getting towards something or getting away from something.
b) It makes use of an environmental support as means - objects towards the goal.
c) It is selective - There is a selective preference for short or easy means - activities as against
long or difficult ones. It is known as the principle of least effort.
d) It is docile i.e. molar behaviour is characterized by teachableness. Docility is said to be
mark of purpose.
3) Purposivism - Tolman’s system is purposivism because it recognises that behaviour is
regulated in accordance with objectively determined goals.
Tolman performed certain experiments to make the theory very clear.

1. Experiment on Reward Expectancy

Reward expectancy means that the learner comes to anticipate the presence of reward and if
the reward is absent, behaviour is disrupted. In the experiment, two containers were taken. A
banana was put in one of the containers in presence of the monkey. The monkey got it
correctly. Then the banana in the container was replaced with a leaf. It was found that the
monkey did not take the leaf and continued to search for banana. (Here the reward banana was
expected and not the leaf. This showed that the animal had some sort of expectancy of the
specific goals object or reward.)

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2. Experiment on Place Learning

In this experiment, two groups of rats were taken. One group was trained to run on an elevated
maze in such a way that they would get food if they turned left, whichever way they enter it.
This is called response learning. The second group was trained to get food placed at a particular
point. This is called place learning. It was found that the second group learnt quickly than the
first. Therefore, it was observed than the place learning group learnt more quickly than the
response learning group.

3. Experiments on the Latent Learning

Latent learning means hidden learning which is unobserved but which under certain conditions
can be revealed in performance. Study of latent learning was conducted in rats. Rats ran in a
maze for several days without food and then reward was given. The result showed that with
no food there was decrease in error, but that decrease was greater when food was rewarded
regularly. The group of rats which was rewarded from the eleventh trial onwards did as well
as the group of rats rewarded regularly. It would mean that some learning occurred even in the
first ten trials. This learning was latent as it did not appear in performance until food was given.

Therefore, Tolman’s sign learning theory throws light upon significant implications in
education, use of reward, punishments, emphasis on right methods of teaching, making
meaningful learning with a gestaltian view etc., which are relevant to even modern educational
methodology.

Lewin’s Topological Theory of Learning

According to this theory, the total pattern of field of events determines learning. Each
individual is living in a field of forces. Lewin said, ‘‘to understand a person’s behaviour, one
must recognize his position on a kind of map, in relation to goals, he is trying to attain.’’
Lewin’s theory of learning can be studied as under:

1. Life space: Lewin explained individual’s behaviour on the basis of life space. The field of
forces to which the individual is responding or reacting is called ‘‘life space.’’ The life space

17
includes the features of the entire environment to which the individual is reacting, his private
thoughts and imaginations. Hence, life space is totality of all possible events that relate to the
individual who faces many difficulties in achieving the goal.

2. Valence: It influences learning. Valence implies attraction or repulsion of a region. If the

region of psychological environment is attractive, it is said to have a positive valence. A region
providing food has a positive valence to a hungry person. One the contrary, if the region
increases tension, it is said to have a negative valence. A region of cutthroats has a negative
valence for a scared person. Valence may be a strong or weak medium. Valence provides
motivations for learning.

3. Barrier: In Lewin’s theory, threat, goal and barrier are the main factors. A person who
wants to achieve some goals has to overcome certain barriers. The barriers may be
psychological or environmental. When the person overcomes the barrier, he is motivated.
Motivation helps in learning or achieving goals.

4. Motivation: According to Lewin, learning occurs as a result of change in cognitive structure

which results from two types of forces - one from the structure of cognitive field and the other
from the internal needs or motivation of the individual. Motives are related to specific goals
and satisfaction of motives results from achieving it. Lewin attached great importance to
rewards and punishments in learning. Rewards provide incentive for learning and punishments
dissuade from undesirable tendencies in learning.

Lewin’s field theory provides important educational implications for relationship between
learner and environment, establishing attainable goals, using rewards and praises, motivation
in learning etc. Lewin in his theory of learning emphasized 1) Level of aspiration, 2) Goal
attractiveness, 3) Dynamics of memory, 4) Rewards and punishments, 5) Motivation etc.,
which are very much relevant even to modern methodology of education.

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LINGUISTIC & SOCIOLOGICAL FACTORS INFLUENCING LANGUAGE
LEARNING

The study of the teaching and learning of any language has to be made keeping in view the
fact that language is a social phenomenon. Language is not only an abstract system of formal,
lexical and grammatical features but also fulfils a social function and has to be viewed against
the social context of its use. Sociolinguistics or the study of language in its social setting began
to develop in the sixties. The development of sociolinguistics shifted the emphasis from an
abstract study of the rules of language to concrete acts of language use.

Sociolinguistic studies have highlighted aspects of learning a language in an alien

environment. A language can be learned in an environment where there is no native speaker
present. When a language is learned thus, there must be an underlying purpose for which it is
learned. The language must have some internal, social function in the community. In
multilingual states, people who do not share a common mother tongue may use another
language for communication. This orientation places the second language in a clearly specified
social context or situation. The social context subsumes in it, socio-historical factors
responsible for the adoption of a foreign language for internal communication in a country.
This leads to a consideration of the historical development of a second language in an alien
environment. Against this backdrop, let us consider the role that English plays in the Indian
context, the purposes for which it is used and the status that it enjoys in official, educational
and social settings.

Socio-historical background

English in India belongs to no region or group. In a country with hundreds of mother tongues,
it is, as Dasgupta (1993) calls it, the ‘auntie tongue’ of all, and welcomed every where, tough
possessed by none.

English has been accepted as the unofficial national language of India. The Radhakrishnan
Commission (1950-51:316) noted in its report that
It is true that the English language has been one of the potent factors in the development of
unity in the country. In fact, the concept of nationality and the sentiment of nationalism are
largely the gifts of the English language and literature in India. . . .

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Yet, as Kachru (1994: 497) observes:

The history of English in South Asia is one of prolonged heated debates and controversies.
The controversy about the legacy of English and desirability of its continued place in language
policies and its cultural associations has still not abated. . .

Such controversies exist at the official level. For the common people, as we will see, the
question of the status of English is no longer a matter of dispute. There, however, seems to be
a regrettable ignorance about the growth, form, function and teaching of English, especially in
the early periods of the over-three-hundred-year-old history of the language in this country.
Many people, for instance, believe that it was only at the recommendation of T.B. Macaulay
in 1835, which started the teaching of English in India. In fact, Macaulay only got the East
India Company to support the teaching of English that was already in progress here.

As Kachru (1994: 501) observes, a detailed and cohesive history of the introduction and
diffusion of bilingualism in South Asia is yet to be written. However, some idea about its
growth can be had from reports on educational reforms and missionary activities.

English in India has acquired the acquired the status of the most preferred language, though it
began its life as a mere tool in the hands of some traders and their agents. The English ruled
India for less than two hundred years, but their language has ruled here for much longer and it
appears as if it is here to stay. Bengali-English, Urdu-English and other glossaries first
appeared in the seventeenth century itself. What is known as English for Specific Purposes
(ESP) today could be said to have appeared as early as the eighteenth century as special
purpose glossaries.

The first Englishman, Thomas Stephenson, arrived in India in 1580. On his return home, he
and others wrote about the wealth of India, the Portuguese monopoly of it and how the British
were missing a share in it. In 1601, London merchants formed the East India Company and
got the charter from Queen Elizabeth for trade with India. In 1757, the East India Company
got the charter from the Mughals for administration and revenue collection in Bengal, Bihar
and Oudh. In 1857, Queen Victoria declared herself the Empress of India. And when the

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British left in 1947, ninety years later, the constitution of the new Republic had to be written
in English.

To a significant extent, English in India is now the language of business, commerce, education,
government, industry, justice, law, mass media, politics, sciences, technology, trade, etc.
Whether this has been good for India is a matter of opinion.

In 1857, rebel soldiers had captured the telegraph system, but could not use it (MacLeod and
Kumar, 1995). They had no language to link Kalpi with Kanpur, the two main centres of the
rebellion. Today, English links Kohima with Kochi, though their languages and cultures are
more different than are those of Manchester, Madrid, Munich and Moscow. English holds
whatever remains of India together.

English has also been in part the language of India's freedom struggle. Tilak's maharatta,
Gandhi's young India, and Nehru's Indian Herald were published in English. Without English,
our freedom fighters from various corners of the country would not have been able to
communicate with one another.

English was introduced in India, as historian R.C. Mazumdarr observes, ‘not by the British but
in spite of them...’ (Ayyar 1987: 11), through cooperation between non-official British and
liberal Indians. When William Bentinck, upon the advice of Macaulay, decided (in 1835) to
spend most of the money provided by the East India Company for the education of Indians to
support the English language and English education in India, the English language had already
been here for nearly two hundred years.

The story of English in India is a fascinating one of the nativisation of a foreign language.
There have been some attempts at recounting this story. Mention must be made here of Sinha
(1978), Ayyar (1987), Ram (1988) and Kachru (1994). As Crystal, cited in Kachru (1994:15),
observes, ‘It is now well-recognised, that in linguistic history no language has touched the
lives of so many people in so many cultures and continents in so many functional roles, and
with so much prestige as has the English language since the 1930s. . .’

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The coastal regions of India between the sixteenth and nineteenth centuries presented a
baffling extent of multilingualism. Besides Malay and Chinese from East Asia, Arabic and
Persian from West Asia, Armenian, Dutch, French, English and Portuguese from Europe were
also spoken there.

As Sinha (1978:6) observes, the introduction of English in India was slow and difficult. So
long as the Portuguese stayed, English was used only in the trade centres. For the transaction
of daily business, interpreters, or ‘dobashas’, were much in demand. They worked for a certain
wage, and they could have been the first users of English in India. By the first half of the
eighteenth century, there were enough English-knowing people to sustain English in India,
though not enough yet to meet the demand. Partly, the sustenance was also provided by the
missionaries. The growth of English commerce also promoted the use of English. Special lists
of words, phrases and jargon were compiled. Many of the lists were published between the
eighteenth and the mid-nineteenth centuries. These books are believed to have sold in large
numbers among people aspiring to be interpreters, clerks, copyists and agents. This was the
age of self-learning.

Private schools were started by enterprising Englishmen and women. Raja Dwarkanath
Tagore, grandfather of Rabindranath Tagore, went to a school of this kind, taught by a Eurasian
gentleman called Mr Sherbourne. Many British men and women offered English tuition for a
fee (Sinha 1978: 22-23). But the teaching and learning of English in India received an added
impetus when English was declared to be, after nearly two decades of hesitation, the official
language of the Supreme Court at Calcutta (Kolkata). After winning the battle of Plassey in
1757, the East India Company had of necessity, also found itself being called upon to
administer and dispense justice within the territory ceded to them.

For a while, justice was dispensed in the language of the people. And Arabic-Persian was
continued. But soon it was obvious that the British judges preferred English (King 1994). Thus,
in 1774, the Supreme Court in Calcutta decided to transact its business only in English. This
was the first major official action that definitely added to the popular demand for English.
People who could draft petitions were much sought after and well paid. A limited supply of

22
such people and the unlimited demand for them, led to the setting up of more schools and
motivated more people to teach and learn English.

The spread of English in India was also contributed to by missionaries and other non-official
British and Europeans. The initial effort of the missionaries started in 1614 and become more
prominent after 1659. This was the time missionaries were permitted to use the ships of the
East India Company. But in 1765, the policy changed and the encouragement of missionary
activities was abandoned (Kachru 1994: 497).

The first vernacular school for Indian boys was opened at Serampore in June 1800 by William
Carey, a preacher. Soon it became popular, imparting education in English, liberal arts,
literature, science and the vernacular. In less than ten years, Serampore College had nearly 300
boys on its rolls.

The missionaries were the pioneers of English education in India. The standard they set for
English was sufficiently high even then. English literature found a place in the curriculum. In
the higher classes, works such as Paradise Lost and Bacon's Essays were also taught (Howells
1927: 20). English in India was also encouraged by many British merchants, radical Indians
and others. The outstanding contribution` of Raja Rammohan Roy and David Hare (1774-
1842) is notable.

The Hindu College, later renamed the Presidency College, became an important centre of
English education. Profit from learning English, increased the demand for English schools and
English became the most important subject in the curriculum. At many schools, English was
taught from the very beginning (Ayyar 1987: 134). But some schools did not handle the job
well. Criticising these schools, Viceroy Dufferin said:
In too many Indian schools, English was taught as if it were a dead language. The student can
read, explain, construe, parse and analyse, he knows hundreds of grammar rules by heart, but
he cannot understand the language spoken by an Englishman, and he can neither speak nor
write it (Sherring 1897: 107).

Mention must be made of Alexander Duff here. He emphasised reading, as he believed that
after going through the books ‘the students would be able not only to read with fluency, but to
gather up with a considerable degree of intelligence the draft, scope and impress of any English
23
work, written in simple, chaste and classical style' (Ayyar 1987: 159). Duff was innovative in
his methods and materials.

But enough books of the right kind were not there. So another public effort resulted in the
formation of the Calcutta School Book Society in 1817. This was welcomed by even Sanskrit
scholars. The Calcutta Book Society was founded with the objective of preparation and
publication of inexpensive supply of works for use in schools and colleges. Importance was
given to the preparation of elementary books in English. An English spelling book was among
the first books to have been printed. Similar bodies were established at Bombay (Mumbai) and
Madras (Chennai).

The British India Society also helped with books on science and general literature (Ayyar
1987:23). These English books were received very well.

Justifying the new policy of greater support for English than for Asiatic languages, the Report
of the Committee on Public Instruction of 1834 noted that knowledge of English was regarded
as an essential branch of a good education. The report asserted that:
If a student in this country is required to know two languages besides his own, then these two
ought to be English and one from which his own is derived. This would require a Bengalee
student to be acquainted with English and Sanskrit, and a Mohammedan student with English
and Arabic or Persian and Urdu. In the present circumstances, it is no longer a question
whether English or Arabic or Sanskrit is to be preferred. The popular taste as far as it can be
judged, had declared in favour of English( Ayyar 1987: 24)

This report seems to have anticipated the ‘three language formula' by over 130 years, as a
solution to the confusion about languages in the school and college curriculum in India.

Officially, the East India Company was not very enthusiastic about the education of Indians.
There was a fear that this would result in losing India. But liberal members of Parliament like
Charles Grant saw that giving English education free to Indians would help supplant Persian
in administration. He therefore encouraged the introduction of the printing press in India.

English education was preferred to Sanskrit and Persian even by Indians. English was made a
compulsory subject for five classes. The English Department was further strengthened and
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salaries of English teachers raised (Ayyar 1987: 217). In institutions like Mayo College of
Ajmer, English was regarded as the most important language and subject on the curriculum.
The school had six English masters against only two in Sanskrit and two in Urdu. It had sixteen
hours of teaching of English out of a total of 30 hours in a week (Sherring 1897: 94-113).

Examinations were conducted in geography with an English globe. Candidates also recited
English poems and parts of well-known English plays and other works in the presence of
eminent members of society (Sinha 1978: 35-6). It was against this background of divided but
rising opinion for English and English education that Macaulay came on to the scene. On
Macaulay's recommendation, the East India Company committed itself to English education.

The Indian attitude to English changed so much that it became a preferred language for
communication even with family members. As Kachru observes, ‘the original role of English
in South Asia was essentially that of a foreign language.' But within 150 years, Indians were
no longer learning this language merely to buy or sell or to find employment. It had started
acquiring an integrative role. Soon, being educated meant knowing English.

This became a crucial question during the freedom struggle. Though Mahatma Gandhi wrote
in English, regarded English as a window on western thought and acknowledged its
importance for India, he was not happy with India's dependence upon English. Gandhi hoped
that with political independence, our infatuation with the English language would go, but
English has become the preferred public language (Hingorani 1965: 108).

Current situation

Today, it is difficult to think of success in any career in India without adequate proficiency in
English. Kachru observes, ‘The end of the British Raj in the subcontinent was supposed to
initiate the slow but sure demise of the English language in South Asia. ... However, the reality
of use is different. The actual picture is one of ever greater social penetration of English. The
functional domains where English is used have actually expanded rather than shrunk’ (Kachru
1994: 542). We can refer to Agnihotri and Khana (1994), for a comprehensive view of certain
aspects of the educational and sociological status of English in free India, and how English has
acquired new domains of use besides expanding the earlier ones.

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Article 343(1) of the Constitution of India, had provided in 1950, that English as the official
language of the Union would give place to Hindi by 1965. But in 1965, violent language riots
erupted, particularly in the southern and north-eastern states and a constitutional amendment
was enacted to allow English to continue as another official language for as long as all the
states and union territories wanted it to do so. In education, a ‘three-language formula' was
adopted, according to which all states would teach English and Hindi besides a ‘regional'
language. But this has been followed mostly only in the breach. So by an unspoken consensus,
English continues to be the prime official language of India. In the Andamans, Arunachal
Pradesh, Chandigarh, Goa, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Nagaland, English is the only official
language.

In a Ford Foundation funded survey in the South Kanara district of Karnataka in 1983, 75%
of the 625 respondents said that they used English for official correspondence (Chaudhary
1988: 69). 81% of the respondents said they wrote applications and official requests in English.
Among the working respondents, 66% said they wrote official notes in English and at official
meetings, 61% claimed they spoke English. English was the language best suited for office,
claimed 62% of these respondents (Chaudhary 1988: 69, 70).

The Government of India has permitted the use of Indian languages in many recruitment and
admission tests. The Union Public Service Commission, Subordinate Services Staff Selection
Commission, Combined Defence Services Board, etc. also permit scheduled Indian languages.
So do Indian Institutes of Technology, Management etc. National accreditation tests like the
Graduate Aptitude Test in engineering can now also be written in languages other than English.
But these languages are yet to find many takers.

Though even the first Education Commission headed by S. Radhakrishnan acknowledged the
role of English in achieving nationhood, it was of the opinion that ‘English cannot continue to
occupy the place of the state language as in the past. use of English as such divides (the) people
into two nations, the few who govern and the many who are governed - the one unable to talk
the language of the other, and mutually uncomprehending. This is negation of democracy.’ It,
however, recommended that, ‘English be studied in high schools and universities in order that
26
we keep in touch with the living stream of ever-growing knowledge' (cited in Kachru 1994:
545).

The H. N. Kunjru Commission Report published in 1965 as the Report of the English Review
Commission recommended the following:
A. that the change from English to an Indian language as the medium of instruction at the
state universities should not be hastened;

B. that even when a change in the medium of instruction is made, English should continue
to be studied by all university students;

C. that it would be necessary to have textbooks on scientific subjects. Education should take
up this question for consideration;

D. that in relation to the three-year degree course, which is now proposed to be introduced in
our universities, the teaching of English be given special attention in the pre-university
class;

E. that the teaching of English literature should be related to the study of Indian literatures
so that, apart from its value for linguistic purposes, it could be an effective means of
stimulating critical thinking and writing in Indian languages;

F. that it is desirable to have the question of study in English and methods of teaching English
at the state universities examined by an expert body and the recommendations of that body
adopted by all the universities;

G. that where English is not the medium of instruction at any university, it is necessary to
adopt special methods to secure an adequate knowledge of English as a second language;

H. that far greater attention should be given to linguistics in our universities and in our teacher
training colleges;

I. that it is in our educational interest that English should be retained as a properly studied
second language in our universities, even when an Indian language is used as the ordinary
medium of teaching (p.39).

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Subsequent commissions have endorsed this policy at both the school and college levels.
Several surveys, for example, Chaudhary (1981, 1985), summarised in Chaudhary (1988),
Kachru (1983, 1986), Parashar (1979) and Sawhney (1980), have found that people prefer
English for education. Nearly 99% of the respondents of the Ford Foundation study claimed
that English was their best bet for a good career. If their children learnt only one language, all
respondents said, they would like them to learn English. This opinion is also shared by some
tribal students in Bihar.

Only 31% of the respondents said that English was the best language for primary education of
their children, 52% made such a claim for secondary education, and 86% for higher education,
including education in science and technology. Among tribal students, 99% thought that good
education at any level could be had only in English. Only one student said that Hindi would
be the best language for education (Chaudhary 1988: 70-71). In the Ford Foundation study,
only 67% of the respondents had claimed that English was essential for good jobs, but at
Ranchi all believed that goods jobs were not possible without ‘good' English. It is felt that
goods professional education and rise in careers, such as accountancy, business, commerce,
engineering, journalism, law, mass media, management, even politics, science and technology
may not be possible without good English. Admission tests for business schools include tests
of proficiency in English.

English medium education in India has flourished also because of the global standards aimed
at by educational institutions in India. English has given students and academics global
mobility. Books and other learning materials are easily available in English. There are only a
limited number of books in Indian languages in the social sciences and still less in sciences.

With over 68,000 titles brought out annually, India is the third largest publisher of books in
English, after only the USA and Britain (Graham, 1995). There may easily be over 100,000
English medium schools in India today. The Central Government has its own chain of English
medium schools for the children of its employees. These Kendriya Vidyalayas impart
instruction in all subjects, except Hindi and social studies in the medium of English.

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There are many in India who holds the view that it is acceptable to use Indian English. Several
surveys have shown that opinion on the question of models is divided. Kachru (1976), Sahgal
(1994: 271) and others have found that many Indians still prefer Standard British English. But
there are others who would like to follow the American standard, as there are those who would
like the Indian standard. But with more people, mail, films, telephonic and fax messages flying
between India and the USA than between India and Britain, the British model is being replaced
by the American. This can be seen in the use of word-processing on computers - many Indians
prefer American spelling, sense and syntax.

About 44% of the respondents in the Ford Foundation study said that they preferred English
even for social communication (Chaudhary 1988: 68). A large number of wedding cards, for
instance, are printed in English. With so much prestige attached to the language, Indians are
very conscious of ‘correctness' in English. Institutes of Spoken English are found everywhere
with a clientele that cuts across caste, gender, class and age-groups. English seems to be more
indispensable today than in the past.

India is the second biggest English-speaking country. About 200 million Indians use English
in their everyday life. The combined circulation of English newspapers in India is only four
million against the nearly 40 million of the Indian language dailies. But the power of the
English press here is proportionate not to the size of its readership, but to its quality. English
newspapers have almost trebled their circulation with multiple editions and websites in the last
five years. The circulation of Indian language dailies has also increased, but it has generally
been limited to the respective regions. English programmes are broadcast over the national
network, but the Indian language versions mostly appear on the regional networks. Indian
airlines, the armed forces, banks, postal services, the railways and telephones use English and
a local language.

Computers and the Internet have further tightened the hold of English on India. One would
need eighteen sets of the alphabet in Indian languages, but with English, people can mail their
friends across long distances both within the country and abroad.

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Advertising has similarly grown. Advertisements in Indian languages may not appear in the
English language newspaper or radio and television programmes, but English advertisements
find a place in Indian language newspapers and programmes.

The story of English in India, as we saw above, is the story of increasing expansion of the
function domains of a foreign language. About three hundred years ago, English was restricted
to some domains of work. Then during the nineteenth century, it occupied the domain of
education and moved to social domains. In free India, English has spread into all spheres of
public life and is now moving to pervade entertainment and the home.

Conversations vary in the extent of the use of English. In homes with parents from different
linguistic backgrounds, it is almost a necessity. In other educated families it may not be so, yet
there is a significant use of English even here. Because of English education and entertainment,
many children in these homes use an English mixed lingo or slang with their siblings or peer
groups. With older members of the family, they may use English mixed with the mother
tongue.

Conversations across age-groups may vary in the extent of mixing, but mixing codes is on the
increase. Unmixed or ‘pure' language sounds quaint to many. Television presenters use a
mixed code. Code-switching and code-mixing are very common.

Except for reading, the domain of religion has little English yet. Occasionally, people attend
religious discourses in English. For prayer or daily worship people still use Indian languages.
A small minority of Christians use the English Bible and prayer books in English. They also
attend the English language service at church. According to an estimate, of about a hundred
daily church services in Chennai, only five are conducted in English. At Ranchi, with only
26% average literacy among tribals, there is only one English service. Even at Mangalore, with
100% literacy among Christians, and a large number of university graduates, the Konkani
service is becoming popular.

On the whole, it may not be out of place to say that English is no longer just our window on
the world, or the link language, or any other tool of restricted use as it was in the past. It has

30
now become the language of our daily life, and there is hardly a domain where English is not
used.

ELT in India today

That is one side of the picture. The other side is that in educationally backward families,
success in learning English has been elusive. Every year, thousands of students fail at
examinations in English. In spite of years spent in learning English, fluency and accuracy elude
the learner. This has adversely affected the morale of many learners and their dissatisfaction
with the official sector in ELT has given rise to a huge private industry. That the private sector
has also failed is a different story. In a community where success in life depends upon success
in learning English, here is a challenge for ELT.

Several studies, for example, Sawhney (1980), Parashar (1979) and Chaudhary (1981), have
found that many factors contribute to the learning of English in India. Of these, the more
important appear to be motivation and the extent of availability of the language around the
learner.

In the early years of English in India, limited amount of language was available to the learner.
There were few native speakers and they did not always use English with their Indian
interlocutors. There were few books and most of these were ill-suited to the needs of the
learners. So the learners of that early period used special word lists. Their needs were limited
and these lists served them well. By the end of the eighteenth century, more detailed books in
grammar, pronunciation and other areas of English appeared. With the transfer of judicial and
revenue powers to the British, new occasions arose for a more frequent use of English. Anglo-
Indians and servants in the British households are likely to have spoken some English.

Even while the British were here in India, and Indians could be expected to have had the
exposure to standard British varieties, few people could use standard accents and varieties of
English. In some schools and colleges, however, there was some emphasis on recitation or
elocution, but that was hardly enough. Indians, therefore, had to depend upon books and
journals. English literature became a part of the curriculum. Habits of reading were

31
encouraged. Libraries and book societies were created and the book trade flourished in India.
But this made Indian English bookish. Even in their private conversation and correspondence,
Indians could not keep the formal and frozen style away.

Among Indians the motivation to learn English has mostly been of the instrumental kind-to
learn it, so as to earn a living and some social standing, and for extending the horizon of one's
awareness. Until about the decade of the 1960s, one could not pass the school final
examination in India unless one passed in English. Now this motivation is also becoming
integrative. Many Indians wish to identify themselves with the global culture.

India has a long tradition of language teaching. It has successfully used the direct method, the
bilingual method, the structural method, language through literature and the reading method.
The communicative approach to language teaching is also being tried out. The following
section gives a brief overview of India's experience with these methods.

Bilingual Method

The bilingual method and special ‘wordlists' were used mostly in the early years of English in
India and became obsolete by the middle of the eighteenth century. For its limited objective it
became quite successful. It was like the holophrastic stage in child language acquisition.
Extended conversation or communication was not possible, but the act of communication was
accomplished. It created a feel for the language, besides a minimum functional vocabulary on
which the extended language could be built. Most wordlists were prepared before the mid-
eighteenth century. By then, learners were moving to dictionaries and grammar books and
were attempting translation of longer texts.

After the successful completion of an experiment with the bilingual method of teaching
English to a group of Kannada-speaking children at Mysore, Sastri reports:

...I pointed out to them the contrast in the structure of the mother tongue and English. This
gave them an insight into the form of the interrogatives in English. Then I gave them intensive
drills. . . . We moved progressively from what was a bilingual situation in the beginning to a
monolingual in the end (1967:22).
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So far as comprehension is concerned, I have no doubt at all that the bilingual method is
superior to the direct method. It refers directly to the concept already known to the children
and then introduces the foreign languages terms to them. This ensures quick comprehension
(23). . . . The bilingual method combines accuracy and fluency (24).

At the common half-yearly examination for all students, Sastri found that whereas children
from the control group who had been taught English through English had an average score of
60.3% only, those from the experimental group who had been taught English through their
mother tongue had an average score of 75.2%. The success of such experiments at the Central
Institute of English and Foreign Languages, Hyderabad and elsewhere (Annamalai 1980), has
revived interest in the bilingual method.

Grammar-translation Method

Few methods in ELT have been as successful and yet as maligned as the grammar-translation
method. Even now, the syllabi of non-English medium institutions in India include grammar-
translation exercises. So do those of many English medium institutions. Much emphasis is
given to parsing, sentence construction and transformation rules. The ability to translate into
English is thought important. Grammar teaching usually begins with the teaching of the parts
of speech followed by syntax. This is reinforced with graded exercises in translation.

This method had two advantages and a disadvantage. It taught vocabulary and the essentials
of sentence structure very quickly. It used the existing knowledge of the learners, and so it was
easy for them to remember similarities and differences between the language(s) known to them
and English. But it ignored speech and pragmatics. Learners would learn words and sentence
types, spelling and rules of writing, but they would not know what to say or write and when
and where. In other words, they acquired linguistic competence of some kind, but
communicative competence eluded them.

Direct Method

The direct method used English for teaching English. This method succeeded with efficient
and enthusiastic teachers. But such teachers were rare and beyond the means of many schools
33
and colleges. Only elite institutions could afford them. The ‘reading method', or language
through literature method has also had considerable success in India. On the basis of his work
in Bengal, Michael West has written in some detail about this method (West 1927). The best
advantage of this method has rested in the autonomy of selection it gives the learner, with
regard to material and pace. West produced a series of simplified readers and encouraged
teachers in India to use them. Most Indians, even now, learn more English from books than
from other sources. The other, more recent methods and approaches will be dealt with in a
later chapter.

Computers today give the learner as much autonomy, though not as much flexibility, as some
of the other methods. But computers are expensive, and the infrastructure and technological
culture facilitating their use on a significant scale may be quite some time away in India. Yet,
limited experiments with Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) have shown good
results. With multimedia and the internet, computers afford unlimited autonomy and increased
exposure to learners. ‘Authoring Systems’ have made it possible for teachers to create ‘student-
specific’ teaching and testing material, and for students to go through learning and tests at their
own pace, with or without help from the teacher.

India is geographically distant from English-speaking nations of what Kachru calls the ‘inner
circle', in other words the ‘native speakers'. This factor has implications for the learning and
teaching of English in India. The religious beliefs, cultural patterns and the political system
are quite different from the countries where English is a primary language. The sociolinguistic
context of many languages and many dialects affords students learning English, the advantage
of approaching the language on the basis of their experience with different languages and
varied exposure in their own environment, but the diversity of language backgrounds
complicates the teaching task in the classroom. Linguistic and cultural disparities between the
mother tongue and the second language, English, present some learning problems.

It may be argued that asking one to learn too many languages may not help in learning any
language. We are yet to investigate these problems and find answers. There are, however,
children who learn many languages simultaneously. Bhaya Nayar (1991) presents data from a
34
child growing up in Delhi, to show how this manages up to six languages. Since the
introduction of the ‘Three-language formula', most school-going children in India have to learn
up to three languages. The child may learn these languages simultaneously.

In phonology, for instance, there is a large body of opinion which claims that the ‘core features'
of English include a relatively slow tempo of speech, with pauses and stress as in many
standard varieties. Because English has a relatively large number of fricative consonants and
long and short vowels, some attention in specific cases may be desirable there. Exact
realisation of each segment as given in a pronouncing dictionary, intonation, juncture and
pause are [‘peripheral features' of English phonology.

LEARNING A FIRST LANGUAGE AND A SECOND LANGUAGE

Acquisition and learning

All human beings ‘acquire’ at least one language. The first language is essential for survival.
A second language, however, if learnt and used well, has always brought power and prestige
to its users. But when not so well-learnt and well-used, it has made its users subjects of ridicule.
Yet people living in multilingual communities have always sought to ‘learn’ another language
for various purposes. Dulay, Burt and Krashen observe:
Over a billion people in the world speak more than one language fluently. In the Philippines,
for example, many people must speak three languages, if they are to engage fully in their
community’s social affairs. They must speak the national language Filipino, one of the eighty-
seven local vernaculars and English or Spanish. In small countries, such as the Netherlands
or Israel, most children are required to study at least one foreign language in school, and
sometimes several. Most adults in the Netherlands speak German, French, and English, in
addition to Dutch. Even in the United States, whose inhabitants are notoriously unconcerned
about languages other than English, about 10 per cent of the residents usually speak at least
one language, in addition to English in the course of their daily lives. . . . Throughout much of
the world, being able to speak at least two languages, and sometimes three or four, is
necessary to function in society (Dulay, Burt and Krashen: 1982: 1).
35
They add that foreign language needs loom large in business and economic affairs.
International trade and commerce depend so much on cross-cultural communication that the
knowledge of additional languages is always of benefit to the users.

Through all her recorded history, India has been a multilingual country. There is hardly an
educated Indian who does not know at least two languages, that is, English and the mother
tongue. There are many people, both among educated and uneducated Indians, who know more
than two languages and use these in their daily live. Actually, this has been an important factor
in the high degree of mobility of the Indian people. Today, Indians are employed and do well
in their chosen occupations all over the world, and this is in no small measure due to their
proficiency in a second/foreign language.

Experts in the field are not sure whether the use of a word like ‘learn’ is appropriate in the
situation. They feel that the words ‘acquire/acquisition’ should be used as in first language
acquisition. Krashen (1985), Klein (1988), Flynn and O’ Neil (1988), Aitchison (1988) and
many others uses ‘acquisition’ even for the second language. In this chapter, we will talk about
some of the salient features of first and second language acquisition/learning, and in doing so
we will see if there is indeed a difference between learning one and many languages.

In the dictionary sense of the word, it may be all right to say that people ‘acquire’ the first
language L1 and ‘learn’ the second language L2. After all, the circumstances and results of

learning these languages are often quite different for many people. There is a considerable
body of literature on the differences between first language and second language acquisition.
These differences are presumably owing to different circumstances and achievements in
acquisition/learning. While everybody has abundant exposure to the language to be learnt in
the context of first language acquisition (FLA), it is not always so with the second language in
‘natural’ circumstances like one’s first language. People often learn it through instruction.

After a detailed review of the issues involved in the process of second language acquisition
(SLA), Klein (1988: 1) observes:

36
Second language acquisition appears to be a process which exhibits certain regularities, is
constrained by a number of factors determining its course, rate of progress, and final outcome,
is subject, within certain limits, to external influences such as (methods of) instruction....

Attempting to distinguish between the first language acquisition and second language learning,
Krashen says:
There are two independent ways to developing ability in second languages. Acquisition is a
subconscious process identical in all important ways to the process children utilise in
acquiring their first language, while learning is a ‘conscious’ process that results in knowing
about language (1985:1).

Acquiring a language is ‘picking it up’ i.e., developing ability in a language for use in natural,
communicative situations. Language learning is ‘knowing the rules, having a conscious
knowledge of the grammar’.

Krashen and Terrell also distinguish between ‘aptitude’ and ‘attitude’ in second language
learning. It is hypothesised that aptitude relates to learning, whereas attitude relates to language
acquisition. Aptitude for language learning implies that the individual has an aptitude for
second language study. This study takes place in formal classrooms and involves heavy use of
conscious grammar rules. This, however, may not result in communicating fluently in real-life
contexts. A positive attitude, on the other hand, involves having a ‘feel’ for grammaticality
and an ability to use a rule in real communication.

Another major difference is perceived in the rate of success-nearly everyone achieves a certain
minimum success in FLA, but relatively few have a similar success in SLA. Many people
attribute this difference to what has generally been called a ‘critical period’, in language
learning. The theory of ‘critical period’ implies that a child’s mind is best suited for language
acquisition up to a certain age, and that this special faculty for language acquisition may start
atrophying with the onset of puberty. This has been a controversial topic in modern linguistics,
psychology, applied linguistics and other related fields, but the mystery surrounding the rate

37
of success in the two stages of learning is as far from being removed today as it was ever
before.

Chomsky (1996: 13) observes:

It seems now reasonably well-established, that there is a special component of the human brain
(call it ‘the language faculty’), that is specifically dedicated to language. The subsystem of the
brain (o the mind, from the abstract perspective), has an initial state which is genetically
determined, like all other components of the body: the kidney, the circulatory system and so
on. . . . The language faculty ‘grows’ from the initial state through childhood, reaching a
relatively steady state at some stage of maturation. This is the process of language acquisition,
sometimes misleadingly called ‘language learning’. The process seems to bear little
resemblance to what is called ‘learning’...

There is no clear answer to the question why some people have nearly equal success in First
Language Learning and Second Language Learning and others do not. Many people attribute
this difference in success to sociolinguistic factors, others feel that after a certain phase of
hyperactivity, the human brain loses some of its power for language acquisition and hence
only limited success is achieved. Bit it is generally accepted as a fact, that relatively few adults
can learn any language with the kind of success that children display in learning any number
of languages.

In many multilingual communities such as those of people living in metropolitan cities like
Mumbai, Bangalore, Kolkata, Delhi, Hyderabad, Chennai, and Pune and so on, children grow
up learning more than one language successfully and simultaneously. Nair has an account of
language acquisition by a child in a multilingual community in Delhi (1991). The child in this
study is acquiring half a dozen languages at the same time. Here, we are not talking of SLA in
that sense. To such children, all of these languages may be their first language(s).

SLA here implies learning/acquisition of such languages as are acquired/learnt subsequent to

the initial years of childhood, in a formal manner, either at school or elsewhere. Dulay, Burt
and Krashen (1982: 10) define SLA as:

38
. . . The process of learning another language, after the basics of the first has been acquired,
starting at about five years of age and thereafter. Sometimes, researchers refer to this process
as sequential language acquisition to differentiate it from simultaneous or bilingual
acquisition, which is the acquisition of two languages at the same time; the principles which
govern monolingual first language acquisition apply to the acquisition of both languages. . . .

Looking at FLA and SLA then, it is clear that there are significant differences between the
circumstances in which one learns these two languages in early childhood and in later life. In
childhood, many things are available to one naturally that may not be available for learning
other languages later. The following, according to Littlewood (1984: 15), characterise the
language learning environment of a child:

1. It is generally spoken more slowly and distinctly.

2. It contains short utterances.
3. It is more grammatical with fewer broken sentences and false starts.
4. It contains fewer complex sentences.
5. There is less variety of tenses.
6. The range of vocabulary is more limited.
7. There is more repetition.
8. The speech is more closely related to the ‘here and now’.

There are certain other kinds of differences relating to the circumstances and environmental
features pertaining to FLA/SLA. Talking about the sources, Dulay, Burt and Krashen observe
that there are indications that interlingual errors are occasioned by at least two environmental
factors:

9. Conditions that result in premature use of L2, and

10. Certain elicitation tasks (1982: 108).

In addition to the difference in the rate of success between FLA and SLA, it has
also been observed that few people can manage to learn pr onunciation in the SLA,
as well as they can in the FLA. Grammar also takes some time to acquire, but the

39
rate of success of acquiring grammar in SLA is considerably higher than in
acquiring pronunciation.

Age seems to be an important factor in second langu age acquisition. Many people
have wondered whether there is a ‘critical period' for language learning, before
and after which, as Chomsky (1988) says, it may not be possible to acquire another
language with similar success. There are view both for and agai nst this ‘critical
period' hypothesis.

Dulay, Burt and Krashen argue that there is scientific and anecdotal evidence to
support the view that children are better at language acquisition than adults.
Children acquire language in natural environments and hen ce, are better speakers
than adults who may make greater progress initially.

Singleton (1989), at the end of a long study on the influence of age on language
learning, concludes:

“It seems unlikely, in view of the evidence, that there is a particular point in a
child's post-natal development where language acquisition can be said to truly
begin. It is also unlikely that there is a particular point where the capacity to
learn language goes into a general and rapid decline... it does seem though, that
first language acquisition normally continues in some of its aspects at least right
into old age, and that a high degree of success in many respects of second
language acquisition is possible at any age... ” (Singleton 1989: 265).

Literature and anecdotal evidence on this subject remain vague. It is nevertheless

a fact that many people acquire a second language successfully even late in life.
It is also equally true that at least as many, if not more, also fail to acquire a
second language as succeed in it... The f ailure is explained reasonably
satisfactorily by the ‘critical period' hypothesis. But this hypothesis fails to
explain how some people can manage to acquire a second language as successfully
even after this period, as, for example, a large number of peopl e who learn English

40
in India do. Much more investigation, one feels, with very different tools is
required before we can answer this question of the differential rate of success
between FLA and SLA.

Two other theories, particularly concerning SLA that have gained some following
recently, are Krashen's Monitor model and the Interlanguage theory.

The Monitor model

The Monitor model claims that a second -language learner also forms his own
system of rules going through a sequence that can be characterised by di stinctions
of acquisition-learning, natural order, monitor factors, input characteristics and
affective filter. In a well-articulated theory, Krashen (1985) explains why
sometimes success in SLA can be different from that in FLA. It can, according to
the tenets of his theory, be the result of differences between the two kinds of
acquisition relating to all or any of the following factors in SLA:

1. Acquisition-Learning Hypothesis

2. The Natural Order Hypothesis

3. The Monitor Hypothesis

4. The Input Hypothesis

5. The Affective Filter Hypothesis

Of these, the last two can crucially account for differences between FLA and SLA.

Interlanguage is a useful theoretical approach to the treatment of differences and

peculiarities of SLA, but it can be of little use to the (second) language teacher.
The teacher, however, can derive some insights from contrastive analysis that
emerge from the Interlanguage theory.

SLA is clearly characterised by obvious differences in success at acquiring

various levels - phonetic, phonological, morphological, syntactic, semantic, and

41
pragmatic - of the structure of the language than FLA is. Not everyone learns a
comparable minimum of the language at each level by a certain time, even with a
comparable extent and quality of exposure. SLA is also characterised by the
learner's ability in a metalanguage, that is, SL acquirers can talk more about
language, than first language acquirers.

THE IMPORTANCE OF MOTHER TONGUE VS ENGLISH

Language teaching and learning is a complex process. There are no right solutions to any
problem. What works in one context may fail in another. Perceptions vary from culture to
culture, from region to region. In the West, a class of forty is considered large, but in India it
is quite small. While some autonomous colleges in our country adopt streaming, most non-
autonomous colleges regard it as discriminating.

The use of the mother tongue in the English classroom

The controversy regarding the use of L1 in second language teaching is perhaps as old as

language teaching itself.

Arguments against the use of L1 in the English classroom

Given below are four statements, each of which has an implicit argument against the use of
L1. State the argument:
1. Most of us write with our right hand; however, with practice we can learn to write with the
left hand.
2. Most educated Indians are fluent in two languages: English and their own mother tongue.
However, they are not all translators.
3. In a typical urban classroom there are children with at least four different mother tongues.
4. My teacher used translation in the classroom. That is how I learnt English.

The arguments implicit in these statements are:

1. With practice, learners can acquire English and stop using L1.
2. Translation is a special skill, which requires training.
3. A teacher cannot be a proficient user of the many mother tongues of the learners in her class.
42
4. It is not translation that has helped us to be fluent, but rather motivation and self-direction.

What then, is the role of L1 in the English classroom? L1 will continue to be used by learners.

This may give them a sense of security and relaxation. However, the teacher should refrain
from the use of L1; otherwise, learners would never get exposed to L2 at all. Research needs
to be done on how to wean learners from L1, and what a judicious use of L1 may involve.

How can this attitudinal change be reflected in classroom practice? He are a few suggestion:

1. The teacher must help the learner learn the target language by expanding, modifying,
completing or reciting the learner's utterances. She must chat with learners, using language at
their level. Over correction should be avoided as it is bound to inhibit learners.

2. Group work will enable learners to help each other; and learn from others. Peer tutoring and
peer evaluation are much more acceptable to learners than being singled out by the teacher.

3. The teacher should not publicly reprimand the learner. On the other hand, praise should be
given liberally, where it is due. A good relationship with the teacher works wonders.

4. The learners should be encouraged to self-direct their reading; they should be provided
opportunities for extensive, out-of-class reading.

5. Free writing tasks, non-evaluative in nature, may be assigned. Learners should be enabled
to write without fear of being punished for their mistakes.

6. Slow learners need not necessarily learn more grammar. As learners engage in meaningful
communication, the grammatical structures required will emerge automatically.

In dealing with disadvantaged learners the teacher should understand the close relationship
between a learner's emotions and her readiness to learn. It is the teacher's primary
responsibility to improve the slow learner's self-image and remove her anxiety about learning
English. She should encourage the learner to develop on her own.

Communication strategies

Second language learners are often forced to stretch their minimum resources in language to
maximum effect. In order to do this they often adopt various strategies.
43
These may be further sub-classified as shown below:
Avoidance strategies
Achievement strategies
Topic avoidance
Massage abandonment
Meaning replacement
L1-based
L2-based
Non-verbal

Avoidance Strategies
a. Topic avoidance: The learner refuses to talk on the topic because she does not have the
linguistic resources.
b. Message abandonment: Here the learner tries her best to deliver the message but gives
up finally.
c. Meaning replacement: The learner says something slightly different from what she
intended but still broadly relevant to the topic of discourse.
Achievement Strategies
a. L1-based strategies: The learner makes use of her L1 competence in various ways:
switch to L1, borrowing, literal translation or analysis.
b. Interlanguage-based strategies: The learner tries to use her limited resources in L2
through various processes like paraphrasing, repetition and use of fillers. At times she
also appeals to her listener for help.
c. Non-verbal strategies: These include gestures, miming, loudness and stress.

Communication strategies play a significant role in communication. It would be useful to build

in enough challenge into course materials and classroom presentation, in order to create
conditions congenial for the use of strategies. Teachers should be taught that they may be
enabled about strategies to become better communicators.

44
Question:-
1. Discuss the components of learning and Teaching.
2. Discuss the principles and theory of language learning.
3. Discuss the Psychological principles and influence on language teaching.
4. Discuss the linguistics and sociological factors influencing language learning.
5. Discuss learning English a first and a second language.
6. Discuss the importance of mother tongue vs. English.
7. “The knowledge of a description of language in the essential for the efficient learning
of a language”- Elucidate.

Sources and recommended reading:

1. Howatt, A.P.R., A History of English Language Teaching, (Oxford: Oxfo rd
University Press, 1984).

2. Littlewood, W., Foreign and Second Language Learning, (Cambridge:

Cambridge University Press, 1984).

3. Yule, G., The Study of Language, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,

1985).

4. Wallwork, J.F., Language and Linguisti cs (London: Heinemann, Educational

Books Ltd., 1969).

5. Ellis, R., Understanding Second Language Acquisition, (Oxford: Oxford

University Press, 1985).

6. Krashen, S., Principles and Practice in Second Language Acquisition,

(Oxford: Pergamon, 1982).

7. Richard, J.C. & Rodgers, T.S., Approaches and Methods in Language

Teaching, (Cambridge: OUP).

45
 UNIT II

METHODS OF TEACHING ENGLISH

THEORIES REGARDING METHODS OF TEACHING ENGLISH

What ideas come to your mind, dear students, when you read this topic? Write them down.

Do you know why you have been asked to do so?

It is because teaching is now-a-days considered a two-way process where the teacher and the
student interact with each other. Gone are the days when the teacher thought that it was his
duty to stuff the minds of the students with knowledge or information. The student was
thought to come to the class with an empty mind and gets his mind filled with information by
listening to all that the teacher had said. The concept of teaching has changed a lot. The
student is no longer a tabula rasa (empty mind). He comes to the teacher with his own
knowledge of the world, knowledge of the language, prejudices etc., and allows his mind to
react with the information that flows from the teacher. The old knowledge reacts with the new
knowledge. The teacher should allow the students to bring to their mind all that they know so
that he plays the role of a facilitator of learning rather than that of a ‘know-all’ and dispenser
of knowledge.

Theory in language teaching can be defined as the ‘thought underlying language teaching’.
The thought may be that of a teacher or a specialist or a researcher. The experience of a teacher
is systematized and stated as theory. So is the case with that of a researcher. Thus a theory
covers a set of principles of a fact.
Now coming to the topic, theories regarding methods of teaching English we are going to study
the principles or practices underlying methods of teaching English. Starting from the earlier
days there have been many methods in the teaching of a language. During the classical period
Latin was taught to the Greeks using Grammar-Translation Method. Then came the Direct
Method of teaching languages. In the Direct Method, as the name suggests, teaching and
learning were carried out in the target language. These two methods were not based on sound
theories but had evolved out of practices. ‘Reform Movement’ in the teaching of language
46
started from the last two decades of the 19th Century and reached its peak during the 20th
Century. By that time, linguistics and psychology had begun to exercise their influence on
language teaching. Structural approach and Communicative Approach come to dominate the
scene and the methods of teaching English came to be established on sound theoretical
principles. The Reform Movement was based on three sound principles: the primacy of speech,
the centrality of connected text as the Kernal of the teaching learning process, and the absolute
priority of an oral methodology in the classroom” (Howatt, 1985). Thus regarding the
methodology of teaching English we have to remember the following broad outline in our

mind: Grammar Translation Method and Direct Method before 19th century Structural

Approach and Communicative Approach during the 20th Century. Audio lingual method
under structural approach, Task based Method, Nature Method under communicative
Approach and silent way, and suggestopedia under Humanistic approach’.

Let us study one by one.

Grammar Translation Method:

Regarding the origin of Gr. Tr. Method Howatt has the following to say:

The grammar-translation method was devised and developed for use in secondary schools. It
could even be called the ‘grammar school method’ since its strengths, weaknesses, and
excesses reflected the requirements, aspirations and ambitions of the nineteenth century
grammar school in its various guises in different countries. It began in Germany, or more
accurately in Prussia, at the end of the eighteenth century and established on almost
impregnable position as the favoured methodology of the Prussian Gymnasium … The origins
of the method do not lie in an attempt to teach languages by grammar and translation; these
were taken for granted anyway. The original motivation was reformist. The traditional
scholastic approach among individual learners in the eighteenth century had been to acquire
a reading knowledge of foreign languages by studying a grammar and applying this knowledge
to the interpretations of texts with the use of a dictionary … The grammar-translation method
was an attempt to adopt these traditions to the circumstances and requirements of schools. It
47
preserved the basic framework of grammar and translation because they were already familiar
both to teachers and pupils from their classical studies.

This method was used for teaching the ‘form’ of the language. By form is meant the structure
of the language. Since it is not an offshoot of a theory of learning or an approach to language
description it is difficult to define a typical Grammar Translation method class. The following
are the defining features of this method (Tickoo 2004: 350).

a. The language most used in the classroom is the mother tongue rather than the language
being learnt.
b. The texts serve mainly as supports to the analysis of grammar and may often not be
selected to suit the learner’s level of ability, her age and interests.
c. Little or no attention gets paid to pronunciation.
d. Translation of individual, often disconnected, sentences receives attention; so does
explanation of the rules and intricacies of grammar.
e. The grammar taught is restricted to the sentence level with attention to word formation
and the inflection of words.
f. In a teacher-centred class what matters is how much and what gets taught, in the belief
that teaching guarantees learning.
g. Of the four language skills it is reading that receives the highest attention. Very often
reading aloud by the teacher and by individual learners becomes a central activity.

The major draw backs of this method are (Krishnasamy, 2003)

1. The translation exercises were all sentence-based and not text- or discourse-based.
2. Spoken English was neglected.
3. There was a mass—and often a confusing mass-of grammatical rules and exceptions and
explanations.
4. There was an absence of any feeling for people who use languages, their communicative
needs and changing social conditions.

In short the Grammar Translation method aimed at teaching learners more about the target
language but not how to ‘use’ it.

A reaction against the Grammar-Translation Method resulted in the birth of Direct Method.
The Direct Method is based on the belief that learning happened best when the foreign word
and the idea or concept that it conveys get linked via a direct bond. The method seeks to
establish such direct bonds between though and expression, experience and language. It aims
at making the student think in English without the intermediary of a word or words in his
known language (mother tongue)
48
The following principles and procedures were used in this method. (Krishnasamy 2003)

1. All classroom instructions are to be given only in the target-language.

2. Only day-to-day vocabulary and sentences are to be taught.
3. Oral communication skills are to be built up in a carefully graded progression,

organized around question-and-answer exchanges between teachers and learners in small

interactive classes.

4. Grammar is to be taught inductively.

5. New teaching points are to be introduced orally.
6. Concrete vocabulary is to be taught though demonstration; objects, pictures are to be

used; abstract vocabulary is to be taught through association of ideas.

7. Both speech and listening comprehension are to be taught.

8. Correct pronunciation is to be emphasized.

He has also given a clear picture of how lessons were taught using this method.

Techniques used in the Direct Method

1. Learners read out sections of a passage, play, or dialogue loudly. The teacher uses
pictures, gestures, or other means to make the meaning of the text clear. The teacher
never uses the student’s mother tongue; no translation is used in explaining the text.
2. Learners are encouraged to think and communicate in English.
3. Learners are to ask questions and give answers only in English, the target language.
4. Fill-in-the-blanks exercises are given without giving grammar rules; no mother tongue
is used.
5. No explicit teaching of grammar is allowed.
6. The teacher reads passages and students are to write down what they have heard;
dictation is given after listening practice.
7. Vocabulary is emphasized over grammar.
8. The Direct Method is based upon situations (for example, doing shopping) or topics
(such as map-reading, the weather, money, etc.)
9. Oral communication is basic and pronunciation receives a lot of attention

49
10. Testing is done both orally and in writing. Interviews may be conducted.

It was during the 20th century that the teaching of English as a foreign language emerged as
an autonomous profession. As Howatt has pointed out it also emerged as ‘a second language
with a utilitarian function in the communication of knowledge’. More over, developments in
the field of linguistics and psychology had their influence on the teaching of English and gave
a new turn to it. Bloomfield’s structural linguistics paved the way for the American Armed
forces to use structural Approach for the teaching of foreign languages in a short period of
time, which in turn resulted in an important method called Audio-lingual method. The basic
theory behind this method is that English is a word-order language. It is a system of systems
and is linear in nature. Language learning is habit formation and the bond between stimulus
and response is strengthened through practice. The salient features of Audio-lingual method
which was also called Mim-Mem method and the techniques employed to teach through this
method are listed by Krishnasamy (2003).

The salient features of the audio-lingual method are:

1. Language teaching begins with the spoken language; the material is taught orally before
it is presented in the written form.
2. The target language is the only language of the classroom; the mother tongue of learners
is not to be used.
3. New language items are introduced and practiced situationally, through contextualized
dialogues.
4. Vocabulary selection is based on an essential service vocabulary.
5. Items of grammar are called structures and graded following the principle that simple
forms are taught before complex ones. Grammar is induced from examples given and no
explicit grammar rules are to be provided.
6. Reading and writing are introduced once a sufficient lexical and grammatical basis is
established.
7. The teacher is the role-model for imitation; student-to-student interaction takes place in
chain drills or when students take different roles in dialogues.

50
The following are the some of the important techniques used in the audio-lingual method

i. Dialogue memorization: Short pieces of conversation between two people are used;
students memorize the dialogue through mimicry. Certain sentence patterns and
grammar points are included within the dialogue.
ii. Repetition drill: Students are asked to repeat the teacher’s model as accurately as
possible.
iii. Chain drill: The teacher begins the chain of asking and answering; the student responds;
then turns to the next student, greets and asks; the chain continues.
iv. Substitution drill: The teacher says a line, usually from the dialogue, leaving out
something and gives a word or a phrase as the cue. The student fills in the slot, fitting
the cue where it belongs. The number of slots may be increased progressively.
v. Question-and-Answer drill, Transformation drill, etc., Students are asked to give
answers to questions or transform sentences.
vi. Grammar games designed to practice a grammar point within a context are played.

The textbooks produced were structurally graded and words were introduced depending upon
their usefulness, range, teachability and frequency which were found out from vocabulary
counts carried out by linguists.

This structural approach dominated the World of teaching English for a long time roughly for
a decade. India adopted this and recommended it for teaching English in schools and colleges.
CIEFL endorsed its usefulness and recommended it for introduction in schools. Teachers were
given training in using this method for teaching English at Regional Institute of English,
Bangalore and in Madras English Language Teaching (MELT) campaign centres.

Michael West tried out his reading method in Bengal in India. In fact, it was the first
Experimental Research carried out in India in teaching English under difficult circumstances.
West realized that by developing the reading skill among students they could be made to
master the English language.

For that, he prepared special readers called New Method readers incorporating useful and
simple words from his General Service List with ratio of 1:50 (i.e., introducing one new word

51
for every 50 words). This ‘reading only approach’ did not gain popularity as it relegated
phonetics to the rear position. It was the time when structural approach stressed its importance
of Spoken English in teaching.

Another Experimental study that received due attention was Dodson’s ‘Bilingual Method’.
C.F. Dodson of the University of Wales wrote a pamphlet ‘The Bilingual Method’ (1968) in
which he emphasized the need for a completely new attitude of mind in the approach to
language teaching and learning.

Dodson allowed the use of mother tongue in classroom teaching but he allowed the teacher
only to use mother tongue for the words and sentences that are being learnt and for classroom
instruction. The teacher was allowed the use of mother tongue liberally in the initial stages
but was restricted its use towards the end so that in the final stages both the teacher and the
taught used only the target language. Dodson pointed out the drawbacks and difficulties in
using the Direct Method and the Grammar-Translation method. Much time was wasted in
offering explanation in the Direct Method and there was no guarantee that the students perceive
the meaning clearly. In the Grammar Translation Method accuracy was the sufferer. His
golden rule was, “where translation is helpful is removing a hurdle and economizing time, it
should be resorted to otherwise, it should be avoided”.

The various steps involved in Bilingual Method is dealt with by Tickoo (2003)

In its basic structure a lesson in the BM fits into the traditional three-phase model of
presentation, practice and production. However, it charts the path with great care and moves
on step by step from controlled imitation to free ‘communicative’ use of the language.

Much like the European audio-visual method, in many cases, the American audio-lingual
method, and the BM’s lesson unit may incorporate a dialogue situation and move forward in
steps which include the following.

(a) imitation of basic foreign language (FL) sentences

(b) interpretation of the basic sentences through the teacher’s use of the mother tongue
(MT) stimuli to help evoke FL responses from the learner;

52
(c) the use of substitution and extension to enable the learner to speak independently about
limited situations without an oral or printed stimulus;
(d) independent speaking of sentences by the learner;
(e) reverse interpretation – an optional step – to enable the learners to respond in the MT
to the teacher’s FL stimulus;
(f) interpretation of questions forms independently;
(g) the use of questions and answers in the FL;
(h) normal conversation in the FL without any use of the MT.

A major strength of the BM lies in its use of the above step-by-step procedures, each of which
is meant to reinforce the others. Together the steps are also meant to ensure a smooth path
from mere imitation to free use of language fro meaning-making.

Chomsky in 1957 brought about a revolution in linguistics through his book ‘syntactic
structures’. His Transformational Generative Grammar and his assertion that Language is a
rule-governed activity and with finite set of rules infinite number of sentences can be produced
opened new floodgates in linguistics and language teaching. In tandem with cognitive
psychology which emphasized the role of cognition in human beings, Chomsky’s ideas opened
up new vistas in language teaching. Moreover, Dell Hymes’ seminal paper on ‘communicative
competence’ stressed the need for socio-linguistic competence, strategic competence in
addition to grammatical competence for effective communication in English. In other words,
what he stressed was that an utterance of the speaker should be situationally appropriate in
addition to being grammatically correct. Speech Act theories, Notions and Functions came to
be defined and these began to influence language communication. This resulted in the birth
of communicative movement. A new description of the language was given and it was called
communicative approach and the outcome was communicative language teaching (CLL).
During the last three decades of the 20th Century, research in ELT has concentrated on the
Learner and his learning.

Studies on learner needs and learner strategies were conducted. Inter-language studies ended
up in studying learning strategies. Thus the main focus in ELT shifted from Teacher to learner.
To be precise, it shifted from methods to learning. As a result experts in the field like
Kumaravadivelu started suggesting the need for finding out an alternate to methods and not

53
alternative methods for teaching English. Some of the offshoots of communicative language
teaching methodology are the following:

(1) Task based language teaching

(2) Natural Method
(3) Humanism in language teaching

One of the important Task based language teaching methods is communicational Teaching
Project (CTP) of Dr.N.S.Prabhu of British Council, Madras. It is also called Bangalore Project.
The main tenet of this method is that “Grammar construction by the learner is an unconscious
process which is best facilitated by bringing about in the learner a preoccupation with meaning,
saying, doing (Prabhu, 1981). In other words, ‘form’ is better learned when the focus is on
meaning. For that the learners were given certain tasks. The tasks were problems solving
tasks taken from day to day activities like Railway Time Table, classroom time tale, weather
chart etc.,

Tickoo (2003) summarises the features of this project as follows:

On the 1what of teaching, the CTP rested on two beliefs, a negative one and a positive one. It
stood opposed to pre-selected and pre-sequenced content, leaving it to the teacher to attempt
both. It also upheld the view that the best subject matter for teaching English could come from
other school subjects (e.g. maths or geography).

On the how of teaching and learning, the CTP sought to harmonise two trial-tested beliefs.
The first was Harold Palmer’s (1921) belief that in language learning there is always a period
of incubation between reception and production. The second was John Dewey’s (1910) belief
in the power of problem-solving and learning by doing.

The CTP in operation combined a task-based syllabus and a communicational methodology.

Its main features included the following:

1. The lesson content was decided in response to the learner’s needs rather than in following
a pre-planned and systematic linguistic or situational syllabus.

2. The teacher’s use of language in the classroom was governed by natural control:
something similar to what a native-speaker adult does in talking to a child.

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3. The main sources of learning were problem-solving tasks which were designed to bring
about the individual learner’s mind engagement. Most such tasks were cognitive in nature
(mathematical, geographical, and logical) because of the belief that English in India
primarily served as a means of cognition (as the pre-eminent language of scientific
knowledge).

4. There wa0s no provision for immediate correction of language errors. The learner was
encouraged to use his own linguistic resources to ‘solve’ the problem(s) and was allowed
the use of strategies including words, gestures or even the first language. The correction
was incidental and no attempt was made to systematically drill correct forms or structures.

5. Group work was not encouraged because of the belief that it was known to create both
linguistic and psychological problems.
6. The most important consideration in deciding on the type and level of a learning task
(inside each task cycle) was the nature of the challenge it offered to the learner. A task
had to be at the right level, neither too high nor too low. The procedure for judging the
right level was, at least in theory, commonsensical. If the task failed to make the learners
(at least half the learners in the class) see a worthwhile achievement in performing it, it
was too low; if they saw no change of success in attempting it, it was too high. The right
task was one that made the learner aspire for success with a feeling that she could achieve
it.

Krashan’s Natural Approach (Method) suggests that language is learnt best when a student is
put in among the native speakers of the target language. ‘Immersion School’s in Canada
followed the same principle. Krashan’s distinction between language ‘acquisition’ and
‘learning’ emerged out of his studies on ‘Second Language Acquisition’. Acquisition is an
unconscious process whereas learning is a conscious process. Tickoo (2003) gives the
important tenets of this Natural approach as follows:
Five main hypotheses sum up the NA’s main tenets. They are:

1. The acquisition or learning hypothesis

2. The monitor hypothesis
3. The natural order hypothesis
4. The input hypothesis
5. the affective filter hypothesis

A brief word on each follows:

1. This hypothesis sees acquisition and learning as two distinct ways of developing
competence in a language. Acquisition is the natural way for a child to build her language
competence. It is for the main part an unconscious process, and enables her to develop
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 language proficiency through being involved in its use for communication. Learning, on
the other hand, is a conscious process that relies on gaining the mastery of rules. It results
in explicit knowledge about the forms of language. However, what this hypothesis mainly
emphasises is that consciously gained knowledge of rules (that is, learnt knowledge) does
not become acquisition. It also does not have the same value or potential for use as
acquired competence.
2. NA’s second hypothesis moves forward from the first. With its belief that the source of a
speaker’s utterances is the acquired system (that is, what is not learnt consciously), it states
that whatever is consciously learned can only serve one purpose, which is to help monitor
(or correct) what is expressed. Learning (as opposed to acquisition) thus has only a minor
corrective role. In practice even that role is restricted by, among other things, the
limitations of time, opportunities for use and knowledge of rules.
3. The natural-order hypothesis lies in the understanding that the acquisition of grammar
(both morphology and syntax) follows a predictable order within a process of natural
development. This order is said to be true of both first and second language acquisition.
An important corollary to this is that the errors that learners make form part of this organic
development, and should therefore be seen (and welcomed) as marking natural stages in
the development of communicative competence.
4. NA’s fourth hypothesis rests in the belief that language is best acquired by the learner’s
getting exposed to a sufficient quantity of comprehensible input. For this to happen, the
input should be not just rich but such that, at any particular time, it is slightly beyond the
current level of the learner’s competence. As Krashen and Terrell put it:

An acquirer can ‘move’ from stage i (where i is the acquirer’s level of competence) to a stage
i+1 (where i+1 is the stage immediately following i along some natural order) by
understanding language containing i+1. (Krashen and Terrell 1983: 32)
5. The final hypothesis states that learners with a low affective filter acquire language better
as they are able to receive more, interact with it with greater confidence and thus have a
higher degree of receptivity to the input. A low-stress environment is thus a potentially
richer source of language acquisition.

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Among the language teaching methods that share the communicative orientation in one or
another form there are four that are in addition united by a shared belief in a few
humanistic values. Stevick (1990) narrates these values as follows:

1. Feelings: These include personal, emotional and aesthetic appreciation. This aspect of
humanism tends to reject whatever makes people feel devalued, or whatever destroys or
forbids aesthetic enjoyment.

2. Social relations: This side of humanism encourages friendship and cooperation, and
opposes whatever tends to reduce them.

3. Intellect: This includes knowledge, reason, and understanding and fights against whatever
interferes with the free exercise of the mind. It does not accept anything that cannot be
tested intellectually.

4. Self-realisation: This is the quest for a full realization of one’s own deepest qualities. It
rests in the belief that since conformity (or doing what others do) leads to enslavement,
the pursuit of uniqueness brings about liberation.

The four methods are (1) Silent way (2) suggestopedia (3) Total physical response (4)
Community Language Learning
Community Language Learning (CLL) It is a language learning method developed by
CHARLES CURREN, a Roman catholic priest and a psychologist and a counsellor. It is a
learner –centred approach where the learners are given full freedom to choose their topics for
discussion and learning. The teacher sits outside the circle of the students and offers his
psychological and academic help. The goal is to build a warm and supportive community
among students to enable them to move in stages from dependence to full autonomy. There
are 5 stages. Curren (1976) presents the main tenets of his method.

‘As whole persons, we seem to learn best in an atmosphere of ‘personal security. Feeling
secure, we are freed to approach the learning situation with the attitude of willing openness.
Both the learner’s and the knower’s level of security determine the psychological tone of the
entire learning experience”.

The silent way: It is a method developed by Caleb Gattegno, a mathematics teacher. As its
name suggests the teacher is silently encouraging the learner to develop their inner criteria of
the language. It is a learner-centred approach where teaching is subordinate to learning.

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Learning takes place in a related and supportive atmosphere. Learner’s errors are considered
developmental and students are tolerated for their errors. The errors are corrected by their
follow learners and the knowledge of the language is developed in them.

Suggestopedia: This method has been designed by Goergi Lozanov, a Bulgarian psychologist
and doctor of medicine. It is based on ‘waking state suggestion’ by providing a pleasant and
trusting learning environment for the learner. The pleasant atmosphere is provided by light
music and decorated room with neat furniture arrangements. The authoritative role of the
teacher instils confidence in learners. They listen to the reading of the passage written in
mother tongue and target language in a semi conscious state and reproduce it later. Games,
role-play and creative tasks are also given. The psychological principle involved in this
method is that the activation of the left hemisphere of the brain facilitates holistic learning.

Total Physical Response (TPR).

It is a method devised by J.J.Asher, an experimental psychologist. He believed that learning

is faster if the atmosphere provided is ‘acquisition rich’. It should also be stress free. The
proof he gives is that children learn their first language faster and better due to the presence of
these factors in home environment. Further he insisted that it was enough if the student gave
their answers to questions and commands by their actions and not through speech. So the
initial lessons were simple commands and orders and requests. (Sit down, stand up.)

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TEACHING LANGUAGE SKILLS

Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing (LSRW) are called language skills because they
help one master a language. All the four skills go, obviously with understanding without which
no language can be used effectively. Further, no speaking is possible without listening. So,
one has to listen in order to speak. Similarly no writing is possible without reading, so one has
to read in order to write. Listening and reading are called passive skills whereas speaking and
writing care called active skills. In other words they are termed perceptive and productive
skills.

Listening has been one of the most neglected skills in the curriculum planning mainly because
this skill has been taken for granted for learning by everyone. Secondly much research has
been done on listening only very recently. It is, in no way, of lesser importance to other skills.

The word ‘listen’ has been derived from two Anglo Saxon words – hylstan meaning ‘hearing’
and hlosnian meaning ‘to wait in suspense’. Thus listening is a reaction to whatever stimulates
our sense of hearing. We hear a signal, convert it to a message, relate it to our past experiences
and comprehend it. It involves hearing, understanding, integrating and responding.

‘Listening’ can be differentiated from ‘hearing’ is numerous ways. Hearing depends primarily
on the proper functioning of ears. It is a natural and physical process and during this process
acoustic energy is transformed into chemical energy. Listening is much more complex. It
implies more than hearing. It is an active psychological process of decoding, understanding,
interpreting and evaluating messages.

Two processes are involved in listening comprehension. Experts call them product approach
to listening and process approach to listening. In product approach, what happens is the
listener listens to sounds, words and structures and develops meaning from them. He moves
from phonological level to grammatical level and then to semantic level, whereas in the case
of process approach the listener moves down from meaning to words. Using his ‘knowledge
of the world’ he tries to find out the main ideas and sub ideas expressed in the utterance. He
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does not listen to each and every word of the utterance. His ‘schemata’ or ‘background
knowledge’ helps him understand what is half-said or said unclear. The latter is known as top-
down approach and the former is called bottom-up approach. Though recent researches
advocate Top-down approach, in practice we find a learner using both. The importance of
background knowledge in listening comprehension can be very easily explained through the
following illustration.

“It was the last ball of the match. The fielding-side captain asked all his fielders to stand near
the boundary line to prevent a six. The ball was bowled. The batsman hit the ball over the
boundary line and jumped in joy. The spectators rushed into the ground and lifted the batsman
on their shoulders, for he had brought them victory.

All the words are simple yet the message of the description will elude the listener if he does
not have the background knowledge of this utterance. Once he knows that the description is
about cricket and that the batsman was expected to score a six to win the match, he will be
able to understand the message.

Listening, basically fulfils two purposes one is transactional and the other is interactional. In
transactional, information is passed on. A teacher’s lecture in the classroom is a typical
example for transactional purpose. Persons greeting each other and indulging in conversation
to while away the time is the bus stand or railway station are said to make transactional speech.
Though the distinction is very clear, most of the time there is overlapping between the two.

Having gained knowledge about the skill of listening, we will now see how we can teach this
skill to students. Based on studies of aural discourse, scholars (Richards 1983, Lund 1990,
Dunkel 1991) have highlighted the microskills that are needed for successful listening.

The skills of listening comprehension

Based on studies of aural discourse scholars (e.g., Richards 1983, Lund 1990, Dunkel 1991)
have highlighted the microskills that are needed for successful listening. The main ones
include the following 15.
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1. Discriminate among the distinctive sounds of the language.
2. Recognise reduced or ‘weak’ forms of words and phrases.
3. Recognise stress, rhythm and tone patterns.
4. Process utterances spoken at different speeds.
5. Detect sentence constituents.
6. Take note of different ways of expressing the same meaning(s).
7. Be aware of cohesive devices used in speech.
8. Distinguish between literal and implied meanings.
9. Use nonverbal clues (including body language) to get at meanings.
10. Use different listening strategies to decipher meanings.
11. Use one’s world knowledge to infer situations, goals etc.
12. Predict outcomes and infer links and connections between events etc.
13. Recognise clues in grammar including word classes, sentence patterns etc.
14. Distinguish word and phrase boundaries, word order patterns etc. inside an
utterance.
15. Recognise communicative functions of different utterances.

We have to prepare separate tasks for mastering each of these subs kills. The tasks should be
interesting and at the same time challenging. Otherwise students will not evince keen interest.

Researchers like Oxford (1990) have worked on listening strategies. They have come out with
a list of strategies which a listener has to employ for effective listening. Some of them are:

(1) Predicting strategy

(2) Taking note of key words
(3) Using background knowledge
(4) Guessing the meaning from he context
(5) Finding out the main ideas and subordinate ideas
(6) Focusing on cohesive devices
(7) Making inferences and evaluation

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Tasks like the following can be tried out to develop the listening skills.

“Suresh is a computer scientist working in Intel, Bangalore. He had his education in

Coimbatore. He is 22 years old. His father is a doctor and his mother is a professor. Both of
them are working in Coimbatore.

This passage can be taped and played to students. After they have listened to it twice they may
be asked to fill in the following sheet.

1. Suresh is ________ years old; he is a ______________ by profession. His father is a

_____________ and his mother is a ___________ .Both of them live in __________
while Suresh is living in __________
2. A passage can be read about the advantages of Television and the students can be asked
to state the main idea of the passage.
3. Students can be made to listen to announcements made in railway station, bus stand,
airport, and public meetings and can be asked to report them.
4. Note-taking tasks can be given to improve listening comprehension.
5. ‘Global’ listening tasks ‘Selective’ listening tasks and ‘Intensive’ listening tasks can be
set to take students to different levels of listening comprehension.

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TEACHING SPEAKING SKILL

Speaking skill can be developed through speaking only. The more the opportunities are
provided for the students to speak in English, the better will be their speaking ability. The
success of teaching speaking skill lies in making the students express their ideas intelligibly
and effectively. If they speak intelligibly, they can be effective communicators.

Effective communication is the sole aim of any course in spoken English. To communicate
means to share. To share what? To share one’s ideas and views and opinions with others. For
effective communication, what is spoken by the speaker must be understood by the listeners
and their responses must be properly responded to. If what is uttered is not clear to the listener,
there will be communication break down, which is undesirable in a communicative situation.

In India we learn English as a second language or a third language. It is a multi-lingual country

where people speaking different languages try to learn English for academic purposes and for
gaining employment. In general, all the students learn English for atleast 6 years. The period
of learning English ranges from 5 to 9 years. In the formal learning situation, there is very
little scope for learning spoken English. The concentration is more an teaching reading and
writing skills. During the past 10 years or so there has been an added awareness among
syllabus framers and text-book writers to pay special attention to developing speaking skill.
Proper production of English speech sounds and pronunciation of English words and sentences
are being given importance. Received Pronunciation (R.P) is the standard that is followed in
all states. It is followed because it is the only variety of English that has been standardised.
The department of Phonetics and Spoken English at CIEFL has evolved its own variety called
Standard Indian English which is a variety that has emerged out of the study of the
pronunciation of English sounds by the educated Indians of India. It is called Indian English
also. It can also be considered a model for teaching spoken English. The major advantage of
this model is that it will pose lesson problems to Indians in understanding English spoken by
people belonging to different states speaking different languages.

Developing speaking skills involves two aspects. The first aspect is the pronunciation of

sounds, words and sentences. The second aspect is the production of appropriate sentences

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suited to communicative needs. The sentences or rather utterances should be socially relevant

and well suited to the formal and informal situations. For example, when a student wants to

seek his principal’s permission to enter his room he has to say

‘May I come in, sir’, and not

‘Can I come in, sir’ though both the models ‘May’ and ‘Can’ can be used for expressing

permission.

So the first step in teaching speaking skill is the production of English sounds. English has 44
sounds 20 vowels and 24 constant sounds. Of the 20 vowels 12 vowels are pure vowels or
monophthongs and 8 vowels are diphthongs. (Diphthongs are vowel glides, a combination of
two vowel sounds (Example eI, Iə, Uə). These vowel sounds are to be introduced through
mono-syllabic words so that they are learnt perfectly well. At the high school level it is enough
if the students are made to produce the sounds. It is not necessary for them to know the
description of sounds.

It is enough if they are able to distinguish | p| from /b/, the first is a voice less variety and
the second is a voiced variety. To teach them the distinction, the teacher can use minimal pairs
like
Pin – bin
Pit – bit
Pet – bet
The teaching of these sounds need not form the main part of the lesson. It can be taken up for
teaching towards the end of the prose lesson – say during last 10 to 15 minutes of the period.
‘Two or three sounds a day and not more than that’ is the ideal approach for teaching the
sounds. Sufficient practice is a must and repetition of the sounds at regular intervals of time
ought to be done. Nursery Rhymes add charm to teaching and are appropriate tools for
mastering sounds is an interesting way.

After sounds, the teachers have to concentrate on word stress and sentence stress. Stress is
fixed in English in the sense that each word has its stress fixed on a particular syllable. For

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example the word 'ago' has its stress only on the second syllable ago similarly arrive on second
syllable.

Master – first syllable

Education – Third syllable. Stress is the articulation of a syllable with greater force or more
emphasis, than others. English words of two or more syllables have one syllable which has
greater force, in terms of loudness and length. So far as the sentence stress in concerned the
tone falls on the nucleus of the sentence. The nucleus is the last important syllable in a
sentence. Example: I ‘saw her’ yesterday. Here the last important syllable is ‘yes’. The tone
occurs there.

Three important tones are used in English. Rising tone, Falling tone and Fall-Rise tone. This
called intonation. English is a stress-timed language and so the teaching of stress and
intonation are necessary. (Details about these are available in text books and standard books
on phonetics. Hence it is not elaborated here).

The second aspect of teaching spoken English is the teaching of functions and notions. Notions
are ideas and concepts like time, space etc., where as functions are speech acts. For example
requesting is a function. So are greeting, apologizing, accepting an offer and declining an
offer. These functions and notions can be taught through Dialogues. For example

Ram and Raghu have completed their B.A. course in English Literature. They want to consult
their professor regarding further studies.

Ram : Good Morning, sir.

& Raghu
Prof :Good morning, Ram and Raghu.
I am happy to know that both of you have passed your B.A
Course in I Class. Congratulations.

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Ram : Thank you sir, would you please advise us as to what course
& Raghu we can select for our post graduation?

Prof. : Well, M.A. in English is one option. you can do M.A. in Journalism.

Ram : Is it a useful course, sir in the sense that …whether we will get
& Raghu a job after completing the course?

Prof. : Of course, yes. Now-a-days qualified journalists are very

much in demand, and they are also paid well. They have got a
status in society also.

Ram : Could you name the best colleges that offer this course?
& Raghu

Prof. : Our University also offers this course. You please meet the
H.O.D of the Department of Journalism at our University.
He will be able to guide you further.

Ram : Any other course, sir?

& Raghu

Prof. : M.A. in Linguistics is worth pursuing. You can try M.A. course
in comparative literature and Translation studies also.
Ram : Thank you very much sir,
& Raghu.

Situations like ‘At the post office’, ‘At the Railway Reservation Counter”, ‘At the Bank’ can
be given to the students and they can be asked to play the roles of persons concerned in these
places.

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Krishnasamy’s (2003) suggestions in this regard are worthy of consideration

Exploiting dialogues:
A dialogue can be viewed as a short play and, in a way, it represents natural speech. Dialogues
can be used effectively for teaching spoken English at the secondary school level. Instead of
teaching dialogues as reading texts just for comprehension, teachers can use them more
creatively.

Rote learning is to be encouraged in teaching dialogues; students can learn dialogues by heart
and role play in the class. Dialogues can be adopted or written to individualize them so that
they become more personal and relevant to the local situation. Prose passages and poems can
be dramatized and students can be encouraged to write dramatized versions of the lessons in
their textbook. A dialogue that is to be used for teaching speech practice must be short,
interesting and useful; longer ones can be split into short pieces for practice and learning. This
technique offers variety to the lesson, arouses interest and enhances motivation; it also helps
in confidence-building by making them face an audience.

Recitation of poems particularly in the poetry class, will be useful for improving
pronunciation and for giving the students a sense of the rhythm of poetry.

Tertiary level
Role play and role adoption can be used effectively at this level for teaching spoken English.
Role play techniques range from semi-scripted, to suit prescribed situations, to the entirely
free, which is more difficult. Prescribed role play is, through not natural, effective and
functional; it can be a rehearsal for effective functioning in the real world at a distant date and
students at this stage can easily understand the purpose behind such practice.

Small-tack activities like the use of language for socializing will be useful and interesting.
Greetings and farewells (e.g. nice day, lovely morning, nice to see you, see you soon)

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responding (e.g. how are you? pretty good, not too bad/good, very/quite well), thanking (e.g.
nice of you, most kind, thanks a lot, thank you very much, that was kind), praising (e.g. well
done, nice work, lovely, terrific, excellent, that’s nice, I like that), enquiring about health (e.g.
Are you OK? Feeling fit?), and chatting techniques can be used in the activities. They will be
useful in different social contexts later in life.

Discussions, short topic talks, and interviews can be arranged. Mock interviews for jobs can
be rehearsed; students can be asked to role play as film personalities, VIPs, etc, and other
students can interview them and ask questions. Students can be asked to make short
presentations on specified topic sand others can question them for more information or
clarification.

Role plays are quite important even in communicative language teaching; from very
structured, to less and less structured activities will give a lot of training in spoken
communication.

Listening to native accents, British and American must be encouraged so that advanced level
learners become accent-sensitive. Recorded speech can be played in the class and questions
asked; this will help them to take standard tests like to TOEFL test.

Thus the crux of teaching speaking skill lies in providing ample opportunities for the students
to speak.

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 THE TEACHING OF GRAMMAR AND VOCABULARY

Grammar plays a vital role in a language. In fact, an essential part of teaching a language is
the teaching of its grammar. ‘Language is a rule-governed activity’ according to Chomsky.
Yet there are people who opine that grammar teaching is not necessary. Krishnasamy (1995)
expresses this fact in his own inimitable style “As in religion, where there are believers, non-
believers, and the confused, in the field of grammar teaching, some people with blind,
unyielding faith in the value of grammar as the basis of good writing advocate the teaching of
grammar as a subject in the curriculum and some condemn it saying, “there is probably no
subject on the school time table on which more time is expended unprofitably than English
Grammar” (West, 1952); quite a few are confused and have no clear idea regarding the nature,
use and outcome of grammar instruction. As a result grammar is taught out of necessity
because it is included in the syllabus and questions are asked in the examinations”. The views
of two more experts are also on the same lines:

“The answer to the question, “ought we to teach grammar?” is, therefore psychologically ‘yes’
and linguistically’, ‘perhaps’. - Pit Corder.

The teaching of grammar is neither necessary nor sufficient for learning a second language.
That it is not necessary is proved by the first language learner’s success without it. That it is
not sufficient is proved by the second language learner’s lack of success (Newmark, 1971).

What is the reason for this perplexingly entangled (intricate) situation? One obvious reason is
the indeterminate character of grammar and the inexactitude on the part of the teacher in fixing
the objective of teaching grammar.
The term ‘grammar’ eludes definition. Mc Arthur says that ‘grammar’ is ‘not a precise term,
in the way that ‘phonology’ or ‘anatom’ may be considered precise terms. He gives 12
sentences to show the range of meanings that the grammar can have. A few of them are
1. Grammar is the rules people use when speaking or writing a language.
2. He bought a new French Grammar.

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3. English is a language that doesn’t have much grammar.
4. ‘Grammar’ and ‘Syntax’ are really the same thing
5. Descriptive grammar is very different from prescriptive grammar.

Sastri (1987) speaks of three different types of grammar. Let us call them G1, G2, G3 for

clarity.

“Grammar is the total mechanism which a language possesses and through which its users are
able to communicate with each other” (G1). It can be equated to what Chomsky calls the native

speaker’s competence.

“Grammar refers to the formal analysis and description of the rules of the language”G2. This

is called descriptive grammar. Krishnasamy calls it ‘Teacher’s Grammar’.

“Grammar also refers to the rules for the correct use of a language, which may be prescribed
for its users” (G3). This may be termed prescriptive grammar or ‘student’s Grammar’ or

learner’s grammar.

Grammar does not exist in isolation from language. Language is Grammar. So the objective
of teaching Grammar is to improve the productive and receptive language skills of the learner.
In other words, to make him a better user of language. It is no use if he is given a lot of
specialized information about language.

What actually happens in our own classrooms is that grammar is taught in isolation. For
example, in teaching Active voice and Passive voice, students are given sentences as follows.
Rama ate a mango A mango was eaten by Rama
Rama was eating a mango A mango was being eaten by Rama
Rama had eaten a mango A mango had been eaten by Rama

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Then the teacher ‘explains’ the ‘changes’ to be effected during the transformation of an active
sentence in to passive sentence. The rules get fixed in the student’s mind and he is in a position
to transform any given sentence into either active or passive. But he does not know when to
use Active and passive sentences which makes him an effective user of the language. Hence
we face a situation where our students score 20/20 in Grammar section while they fail to score
even 5/20 in composition section. Similarly teaching knowledge about ‘Grammar’ is not
desirable.

We can frame a set of principles for teaching grammar in formal classrooms.

(1) Grammar teaching should be done in context and in relation to language skill. Text-
based grammar is preferable to isolated sentences. Traditional grammar books like
Nesfield’s grammar W.S.Allen’s ‘Living English structure,’ Wren & Martin’s ‘High
School English Grammar’ cannot be used fruitfully. Reading passages given for
comprehension can be useful or else the teachers themselves can produce ‘texts’ to
highlight and teach grammar items.

(2) Inductive approach to teaching grammar will be more rewarding to students than
Deductive approach. In the former rules are arrived at from the examples given. In
the latter rules are given first followed by examples. For example students’ attention
may be directed towards the sentences where a particular grammar item has been dealt
with, say first type of conditional sentences. Then their attention is focused on the form
of verbs used in the main clause as in the ‘if’ clause. Then their focus could be directed
to the meaning conveyed in those sentences. Finally students are asked to frame the
rules for writing the I type of conditional sentences. The same technique may be
followed by the teaching of other items.
(3) The movement from ‘usage’ to ‘use’ must be attempted ‘Usage’ refers to the ‘form’ of
the sentence ie. grammatical accuracy. ‘Use’ refers to the appropriacy-whether it is apt
in a particular socio-cultural context.

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(4) Exposure to language enables the unconscious acquisition of language and its
grammar. Practice in the use of language in context helps the learner learn the
language.

Methodology for Teaching Grammar

The teaching must make the teaching of grammar interesting. The tasks set should be
challenging, interesting and within the comprehension of the students.

Let us see how the use of the simple past tense can be taught.
A suitable passage from the prescribed text where the use of the simple past tense has been
dealt with can be selected. Students’ attention can be directed to the time adverbial used along
with the past tense form of the verb.
Raghu went to market last week and bought fresh vegetables.
Explanations can be given as to how actions that happened at a definite time in the past can be
expressed using simple past tense form of the verb. Mother tongue can be used but only by
the teacher.

Exercises in context can be given to consolidate the use of the past tense in students.
The use of the simple past tense can be contrasted with the use of the present perfect tense in
order to teach it well.
I saw the Taj Mahal in 2000.
I have seen the Taj Mahal.
Then exercises in context can be given. Thus the students are taught not only the form of the
past tense but also the function of the simple past tense.

Depending upon the level of students various activities can be devised for the teaching of
grammar. Language games can be employed. Substitution Tables and Matching Tables can
be used. The important point to be noted is that it should be a meaning-based activity and
‘use’-based activity.

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Given below is a model taken from Teaching English Grammar by Krishnasamy (1995) for
the teaching of non-finite form.

Non-finite Forms

Activity 72a. Elementary / Intermediate

I. Say whether you like or dislike each of the following activities / sports given below. You
may choose one of the following verbs:
(a) playing cards (b) digging in the garden
(c) mountain-climbing (d) washing dishes
(e) weight – lifting (f) wrestling
(g) shopping (h) gymnastics
(i) learning language (j) rowing
(k) visiting relatives (l) any other activity /activities . . .

Now, give one reason for each of the activities / sports that you like / dislike. Make use of the
list given above and words like relaxing, boring, disgusting, interesting, exciting, etc.
Example: I like washing dishes because it is relaxing.
II. Use an –ing word in place of the italicized expressions:
Example: A mind that inquires is an inquiring mind.
a) Pictures that move are called _____ pictures.
b) A door that revolves is a _____
c) A chair that folds is ______
d) A story that amuses everybody is ________
e) Water that runs is ______
f) A lawyer who practices is _______
g) A dog that barks is _______
(Several such definitions can be added; students can be asked to contribute even some ‘funny’
definitions like ‘A stick that is used for walking is ______/ ‘A stick that walks is also
_______’)

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Activity 73. Intermediate / Advanced
I. (a) Complete with be, camp, do, drive, eat, get, go lose, make, meet, spend, stay, watch,
wear.

TEST YOUR PERSONALITY

Yes No
1. Do you enjoy _____ people?
2. Do you dislike ___ late for appointments?
3. Do you like _____ expensive clothes?
4. Do you prefer ____ to parties to ____ TV at home?
5. Have you ever risked ______ your job?
6. Do you enjoy _____ new friends?
7. Do you like ____ cars?
8. Do you prefer ____ at a hotel to ____ in a tent?
9. Do you like ____ Chinese food?
10. Do you enjoy ____ money?
11. Do you enjoy ___ unusual things?
12. Do you like ____ up early?
(If you have answered at least six questions with Yes proceed further.)
(b) Fill in the blanks with for, from, about in, of, up, by, to, at. (Some are to be used more than
once.)
1. Are you good _____ organizing?
2. Are you used ____ working hard?
3. Are you fond ____ solving problems?
4. Are you interested ____ dealing with people?
5. Are you used ____ making decisions?
6. Are you tried _____ being one in a crowd?
7. Are you good ____ working with members?
8. Are you willing to give _____ smoking?
9. Can you influence people ____ convincing them?

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10. Do you take pleasure _______ bringing people together?
11. Can you prevent others _____ cheating your friends?
12. Are you capable ____ attracting crowds?
13. Can you make use of your experience gained ____ selling things?
14. Are you excited _____ going places?
15. Do you feel confident _____ travelling alone?
(If you have answered all the questions with yes, call us today! Bell School of Management,
Tel 2355341)

Activity: Intermediate / Advanced

I. Write a paragraph, using the sentences given below; use the right form of the verb given in
brackets.

Paragraph I
Govind is very fond of (joke) and (fool) about
He is also capable of (tell) lies and (play) all sort of tricks.
He has never succeeded in (keep) a job for more than one month.
His father always accused him of (waste) money and time.
His father spent a lot of money on (get) him trained for (do) something useful.

Paragraph II
He asked me for advice.
I thought of (advise) him to get his son married.
I agreed with his father that there was no point in (spend) more money on him.
Perhaps, (get) him married might be one way of (get) him trained under his wife.

Now write out the third paragraph on your own, using the hints given below:
got married _____ wife a strong women _____

fight ____ Govind tamed _____

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II. Fill in the blanks with an ‘-ing’ construction formed from the word italicized in the first
sentence in each pair:
Example: He is a language teacher. He has a lot of experience in teaching languages.
(1) She is a good cook. She has a lot of experience in ______
(2) He is an engineer. He has been trained in _____
(3) He wants to study German. He is interested in _____
(4) He writes stories. He is fond of ____
(5) He eats all the time. It is very difficult to keep him away from ____.
(Note: The teaching of –ing forms can be very interesting and challenging. Any number of
situations can be thought of for teaching -ing forms; students can be asked to frame attitude
tests, aptitude tests, games, etc.)

Activity: Elementary / Intermediate

I. Make sentences from the table below and complete the paragraph that follows it:
We
watched
heard
saw the Tamil Nadu Express
the guard
the engine
the steam
the passengers
the train leave the station
blow the whistle
wave the flag
whistle
come from under
the engine
wave to their friends
disappear soon

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One day my friend and I went to the station. We watched the Tamil Nadu Express leave the
station ………….
II. Now write a similar paragraph about a bus leaving the bus-stand
III. Why do we go to these places?
We go to post – office (in order) to buy stamps
a bank a cinema a department store a tea-shop
a hospital a zoo a part a gym
a swimming pool a barber -shop a bus -stops
an air - port

IV.
(a) Are you ambitious?
Make a list of five things that you want to do in life.
(b) What are your plans?
Make a list of five things that you hope to do after your graduation.
(c) Are you careless?
Make a list of five things that you generally neglect to do.
(d) Are you stubborn?
Make a list of five things that you always refuse to do.
(e) Are you absent -minded?
Make a list of five things that you normally forget to do
(f) Can you make others do it?
Make a list of five things that you will make your teachers do (given that chance!)
Make a list of five things you will make your father do (given the chance!)
(Ideas and items can be invited from students)

V. If you are a rather helpless sort of person, people will always tell you what to do. In what
situations do you think people will say these things to you?
(a) Make sure that you get off at the right station; don’t doze off.

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(b) For heaven’s sake, remember to take your hall -ticket.
(c) For goodness’ sake don’t forget to put a stamp on it.
(d) Don’t forget to shake the bottle
(e) Don’t keep on looking at me.
Now write a paragraph about how you will react to being treated like a child.

Teaching Vocabulary
Words play a vital role in any language, for without words languages cannot exist. Language
is there for communication and it is the words that convey what a speaker desires to express.
Ideas, emotions and feelings are contained in words and hence the learning of words is the
most necessary thing in learning a language. The more the number of words one has under his
controls the better is his communication. He can express any idea precisely and effectively.
He will be an effective communicator. Hence teaching vocabulary is important Tickoo (2004)
raises 2 important questions and answers them. They are
Two basic questions arise in what we said above:
1. What is vocabulary? and
2. What does it mean to know a word?

The vocabulary of a language includes much more than single words. It includes language
forms that are not full words (e.g. un, il, ment) on the one hand and compound words
(supermarket, post office, elevator operator), fixed phrases and idiomatic expressions (e.g. to
make up for lost time, to harbour a grudge, to make one’s ends meet, to be off one’s rocker)
on the other. Learning to use the ‘less than the word’ elements as also the ‘more than the
word’ important phrases and idioms often proves to be the most difficult part of mastering a
language. In important ways mastering their nature and use gives the user access to some basic
essentials of language use.

Knowing a word involves a lot more than knowing its meaning or what it stands for. It is
somewhat similar to getting to know a human being. In both cases it takes a long time to know
his or its habitual behaviour and, importantly, to become fully aware of the company that he

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or it habitually keeps. Lexicologists call the companion words of a word its collocates
(col=together, loc=to place and ‘ate’= a suffix) or ‘words that occur together’.

Knowing a word for use also includes knowing the following:

ii. How often it is used, where and when;
iii. how it is spelled and pronounced;
iv. what parts of speech (noun, verb, adjective …) it can function as;
v. what its core meaning(s) is or are;
vi. what its root form is, what prefixes and suffixes it can take and what derivations can
be made from it (e.g. do, does, did, done, doing, undo, redo, doable);
vii. what grammatical patterns it fits into or what its syntactic behaviour is;
viii. what associations (e.g., pleasant or unpleasant, positive or negative) it forms;
ix. what limitations there are to its use (e.g., in what type of situations or structures it can
or cannot be used) and
x. what degree of probability there is of encountering it in speech and in writing.

Words have their meaning only in the context in which they are used. Once they are taken out
of context, they are to have any meaning. For example, if you are asked the meaning of the
word ‘capital’, what would you say? You would say ‘money for investment’ if you think of
this word in the context of business. Now look at the following sentences:
(1) Write your name in capital letters
(2) What is the capital in India?
(3) Ram was given capital punishment

I don’ have the capital to start my business Rome was, I suppose, the capital of the art world.
By the time that happens, he will have invested his academic capital elsewhere.
The word ‘capital’ has different meanings depending upon the context in which it is used. The
moral inis that whenever we want to teach a word we have to teach it along with the context.

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There are two broad categories of words. Content words and structure words. Content words
are open ended where as structure words are close ended in a language. For example, Noun,
Adjective, Verb and Adverb are content words. We can go on adding to these words whenever

they are created like the word ‘Television’ which was unknown in 16th C. Articles,
prepositions, conjunctions are close ended and they are structure words.

There is another way of categorizing words depending upon their use and significance. Active
vocabulary, passive vocabulary and Ad-hoc vocabulary.

Active Vocabulary: Words which a student will require for his/her own use, in speech and
writing.

Passive vocabulary: Words which are likely to be encountered frequently in speech or

writing, and which therefore the student should be able to recognise, though s/he may never
use them in his/her own speech or writing.

Ad-hoc Vocabulary: Words which may be important for a given piece of text, but are unlikely
to have any utility outside the text.

Teaching a word means teaching the sound, sense and shape of the word. That is, teaching the
pronunciation, meaning and spelling of the word. Its part of speech should also be taught.
There are different ways of presenting a word. Central Institute of English and Foreign
Languages (CIEFL 1996) have suggested the following technique for teaching vocabulary.

Classroom techniques:
A. Using objects
i. Labels: pasting labels on objects
ii. Magazine, pictures: pictures that illustrate words in dialogue; blackboard sketches, etc.
iii.Props: Objects that can be shown in the class
iv.Class-room objects: Calander and clock

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v. Slides-for conveying the cultural differences of ordinary words:
‘House’ in a village
In a town
In the hills
In England
In Greenland
These dwelling places are different in different geographical regions and climate.
B. Using gestures and symbols
i. Descriptive adjectives: tall, thin, happy, dumb, lame, etc.
ii. Prepositions of place: on, in over, into, under etc.
iii. Action verbs: go, sing, hop, jump, throw, etc.
iv. Symbols: for morning and noon
C. Using known vocabulary
i. Synonyms: probe-investigate
The same ideas are expressed by two or more different words or phrases and one of these may
be familiar to the reader.
ii. Antonyms: progress x decline
iii. Synonyms and antonyms in sentence-contexts:
Ravana was a cruel man.
Ashoka was a kind and noble king.
D. Using word categories
i. Names of categories can be taught verbally if students know some names of items that
belong to a particular category.
Stationery –pen, pencil, ink, paper …
Cosmetics – cream, oil, powder …
Utensisl – spoon, cup, saucer, mug, kettle, …
Furniture –table, chair, sofa, …
ii. A number of related words can be introduced under a particular category:
A farm — farm, farmer, plough, harvest, nest, sow, reap, …
Meals (food) —breakfast, lunch, supper, dessert, peach, cream, sausage, salad…

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E. Definition and paraphrase
Parasite: animal or plant living on or in another and getting its good from it.
F. Using the mother tongue
Direct use of the mother tongue i.e., to give equivalents in the mother tongue, e.g. peace,
polite, noble, etc.
We have mentioned already that the prime consideration for the teacher must be to provide as
much practice in the use of the target language as possible. The use of the mother tongue
(made judiciously) in teaching new words is the best way to provide this. A lot of practice time
will be wasted in avoiding the mother tongue, because it is of more importance for pupils to
practice using the new words in different contexts. Then these words can be assimilated easily
and will be available for active use.
G. Verbal context
Example: expensive –A cotton shirt costs fifty rupees. A silk shirt costs one hundred and fifty
rupees. A cotton shirt is cheap but a silk shirt is expensive. Glass bangles are cheap but gold
bangles are expensive.
H. Finding meanings from the context
Definition: This is a technique for determining the meanings of unknown words. This is to
guess the meanings from context. The most common way of finding meaning from the context
is by inference. Many adult readers can read the new word getting its meaning without being
aware that they’ve already learned the meaning from the reading material.
Examples: On his right hand, the gentleman wore a gauntlet of heavy leather with an
embroidered cuff.
The pillars were almost immediately contiguous with scarcely space enough between for a
hand to enter much less a human.
These sentences actually tell what the meanings a gauntlet and contiguous are. The first
sentence describes a gauntlet and tells where it is worn. The second explains how close the
pillars were and, in doing so, explains the meaning of contiguous. The meanings of the new
words are explained so obviously that we may not even have been aware of the explanation if
we were reading rapidly.

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I. Experience / Familiarity:
Take the word oboe. Let us say that the students have never heard this word before. Look at
these sentences.
1.He uses to be the oboe player in the town.
2.He never liked to play the clarionet after he started playing the oboe.

From the first sentence, we can guess that the meaning of oboe can be either a game or a
musical instrument. But the second sentences show the meaning of oboe to be only a musical
instrument, provided the students know the word clarionet. (It is presumed that they have this
experience.) A learner who learns how to determine the meaning of an unknown word by
means of contextual clues whenever the situation permits it can minimize his/her dependence
on the dictionary. At the same time s/he can gain a more precise understanding of what the
words mean in a particular sentence.

J. Semantic grouping
The various techniques of vocabulary teaching are important but the techniques which improve
a student’s retention of vocabulary items are equally important. The presentation by semantic
grouping enables the learner to master vocabulary better than the presentation of individual
items. The association of words by their meaning is an important factor in vocabulary learning.
Words are easily learnt if they are organized into semantic groups. When we learn our own
languages, we associate words and sentences with thought, ideas, actions and events. This
method of presentation of words will help memory and retention. Hence a useful strategy for
vocabulary teaching is to present words in a semantically organized group, e.g., shore, ocean,
island … The words in each group would support each other, the familiar words helping the
student to understand the meaning of the unfamiliar words helping the student to understand
the meaning of the unfamiliar. Hence this kind of presentation of words, i.e., semantic
organization of words presented at a time helps the learners (i) to understand words easily (ii)
to remember and to recall them at a later stage and (iii) to appreciate the association between
words. Besides, it also develops the higher order skill of the constructive use of the words.

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 Example: Plato, in demonstrating the theories of geometry, did not imagine a
computerized society. Faraday did not expect our electrical technology. Edison certainly did
not dream of a television set. The point is that one cannot foresee the consequences of
scientific research in detail.

On going through this passage the learner learns that in certain contexts foresee can replace
imagine, expect and dream.

The teacher should evince keen interest in expanding the vocabulary of the students. He should
ask them to read widely so that their stock of vocabulary increases. Students can be asked to
maintain a notebook wherein they can write down all the new words they learn. These words
can be brought to long-term memory as often as possible so that they get fixed to the mind and
at the beck and call of the students at any time.

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 TEACHING READING SKILL

READING STARTS BEFORE WE EVEN LOOK AT THE PAGE

This statement appears to be a paradox, for we usually think that reading starts after we look
at the page. But it is not a paradox, the reason being that the contribution of a reader towards
extracting meaning from a text is far more than the meaning that the text itself has to offer to
him. To make this idea clearer, it can be said that if we think that a text has predictable or
fixed meaning, then we can say that reading starts after we look at the page. On the other
hand, if we think that a text has meaning potential and it is the reader or the learner that has to
extract the meaning from the text, then it can be said that reading starts before we look at the
page. In other words, if we follow a communicative approach to reading –reading is an
interactive process- then our reading starts even before we look at the page. Let us analyze it
now.

The concept of reading has undergone a tremendous change during the last 22 years. The
volume of work done on reading is so much and so varied that Alderson and Urquhart
(1984:XV) shudder at the thought of attempting to define reading. They say

“Having said that an overview is impossible (because of the volume of work done) it might
then seem foolish to attempt to answer the question, “what is reading” (1984: XV). Generally
speaking, traditionally, reading is described as a process of sight-sound-sense. It involves first
the recognition of printed or written symbols and then allotment of meaning to them so as to
get the message. The recognition of printed symbols can be called ‘word-recognition skills’
and the allotment of meaning ‘comprehension skills’. To explain it further it can be said that
reading involves decoding, or transforming or reconverting written symbols into spoken
language. (Mathews, 1966. quoted by smith, 1973:70). This characterises the product
approach to reading the product approach to media looks at the outcome of reading. It assumes
that a text has fixed meaning and the reader has to find it out. Hence it believes that the skill
of reading can be accomplished provided its sub-skills are mastered. To enable a reader to
achieve this, the methodology involves setting questions at the end of selected passages. The
comprehension questions set at the end of each passage are of different types, factual,
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inferential and evaluative and operate at different levels of meaning. By answering these
questions correctly, a reader is supposed to have comprehended the meaning of the passage.
Alderson and Urquhart call it ‘skills approach’ to reading. (1984: XVII).

Recent research studies have failed to find evidence for the separate existence of these skills.
Lunzen and Gardener (1979) have demonstrated that in the product approach different types
of comprehension questions fail to call upon different sub-skills. Secondly, they have stated
that the skills-approach typically proceeds by giving subjects tests on their understanding of
passages; yet, doing a comprehension test and actually reading is not the same thing. Further,
knowing what a student has understood does not, of itself, help one to decide how he has, or
has not understood this, and cannot provide information on how the learner might be helped
to understand at a higher level, if he has failed to achieve that level. Moreover, the description
of what a student has understood of a text is not the same as a description of how he arrives at
such an understanding. Thus it is clear that for a complete understanding of reading, the
product approach is inadequate, and knowledge of the process approach is inevitable.

What do we mean by this? As we have already seen at the beginning of this essay, the ‘process’
approach considers that a text has meaning potential and it is left to the reader to extract the
meaning from it. As Grellet (1983:3) puts it “comprehension is extracting the required
information from a written text as effectively as possible”. This presupposes that the reader
has to bring in something to the text to extract meaning from it. What the reader brings to it
and what he does with it go by the name ‘process’ in the annals of reading, which has led to
define reading as a ‘psycholinguistic guessing game’ (Goodman, 1967:126). So its basic tenet
is that reading is an interactive and interpretive activity. It is a kind of communication with
the text. The fact that different readers get different things from the same text goes to prove
that reading is a process of co operation and negotiation. To quote

“Reading is a layered series of processes where by from the discourse of the writer a text is
created from which text the reader by his discourse creates a potential ‘text’. – a cycle of
production and interpretation by text and ‘text’. (Candlin in Ed Alderman and urquhart,
1984:X) .

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Their discussion leads us on to the three broad phases involved in reading, namely ‘pre-
reading’, ‘while-reading’ and ‘post-reading’. It is at the pre-reading stage that the reader’s
guessing game starts, and the predicting game begins that we have the statement that ‘reading
starts before we even look at the page’. This prediction game depends on the strength of what
the reader brings with him to the text.

Catherine Wallace (1986:44) lists the following

1. Purpose
2. Knowledge of the language system
3. Knowledge of the world
4. Opinion.

(We are using the term ‘text’ in the ordinary sense of any passage that conveys a message and
not in the particular sense in which either Widdonson or Nuttal uses it.) .

Let us study one by one

I. PURPOSE

Reading depends on the purpose of the reader. No reader comes to the text without any
purpose. Let us take the example of a newspaper reader. Nobody reads a newspaper from
cover to cover. Most readers skim through it and then scan through it in order to select their
items of interest. Those who are interested in football scan through the sports page to get to
the news about football. Further, reader’s purpose decides his speed of reading. For example,
there is substantial difference between looking at a notice board and scanning advertisements
for a particular type of flat and reading an article of special interest in a particular journal.

Basing on the purpose of reading, the reading text can be divided into two major categories:
‘Language texts’ and ‘Reading texts’. Language texts are meant for learning the language
whereas reading texts are meant for enjoyment as well as for getting facts, ideas, even feelings
of family community. In the latter we are interested in ‘what the writing meant’ nuttall,
1988:3)
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Thus a text is selected according to the purpose of the reader. This affects the reading process
to a greater extent especially in interrogating and interpreting the text.

II KNOWLEDGE OF THE LANGUAGE SYSTEM:

The second factor involved in the process of reading is the knowledge of the language system
that the reader brings to the text. A reader should have a clear idea of the writing system of
the language, for it is the written material that he is to negotiate. Written discourage is a vast
area that cannot be exhausted here and hence we would see a few examples to indicate the
quantity of knowledge expected of a reader with regard to the language system.

a. Paralinguistic features of a written language refer to the punctuation marks. The

punctuation makes play a vital role in indicating the nature of an idea-whether
complete, incomplete-. They also express feelings and sometimes functions.
b. For example a newspaper headline during the world cup cricket tournament in 1984
was as follows:

“Kapils’s devils did it!”. The exclamation mark at the end of the above sentence conveys the
feeling of something quite unexpected has happened. The reader must be familiar with such
meanings.

b. A knowledge of the sentence structure helps the reader predict word classes in
sentence.

(eg) Rama gave Krishna his pen.

This is an S V IO DO pattern. They always predict a second object.

c. Similarly the connective devices used by the writers help the learners relate an
idea backwards and forwards in order to get its significance.

(e.g.) “The school was closed due to students’ strike, which was not liked by the parents.”

Here ‘which’ refers to the whole sentence that goes before it.

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III SCHEMATA :

The third aspect is the ‘schemata’ or the knowledge of the world. Schemata can be defined
“as cognitive constructs or configurations of knowledge which we place over events so as to
bring them into alignment with familiar patterns of experience and belief. They therefore serve
as devices for categorizing and arranging information so that it can be interpreted and retained”

(Widdowson , 1983 :54)

Starting from Bartlett’s experiments (Bartlett 1932 quoted by widdowson, 1983:54) it has had
its usefulness in different fields. Coming to the field of reading, we can say, that the reader
places his schemata over what he reads in order to interpret it. (ie) he brings in his knowledge
of the world to interpret the text. Carrell(1983) says, “The text itself does not carry meaning.
A text only provides guidance for listeners and readers to how they should construct the
intended meaning from their own previously acquired knowledge.” To prove this fact Wallace
(1983:32) cites an example

“The Great Britain pack has performed without distinction in the two tests so far. Their lack
of pace has been starkly exposed by the mobility and speed of such players as Broadhurst, a
magnificent open side prop”

Although all the words in the text are familiar to the reader and there is not much of a problem
in the understanding of the construction of the passage, the reader is puzzled as to the message
of the text. Once he is supplied the background knowledge, that is, the text is from a newspaper
sports page and rugby football, then the text emerges meaningful to the reader. This
knowledge about the game helps him extract the meaning from the text. So what is necessary
here is the knowledge of the source, genre and topic. The source refers to the medium from
which it comes – namely book or newspaper -. The genre refers to the form of writing namely
recipe, menu or newspaper editorial. A particular genre has both a distinctive content and a
characteristic structure. It is this characteristic of genre that makes readers predict the
happenings in the text and confirm their predictions during the course of their reading. Another

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aspect that helps the reader in his guessing is the cultural element. Knowledge of the cultural
aspect of the text is a must for the reader to unearth the meaning from it. It refers to the very
complex package of beliefs, knowledge, feelings, attitudes and behaviour of the people. To
quote Wallace’s (1986:33)

Linda is determined to go on holiday, but Dad refuses to give her any money:

‘In that case, said Linda, ‘I’ll hitchhike’

‘Hitchhike?” said her Mum.

‘you’re not hitchhaiking,’ said her Dad. Hitchhiking is a culture – specific phenomenon and
unless the reader knows its significance, he cannot understand the text.

It is not only necessary to know what the cultural element is, it is also necessary to know its
significance. For, a writer portraying everyday happenings in life takes these for granted.
From his point of view, he may not feel the need to elaborate them, but a foreign learner will
certainly miss the point. He may not see the relation between one sentence and another (the
example cited above illustrates their aspect also). Such facts are called knowledge of
pragmatics. There is another factor which has to do with everyday happenings (ie) routine.
They are called scripts by schank and Abelson(1977). There are different scripts-scripts of
situations, Instrumental scripts and Role scripts.

For example

“ sally’s daddy said, “we are going to see Auntie Pat in hospital.”

Sally and her daddy went to a shop to get some —————— (Wallace, 1986:36)

A British reader would fill in the blanks with ‘flowers’ but an Indian reader would use apples
or oranges or Horlicks because that is the routine in his culture. The point to make here is that
knowledge about the scripts helps a learner predicts what to follow and interpret the situation.

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IV OPINION

The last aspect refers to the views that readers have about the world in general and the text in
particular. Some readers have their own likes and dislikes about authors. These influence the
readers before they open a book or a newspaper. They also influence reader’s evaluation of
the content and the author’s views.

Let us take an example of an event reported in ‘The Daily Telegraph’, 31 Aug. 1989. The
source here is the newspaper. The genre is newspaper editorial and the topic is Notting Hill
Carnival. Notting Hill Carnival is an annual feature in London when Afro – Caribbeans
display their feelings of freedom. They celebrate it on the Bank holiday Monday in the month
of August. It is an occasion of fun and frolic for them as well as for those who are assembled
at Notting Hill on that day. In one sense, it is like any other festival of ethnic minority groups
in England and naturally therefore, it will have its happiest and saddest moments. There are
two ways of looking at it. One is from the angle of Feste and the other is from the angle of
Malvalio. It is the Malvalian angle that is projected in the Daily Telegraph because it is a
conservative newspaper. The very first line, “Londoners of all races can breathe a collective
sign of relief that Notting Hill carnival passed of without serious incident” reflect in full the
paper’s attitude towards this festival. Anyone belonging to ethnic minority knows this. His
attitude towards this paper will certainly be different from that of a conservative and that will
finally influence his opinion and evaluation of the judgement parsed by the editor of the paper,
for editorials project the paper’s views.

Thus we see that the knowledge the readers bring to the text play a crucial role in extracting
meaning from it and hence the teaching of reading has to give due weighting to it.

Now let us analyse the implications in terms of a classroom approach to the teaching of
reading.

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We have already seen that a knowledge of the process of reading is highly advantageous for a
teacher, for it tells him what actually happens when a reader interacts with a text, which is
crucial for the teaching of reading. Secondly the basic rationale behind the process study is
that it helps us to distinguish the processing of successful and unsuccessful readers. This will
help the teachers to teach the strategies of the successful readers to unsuccessful readers or the
latter can be made aware of the existence of other strategies, which they must try for
themselves. Thirdly, we have seen that reading is a process of negotiation and cooperation.
When students are made to negotiate with a text, there is every probability for students to come
out with different interpretations. So, teachers now must be able to evaluate variable
interpretations of meaning to be made from the text by the students. This is a different role
from what he is accustomed to doing, that of assessment against common yardsticks. Finally,
the process establishes a clear link between reader’s purpose and the product of reading. It
suggests that the teacher’s role in advising, guiding and ultimately evaluating reader’s goals
and routes and the acceptance of a variety of personal interpretations. Factual errors are bound
to occur and the teacher should treat them as reflecting the reader’s reading strategies and
adopt suitable remedial measures.

Now let us consider in more detail the implications for students and classroom instruction.

I. IMPLICATIONS FOR STUDENTS:

Students should be encouraged to realize that reading starts before they even look at the page.
This realization can be effected by focusing on what they actually do when they want to read
newspapers, magazines and books in their mother tongue. Students never approach a text
without purpose, both of their own and that of the author and read only what they are interested
in. They do not read at the same speed a novel and a notice in their mother tongue. May be
because of their classroom experience, where the teacher teaches the textbook, reading line by
line explaining every word, they may have developed an idea that there is only one way of
reading. This idea should be eradicated from their minds and they should see that there are
four ways of reading namely skimming, scanning, intensive reading and extensive reading.
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Grellet (1981: 4) lists the four

i. Skimming : quickly running one’s eyes over a text to get the gist of it.
ii. Scanning: quickly going through a text to find a particular piece of information.
iii. Extensive reading: reading longer texts, usually for one’s pleasure. This is a fluency
activity mainly involving global understanding.
iv. Intensive reading: reading shorter texts to extract specific information. This is more an
accuracy activity reading for details.

Students are to be encouraged to realize __________that reading is an interactive process

where their contribution plays a major role. They should understand that “the text functions
like a do-it-yourself construction kit. The message in the writer’s mind is the perfect piece of
furniture planned by the designer. The process of breaking this down into its component parts
and packing them all into a box with instructions for assembly is a little like process of putting
thoughts into words and organizing them into a coherent text:’ (Nuttall, 1988 :11)

II. IMPLICATIONS FOR CLASSROOM INSTRUCTION:

The aim of teaching reading in the classroom must be to enable students to read without help,
unfamiliar authentic texts, at appropriate speed, silently and with adequate understanding”
(Nuttall, 1988)

If reading starts before we even look at the page those teachers can encourage good reading
by applying to the different things that a reader brings to the text. This would imply some kind
of work before reading rather than the old approach of work after reading. So we can identify
these possible stages in reading an unfamiliar text namely pre-reading, while-reading and post-
reading. It is the pre-reading stage which often presents most difficulty when reading in a
Foreign language. It is vitally important and activates the students expectations and
predicative ability.

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Teachers must expose students to different types of text in order to sensitive them how their
reading strategy changes according to their purpose of reading. Practically speaking in a
classroom it is impossible for the teachers to expose students to texts suiting their taste. So
what they can do is to arouse motivation through their handling of the text (that is given to
them) so as to give learner a purpose in reading. This does not mean that they should not
expose them to different genres. A genre has distinctive content and characteristic structure.
Twice a week, the teacher can expose students through different texts to different genres. For
example newspaper genre how it is organized and what its contents are. It is also necessary for
the teacher to point out the different purposes of headlines, captions, punctuation marks,
diagrams, small prints etc to the students.

Teachers should start with a global understanding and move towards detailed understanding
rather than working the other way round because it is this awareness of the general structure
of a text that will allow the students to read more effectively later on. By starting with a longer
unit and by considering the layout of the text, the accompanying photographs or diagrams etc
the students can be encouraged to anticipate what they are to find in the text. This is essential
in order to develop their skills to inference, anticipation and deduction.

Reading is an active skill. It constantly involves guessing, predicting checking and asking
oneself questions. This should be taken into consideration when devising exercises. It is
possible to develop the students power of inference through questions which encourage
students to anticipate the context of a text from its title and illustrations.

Students can be encouraged to do a true-false pre reading quiz in order to check out their own
existing knowledge of the topic.

Previewing is a very special reading technique which involves using the table of contents, the
appendix, the preface, the blurb, the chapter and paragraph headings in order to find out where

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the required information is likely to be and also to find out the extent to which it will be useful
to a reader.

By exposing students to the ‘letters to the editor’ column of a newspaper, and setting tasks on
the formation of their opinions, students can be taught how to form their opinions about the
text. Students can be given grids or charts and use scales or ticks to express their current
knowledge and opinions of the topic which they may later, as a post-reading exercise check
these against the expressed views of the author.

Students can be encouraged to do a ranking exercise to evaluate relative importance of issues

relating to a particular topic.

III. IMPLICATIONS FOR MATERIALS:

The first point that we should consider with regard to the selection of materials is variety.
Students must be exposed to as much variety of texts as possible.

The second point is that the material must be genuine and authentic. By authentic we mean
original texts. To elaborate this point we can say that we should use newspapers,
advertisements, notices, letters, menus and memos in their original form- as they are without
changing their layout and print type. Each detail in them contributes towards reader’s
comprehension. It is with regard to simplified texts that the question of authenticity poses
problems. Simplified versions are texts written for special pedagogic purposes by simplifying
vocabulary, structure and content of the original texts. This is done in order to make the text
readable. Involving ourselves into a discussion of whether simplified versions are authentic
or not bringing in leading figures like Widdowson and Breen is out of the preview of this
essay. One good point that Eddy Williams (1984) suggests is highly practical. (i.e) any text
that is written to say something, to convey a message and not simply to exemplify language is
authentic.
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To conclude, we can say that reading is an interactive process where it is the reader’s intention,
knowledge of the language, schemata and opinion play a vital role in the interpretation of a
text. Consequently the role of a teacher is that of an active participant in the reading process
guiding advising and evaluating readers’ goals accepting a variety of possible interpretations.

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TEACHING WRITING SKILL

Writing is an important intellectual and impersonal activity that has emerged out of ‘Rhetoric’
of ancient times. It is a leisurely activity that requires utmost care and concentration. It is
permanent unlike speaking which is temporary. The teaching of writing is a complex process
involving many activities such as the initial probing into experience, the analysis of it, the
listing of items of specific and definable significance, their subsequent organisation into a
meaningful sequence and finally their expression in language that is both appropriate and
competent (Ghosh et al, 1970).

The teaching of the mechanics of writing (ie) how to write the letter and how to connect them
into words are taken up at the lower levels of teaching. At the higher level, the formation of
ideas and couching them in appropriate words and sentences are the focus of writing. In other
words, the ‘what’ and ‘how’ of writing are concentrated on. That is why it is said that the
smallest unit in writing is paragraph and not the letter, the word, or the sentence. It is mainly
because this concept carries with it several assumptions that are interesting and that are
essential to understanding what writing is. Firstly it starts with ‘idea’ and emphasizes fluency
in writing as of prime of importance over correctness of sentences and then places its stress on
organisation of ideas (i.e) coherence and cohesion. This approach to writing is called the
‘process’ approach to writing as opposed to ‘product’ approach which emphasizes the end-
product of writing.

To illustrate the difference between these two approaches let us take the following topic.

Scientific inventions are a boon to society.

“In the latter approach students will simply be given this topic and asked to write an essay.
But in the former approach, they will, first of all, be asked to present all the ideas that come to
their mind regarding the topic. Secondly they will be asked to group the ideas that are related
to each other. Thirdly they will be asked to find out suitable words and expressions to cloth
those ideas. Fourthly they will be asked to write a rough draft and finally a fair draft effecting

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all necessary correction in spelling and grammar. Hedge (1988) presents this approach
diagrammatically as follows.

There are three stages in writing – Pre-writing stage, while writing stage and post-writing
stage.

Pre-writing stage
The writer at this stage makes a plan for writing. He analyses the purpose of writing, the needs
of the audience or the reader. He thus tries to provide a writing context. White (1987) calls
this stage ‘Before writing’ in which the writer brainstorms and tries to generate ideas. The
writers are guided by mental constraints of ‘content’ (what to say) and rhetoric (how to say).
Content plans capture and organize ideas and mental structures. Rhetorical plans specify the
argument and form of the intend text.

While-writing stage
The writer concentrates on ‘what’ and ‘how’ of writing at this stage. It is called the
‘composing’ stage. It is through this process that the writer makes a conscious and creative
communication with and through materials to achieve a human effect an the reader.

Post-writing stage:
Revising and editing of the text takes place at this stage. He makes final adjustments and
checks accuracy and appropriateness so that the text may be accessible to the reader. Revising
a text involves a number of processes such as interpreting, contemplating, specifying and
editing the text. Interpreting involves reviewing the text as a reader who does not share one’s
own perspective. Contemplating means comparing the interpretation against the mental
schemes that represent the writer’s intentions. This contemplation leads to specify changes to
create a new version of the text that better expresses the intentions. This leads to editing of
the text (Sharples, 1999).

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Thus good writing like cooking requires time.

Every teacher of English has to take the students through these stages in writing. He has to
choose topics which will be interesting and relevant to the level of students. They should be
challenging too. Otherwise students will not show any interest. So, motivation is the first and
the most essential ingredient of teaching writing. Then he should try to accommodate the ideas
that come from the students. He should try to explain why he takes a few ideas and reject the
rest. That should psychologically prepare the students to participate in the teacher’s lesson.
Then he should show how ideas are couched in sentences.

It is a pain taking exercise. It requires time. It tests teacher’s patience and requires a lot of
patience on the part of the teacher. It demands perseverance. Failures, more than successes,
are often met and the teacher should know how to treat them as stepping stones to success.

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TEACHING LITERATURE

Literature is an art that expresses human experience in Language. The experiences are varied
and various and the creative artist captures the unique experiences and conveys them in
‘deviant’ language, which is sometimes symbolic, sometimes plain but beautiful sometimes
mystical and sometime puzzling. All the same, the words and sentences are impregnated with
meanings and the duty of a reader is to understand the intended and implied meanings. He
should try to enjoy the work of art by experiencing the experience enumerated, explained and
elaborated by the artist.

Some writers describe their experiences in poetry some offers in short stories, a few writers in
novels and dramas while many choose the medium of prose. Literature is (wo)man talking to
(wo)men. The writers try their best to make the readers communicate with them. They are
always interested in continuing their dialogue. They provide ample clues to enable the readers
understand them and their views, opinions and prejudices. They do not hesitate to chide the
society then it deserves chiding. At the same time they do not fail to praise it for its
achievements. They place side by side the good and the bad, the wicked and the kind, the rich
and the poor and project the results of the clash of opposing elements. Didactic literatures try
to educate and entertain. ‘Art for Art’s sake’ literatures present the range of possibilities of
human language in expressing the society’s emotions, feelings, aspirations and paradoxes.
Traditional poets employed different figures of speech to add colour and beauty to their
thoughts. They stuck to rules of prosody and rhetoric so that they are not branded rebels to
conventions and traditions. Modern poets are unconventional and are interested in defying
authority. They write in free verse and convey their feelings indirectly. A familiarity with the
genres of literature is a must to enjoy every piece of literature written in English.

What is expected of a teacher is teaching literature. A teacher should not lecture on the beauty
of the literary piece. Nor should he display his own enjoyment of the experience expressed in
a poem and thrust his views on the students. He should enable the students to experience the
enjoyable experience of the language. The poet’s experience is to be felt and is not meant to

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be talked about. In fact nothing destroys the experience in a poem as effectively as too much
explaining. The literature class should be learner-centred and not teacher-centred. A literary
piece has meaning potential and it is the teacher’s job to enable a student to create meaning
out of the text and share it with others. For this to take place he has to interact with the text.
Interaction should be within the accepted rules of the game. Otherwise reading of literature
will become (a) mockery.

What is now followed in our own classroom in the name of teaching literature at the high
school and undergraduate level is a typical example for how a literary piece ought not to be
taught. The very first sentence uttered by most of our teachers at the beginning of a poetry
class namely ‘Today I am going to teach you the poem solitary reaper by Wordsworth” is not
in good taste. It sounds as if the students have to stomach what the teacher has got out of the
poem and they are not capable of reading and reacting to the sentiments expressed in the poem.
A better way of beginning a poem would be “Let us read the poem”, the solitary reaper by
Wordsworth”. This invites the students to participate in the reading of the poem, which is
highly desirable.

Secondly the teacher dwels at length on the author, the period in which he lived, the
background of the poem and its beauty. These details need not be given by the teacher for,
they are available in books and the students’ attention can be directed to them. On the other
hand, if the teacher felt that these details were to be given, then he could introduce them at the
appropriate place in the poem through inquisitive questions. Instead of spending time on
biographical and background materials the teacher could straightaway plunge into the reading
of the poem with proper stress and rhythm so that the students could feel the mood and tone
of the poem. If the teacher feels diffident about reading the poem he could play the recorded
cassette and make the students listen to the poem. In the case of a prose piece he could ask the
students to reflect themselves on the title of the piece and take the students on the reading
passage through some brilliant pre-reading questions.

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Thirdly the teacher starts reading the poem line by line and giving meaning for each line. He
sometimes paraphrases the poem and explains the ideas in elegant language. He points out the
beauty of the poem in detail and finally winds it up by giving the message of the poem. In
such a situation students remain passive spectators and they are not invited to participate in the
teaching process. The purpose of teaching literature is to enable the students to enjoy the
experiences narrated in the poem and this could be achieved only when students are made to
read the poem and directed to words and expressions that express the experience. They should
be shown the ways of experiencing the experience.

They should be made to go to the poem as often as possible so that they know how to read the
poem – where to focus their attention and how to look for ‘deviant’ style. In short how to
become autonomous learners.

Finally the teacher is very happy that he has enjoyed the poem. What about his students?
Barring a few, many would have been in their own worlds. In a large classroom where there
are more than 60 students, many would indulge in writing their home work or giving finishing
touches to their recording of their science experiments. Two reasons can be attributed to this
kind of attitude. One is teaching is examination oriented and the students know the type of
questions that are asked in examinations. They are confident of scoring higher marks or atleast
pass mark by reproducing essays given in bazaar guides. The second is their diffidence. They
feel that they do not have adequate proficiency in English to read and understand a poem lack
of enthusiasm. Teachers cannot wait till the students equip themselves linguistically. At one
point of time or the other the teacher should make them up to face the reality. He should goad
them on to do his tasks. He should try to pass on his enthusiasm to his own students. They
should be infected with his zest. There may be initial setbacks but once they are overcome
with steadfastness, favourable results will blossom.

Thus the teaching of literature should be learner-centred. It must aim at making students enjoy
literature. Enjoyment is the prime objective of teaching literature. So ways of experiencing
the joy of literature should be taught to students.

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Reference Books

 Krishnasamy, N.Lalitha Krishnasamy, 2003. Teaching English-Approaches, Methods

and Techniques. Macmillan India Limited.
 Krishnasamy, N. 1995. Teaching English Grammar, T.R.Publications, Chennai.
 Tickoo, M.L. 2003. Teaching and Learning English. Orient Longman Private Limited.

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 UNIT III

MATERIAL PRODUCTION

1. Selection, Grading and Sequencing of Teaching Items.

2. Planning Textbooks and Syllabi.
3. Use of Audio Visual Methods

Selection, Grading and Sequencing of teaching items

In a course of limited duration the whole of the language to be taught can not be included. So
it is important that the teaching items are limited. Therefore in the teaching of English language
it is important to limit the language material to a manageable number of structures and words.

Language skills, like any other skills, can be acquired naturally through practice. In the case
of the mother tongue the child acquires the language naturally through intensive practice in
day-to-day life. He uses the language at home, in the playground, at school. Almost everyone
with whom the child comes into contact in his everyday life becomes his teacher. However in
learning a foreign language in a formal setup- in a classroom it is impossible to practice all
features of the language. There are limitations of time and situations which will not allow this
to happen. Therefore, in a foreign language course, pupil’s attention must be drawn to the most
important features of the language for intensive practice.

As has been recommended by the official language commission, English is to be taught in our
schools primarily as a language of comprehension. Since English is needed for the students to
enable themselves to read and gather knowledge from books and journals written in English,
setting up a single objective, namely ‘development of reading comprehension’ seems to be the
only sensible course. However, reading comprehension as a language skill cannot be
developed in isolation. The psychology of language learning also tells us that the four basic
skills namely listening, speaking, reading and writing reinforce each other, and even for the

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development of a single skill, some amount of emphasis on the other skills will be found
beneficial. Moreover even for the limited use of English as a library language, our students
will have to acquire some mastery of the other language skills besides reading comprehension.

Though the artistic use of language in literature is the highest and ultimate stage in language
learning, we cannot hope to take our pupils to that stage in a second and third language course
of such short duration. A practical command of the non-literary and non-technical English is
what we may reasonably expect our pupils to acquire.

A lot of research has been done to determine the items in English that a pupil must master in
order to acquire desired level of proficiency in the language at the end of a course. A lot of
research has been done on the minimum amount of language material required for a practical
command of English in everyday life situations. Based on this research a number of courses
have been developed which limit the language material to about 300 words and about 275
syntactic structures.

Principles of Selection:
The following principles are kept in view while selecting a particular item for inclusion in a
course:
(i) Frequency: Generally the most useful items in the language are the words and structures
which occur most frequently are naturally. Such words and structures should find a place in
the course.
(ii) Availability: The frequency-count technique, though scientific and most objective, cannot
cover all the situations where language may be used. These lists did not include many words,
which are ‘intuitively felt to be necessary’. For instance the largest single group of words
which cannot be selected through frequency count alone is the nouns, the occurrence of which
depends closely upon the situation or the topic. It is therefore necessary to draw up a list of
situations or topics such as ‘parts of the body’, ‘the house’, ‘food and drink’ , ‘clothing’,
‘occupations’, ‘furniture’, etc., which are most relevant to the student’s needs, and then to find
out the words of highest frequency relating to each of these topics. Some words are more likely

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to occur than others in relation to a particular topic. For instance words like doctor, nurse,
medicine, etc. are more likely to occur in a discussion on hospital than on say football game.
There is of course no reason why these words cannot occur with the latter topic, but generally
they are more probable with the first topic than with the second. If we ask someone to think of
a hospital and write down the first ten words that come to his mind, we can almost be certain
that these words will figure in the list. The words so associated with a topic are called
Associated Vocabulary of the topic. Presentation of words in relations to a topic with which
they are naturally associated makes learning of word-meaning easier, therefore, in the
preparation of text lessons and in presenting new vocabulary-items it is necessary to select the
appropriate topics.

The frequency of a word relating to a particular topic is called its Availability for that topic.
The words with the highest availability for these topics are selected for inclusion though they
may have very low frequency counts in a random selection of language samples.
(iii) Range: The number of topics in which a word occurs is called its Range. The words with
greater range are selected.
(iv) Coverage: Some words can cover a larger conceptual or semantic field than others. For
instance the word house can cover the concepts of hut, cottage, building, etc. The words with
larger coverage get priority in selection.
(v) Classroom and Environmental needs: English should be practiced in real-life situations.
So it is necessary to select some words associated with the classroom and particular life-
situations of pupils, though these words may not occur very frequently in other areas of life.
For example, words like chalk, duster, blackboard, etc., are not likely to have high frequency
counts but since they are almost unavoidable in classroom situations and can be taught easily
they are selected. Similarly there may be some words, which are necessary to speak about
things that are very common in a particular locality. For instance, the word chimney may not
be very frequent in general Indian contexts, but for pupils residing, say, in an industrial town
it would be a very useful word to talk about something they are familiar with. Such words may
therefore be added to the course to make the lessons interesting and meaningful to the pupils.

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Principle of Grading:
Grading involves two operations. The first of these operations relates to the division of the
entire material into large ‘blocks’ corresponding to appropriate time-segments. E.g., year,
term, etc. The number of items in a particular time-segment will, naturally, depend on the
number of such segments and the total duration of the course. As regards the kinds of items in
a ‘block’, care is taken to put similar items together to minimize the learning load and to enable
the pupils to build up larger structures from smaller ones in a cumulative manner. The second
operation relates to the sequencing of the items, i.e., deciding which items shall be taught
before or after which others. Since both these operations are interrelated, they are together
known as GRADING.

The principles of selection also apply to grading. In addition to the principles of availability,
coverage, range, and class-room needs. In addition to these, other principles such as,
simplicity, teach ability and productivity are also important.

Simplicity: Learning is going from known to the unknown. So the simpler items have to be
taught before the complex ones.

Teach ability: There are certain items that are complex but easy to present in the classroom,
whereas some items may be simple but more difficult to teach. In such case the items that can
be presented easily get priority in teaching. For instance, though simple present tense is a
simple item when compared to the present continuous, which is more complex. However, it is
easier to teach the latter in classroom situations than the former and so it is usually taught first.
Productivity: More sentences can be produced on the model of some structures than on others.
For example, more sentences can be produced on the model of Ram gave the book to me
(S+V+Od+P+O) than Ram gave me the book (S+V+Oi+Od). The former is more productive
because a large number of verbs can go into that pattern. The structures that are more
productive are taught before the less productive ones.

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Planning Syllabus
A syllabus is a stereotype construct, which provides point of reference for procedural work in
the classroom. It is a plan of what is to be achieved through teaching. It’s an outline of a course
of study over a period of time especially on leading to an examination.

A language teaching syllabus involves the integration of subject matter and linguistic matter.
To put it simply, an integration of what to talk and how to talk. Choices of syllabi can range
from the more or less purely linguistic to the purely semantic or informational. In a purely
linguistic syllabus the content of instruction is the grammatical and lexical forms of the
language whereas in a semantic syllabus the content of instruction is some skill or information
and only incidentally the form of the language.

The framing of the syllabus is a crucial stage in the process of teaching and learning of English.
There are certain questions to be answered while framing the syllabus:
1. What is the current thinking on what language is and how it is best acquired?
The theory of language underlying the language teaching method plays a major role in
planning the syllabus. Theory of learning also plays an important part in determining the kind
of syllabus used.
2. What are the latest developments in material production, classroom management and ways
of building, and conducive learning environment?
3. What are the new techniques of testing or accessing student achievement?

The choice of a syllabus is a major decision in language teaching, and it should be made as
consciously and with as much information as possible. There has been much confusion over
the years as to what different types of content are possible in language teaching syllabi and as
to whether the differences are in syllabus or method. Several distinct types of language
teaching syllabi exist, and these different types may be implemented in various teaching
situations.

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SIX TYPES OF SYLLABI

Although there are six different types of language teaching syllabi these types rarely occur
independently of each other. They are not entirely distinct from each other. Almost all actual
language teaching syllabi are combinations of two or more of the types of the six. Of course
for a course one type of syllabus usually dominates, while other types of content may be
combined with it.

The syllabi are distinguished only in the way in which the instructional content is used in the
actual teaching procedure. The characteristics, differences, strengths, and weaknesses of
individual syllabi are defined as follows:

1. "A structural (formal) syllabus." The content of language teaching is a collection of the
forms and structures, usually grammatical, of the language being taught. Examples include
nouns, verbs, adjectives, statements, questions, subordinate clauses, and so on.

2. "A notional/functional syllabus." The content of the language teaching is a collection of the
functions that are performed when language is used, or of the notions that language is used to
express. Examples of functions include: informing, agreeing, apologizing, requesting;
examples of notions include size, age, colour, comparison, time, and so on.

3. "A situational syllabus." The content of language teaching is a collection of real or imaginary
situations in which language occurs or is used. A situation usually involves several participants
who are engaged in some activity in a specific setting. The language occurring in the situation
involves a number of functions, combined into a plausible segment of discourse. The primary
purpose of a situational language teaching syllabus is to teach the language that occurs in the
situations. Examples of situations include: seeing the dentist, complaining to the landlord,
buying a book at the book store, meeting a new student, and so on.

4. "A skill-based syllabus." The content of the language teaching is a collection of specific
abilities that may play a part in using language. Skills are things that people must be able to
do to be competent in a language, relatively independently of the situation or setting in which

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the language use can occur. While situational syllabi group functions together into specific
settings of language use, skill-based syllabi group linguistic competencies (pronunciation,
vocabulary, grammar, and discourse) together into generalized types of behaviour, such as
listening to spoken language for the main idea, writing well-formed paragraphs, giving
effective oral presentations, and so on. The primary purpose of skill-based instruction is to
learn the specific language skill. A possible secondary purpose is to develop more general
competence in the language, learning only incidentally any information that may be available
while applying the language skills.

5. "A task-based syllabus." The content of the teaching is a series of complex and purposeful
tasks that the students want or need to perform with the language they are learning. The tasks
are defined as activities with a purpose other than language learning, but, as in a content-based
syllabus, the performance of the tasks is approached in a way that is intended to develop second
language ability. Language learning is subordinate to task performance, and language teaching
occurs only as the need arises during the performance of a given task. Tasks integrate language
(and other) skills in specific settings of language use. Task-based teaching differs from
situation-based teaching in that while situational teaching has the goal of teaching the specific
language content that occurs in the situation (a predefined product), task-based teaching has
the goal of teaching students to draw on resources to complete some piece of work (a process).
The students draw on a variety of language forms, functions, and skills, often in an individual
and unpredictable way, in completing the tasks. Tasks that can be used for language learning
are, generally, tasks that the learners actually have to perform in any case. Examples include:
applying for a job, talking with a social worker, getting housing information over the
telephone, and so on.

6. "A content-based-syllabus." The primary purpose of instruction is to teach some content or

information using the language that the students are also learning. The students are
simultaneously language students and students of whatever content is being taught. The subject
matter is primary, and language learning occurs incidentally to the content learning. The
content teaching is not organized around the language teaching, but vice-versa. Content-based
language teaching is concerned with information, while task-based language teaching is

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concerned with communicative and cognitive processes. An example of content-based
language teaching is a science class taught in the language the students need or want to learn,
possibly with linguistic adjustment to make the science more comprehensible.

In general, the six types of syllabi or instructional content are presented beginning with the
one based most on structure, and ending with the one based most on language use. Language
is a relationship between form and meaning, and most instruction emphasizes one or the other
side of this relationship.

CHOOSING AND INTEGRATING SYLLABI

As it has been stated it is rare that one type of syllabus or content is used exclusively in actual
teaching settings. Syllabi or content types are usually combined in more or less integrated
ways, with one type as the organizing basis around which the others are arranged and related.
In discussing syllabus choice and design, it should be kept in mind that the issue is not which
type to choose but which types, and how to relate them to each other.

GUIDELINES TO SYLLABUS CHOICE AND DESIGN

No single type of content is appropriate for all teaching settings, and the needs and conditions
of each setting are so idiosyncratic that specific recommendations for combination are not
possible. Language course designers have to make decisions for their own programs.

The following ten steps can be followed while preparing a practical language teaching
syllabus:

1. Determine, to the extent possible, what outcomes are desired for the students in the
instructional program. That is, as exactly and realistically as possible, defines what the students
should be able to do as a result of the instruction.

2. Rank the syllabus types presented here as to their likelihood of leading to the outcomes
desired. Several rankings may be necessary if outcomes are complex.

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3. Evaluate available resources in expertise (for teaching, needs analysis, materials choice and
production, etc.), in materials, and in training for teachers.

4. Rank the syllabi relative to available resources. That is, determine what syllabus types would
be the easiest to implement given available resources.

5. Compare the lists made under Nos. 2 and 4. Making as few adjustments to the earlier list as
possible, produce a new ranking based on the resources' constraints.

6. Repeat the process, taking into account the constraints contributed by teacher and student
factors described earlier.

7. Determine a final ranking, taking into account all the information produced by the earlier
steps.

8. Designate one or two syllabus types as dominant and one or two as secondary.

9. Review the question of combination or integration of syllabus types and determine how
combinations will be achieved and in what proportion.

10. Translate decisions into actual teaching units.

In making practical decisions about syllabus design, one must take into consideration all the
possible factors that might affect the teaching ability of a particular syllabus. By starting with
an examination of each syllabus type, tailoring the choice and integration of the different types
according to local needs, one may find a principled and practical solution to the problem of
appropriateness and effectiveness in syllabus design.

Audio Visual Method

Audio-visual method is teaching through the ear and the eye. Usually it is associated with the
use of motion pictures, slides and film strips, as visual stimuli and the sound track of true film,
a record or tape with narration, or the voice of the teacher as the audio stimulus. Audio- Lingual
and Audio-visual are very different terms. Audio-lingual refers to listening and speaking, the

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two central skills in learning a language, while audio-visual refers only to one of these skills,
the more passive one of listening. Visual refers to getting ideas through pictures, etc., whereas
lingual refers to speaking.

Since audio-visual method uses teaching through the ear and the eye, audio-visual aids are
used in the classroom. Audio-visual aids can be used to create situations to make the meaning
of a word or a structure clear, and to practice them in meaningful situations. Audio-visual aids
are a major force in language teaching. In some cases situations contrived with the help of
teaching aids would be found even more advantageous than actual physical situations. When
audio-visual aids are used in classroom the monotony of practice work is dispelled and clarity
is created. They make lessons lively. Even the introduction of a readymade substitution table
at the right moment in a grammar lesson can enliven the class. Display of the right moment in
a grammar lesson can enliven the class. Display of various charts, tables, pictures, models, etc.
on classroom walls will lend an atmosphere of gaiety to the room and at the same time help
the pupils to learn a troublesome item.

The use of audio-visual aids to teach word-meaning is obvious. It is possible to teach the
meanings of certain words only through pictures.

Visual aids like pictures, black boards, charts are the popular visual aids, which have become
well established. They are readily available aids, the usefulness of which in second language
teaching needs no defence.

Pictures provide a great deal of information at a glance.

Blackboard is termed the most versatile visual aid. It is standard equipment in every
classroom. A good blackboard running all along the wall in front of the class, if properly used
can be helpful to develop aural-oral skills, reading and writing skills and for teaching grammar.

Flash Cards for teaching or self-study have been used for years and can still be bought easily
in bookstores. They are sets of cards with a word or phrase on one side and it’s meaning-

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usually in translation-on the other. Such cards containing letters, words, phrases, sentences
etc., are a very useful and inexpensive aid.

Charts and Tables can be used for development of all the four skills as well as for imparting
the essential knowledge of structures and vocabulary. Charts and tables of many types have
been used successfully for years. They have great advantages for oral practice.

While these are some of the traditional teaching aids there are certain sophisticated and modern
teaching aids like radio, tape recorder, slide projector, overhead projector film projector film
projector television, language laboratory, video tape/cassette recorder, and computer.

Slides or transparencies are mounted single picture files for projection on a screen or wall by
means of a slide projector.

Film strips, which are essentially a series of picture frames on one roll of film can be used
alone for informal conversation with the aid of the teacher. They can be coupled with a tape
recording or a record.

The overhead projector projects what the teacher writes on a transparent plastic film in front
of him onto a screen behind him as he faces the class. This kind of projector also permits a
larger image than can be written on the board.

Motion pictures are in theory at least the most powerful of the visual aids. It combines pictures
with movement, colour and sound. Motion pictures depicting the culture and people as well as
the language are used as supplementary material for enrichment.

Television has become increasingly important in second language teaching.

The language-teaching laboratory usually contains playback and recording equipment for
students to practice the languages they are studying. There is great variety in equipment and

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facilities in language laboratories. The language lab can provide good models of the speech of
the target language for imitation and manipulation by the student. This increases the power of
the teacher who is not a native speaker of the second language and who has not achieved
complete native pronunciation. It also increases the power of the teacher who is a native
speaker by permitting the students to hear a variety of speakers of the language.

The lab permits audio-lingual practice outside of class. When the lab allows individual
selection of exercises, it provides for individual differences so that each student can repeat an
exercise as many times as necessary. Labs with recording equipment for the students permit
recording the students for more objective and accurate criticism and correction by the teacher.
Labs that have the proper equipment can be used for listening tests given individually or in
groups and for group speaking tests, which the teacher can correct individually later.

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 UNIT – IV

What is Evaluation?
It is said to be the process of determining the value of something. It is an accepted fact that the
valuation is an important part of evaluation.

The process of education comprises of three progressions:

1. Objectives are determined and needs are assessed.
2. Learning objectives are spelled out and the programme is designed.
3. Evaluation of the results and of the activities.

Evaluation determines whether all the goals and objectives of a languages programme have
been effective. It is accomplished by the measuring of data on the effectiveness and efficiency
of the programme.

The inter-relationship among the objectives, learning experiences and evaluation tools has
been represented in a triangle of evaluation by the learned educationist, Dr.Benjamin S.Bloom.

THE TRIANGLE OF EVALUATION

A close look at the triangle shows how all the three steps are inter-related. The objectives of
teaching are pivotal in any evaluation procedure. Learning experience and tests are directed
towards these objectives.

Evaluates is the process by which we form judgment of students. Are the goals of Education
reached the student?

Appraised is another word used as a synonym for evaluation.

Evaluation takes into account the previous achievements of the pupil and determines the rate
of his programmes.

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Prof. Downie has put down the purpose of evaluation as follows:
To provide information for grading and promoting students
To report to parents
To evaluate the methods of teaching that was followed
To motivate the students
The strength and weakness of the students is diagnosed.

Till a few years ago the statistical analysis of the test results was taken as evaluation. But today
in a world that has become a global village and simultaneous activities having taken place the
concept of evaluation has been to remember a broader view of not only tests but non-test
techniques also.

Evaluation is comprehensive and continuous.

The total personality of the students is being apprehended. The Evaluation studies whether the
objectives and curriculum design have been able to guide the students and judge his or her
progress. It is a continuous process to ascertain that the student has been able not only to learn
the various aspects and basics of the subject but that his abilities, interest, health, adaptability
and character have been addressed to.

Having started on the note that measurements by a few tests oddly spread over a period of the
year is different from the concept of evaluation, let us consider the tools of evaluation.

A tool of evaluation used in education is a device or technique that will facilitate that process
of measuring and recording the abilities of behaviour of pupils.

The following tools are the common ones used:

Tests
Questionnaire

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Observation
Check lists
Rating scales
Anecdotal record
Critical incidents
Interview

Characteristics of a good test

‘Test’ means something done to discover a person’s or a thing’s qualities or abilities etc; an
examination, (in a school) on a limited subject – according to the Oxford English Dictionary.

Functions of a Test
A test is conducted, in this context, to ascertain a person’s knowledge. Different types of tests
can be held, at different levels and at different period of time. The most important point to be
considered while giving a test is the objective of the test – what is going to be tested? Is it the
usage of language or the student’s knowledge about the language that is going to be tested?

Testing and teaching go hand in hand. In fact, they are inextricably linked. Tests act as devices
to reinforce learning and to motivate the student or as a means of assessing the student’s
performance in the language. The test is geared for the teaching in the former case and teaching
is geared for the test in the latter case. The main purpose of the examination is to measure the
student’s ability to use the target language. The examination is thus primarily an instrument
form measuring and evaluating performance. Whereas a good classroom test will have two
aims - firstly it helps to locate the precise areas of difficulty encountered by the class or by the
individual student, secondly it is an evaluation for the purpose of enabling the teacher to
increase his own effectiveness by making adjustments in his teaching. Thereby certain groups
or individuals in the class will benefit more. Finally, a good classroom test will help to locate
the precise areas of difficulty encountered by the class or by an individual student. Thus a good
test can be used as a valuable teaching device.

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What should be Tested

The four major skills in communicating through language are listening, speaking, reading and
writing. Listening and reading are known as passive skills since no creativity on the part of a
person is involved. He will only be reacting to the material provided. On the other hand,
speaking and writing are known as active skills, for, it entails creative ability.

Traditional examinations, at best demonstrate the student’s ability to perform well in the
examinations – to answer questions based on various lessons assigned to be learnt. However,
he is not tested in his knowledge of the usage of language in real – life situations. Thereby
traditional examinations fail to indicate or relatively little, about the student’s fluency and
ability to handle the language.

The four skill test should cover the requirements of a good test. The student might be tested in
listening by a test of listening comprehension, in which dialogues, talks and lectures are given
to the student. The speaking ability should be tested by conducting mock interviews, picture
description and loud reading. Questions set to test the students understanding of written text
can be tested by reading comprehension. Writing of letters, reports and essays would test the
writing ability.

Types of Test

The types of test can be broadly divided into three broad divisions – achievement / attainment
test, proficiency test and aptitude test.

1. Achievement / Attainment Test

This particular test can be further divided into class progressive test and standardized test.

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1.1 Classroom Test
It is a widely acknowledged fact that classroom tests play a central role in the evaluation of
student learning. Provided the test is valid (it should test what it seeks to test), reliable (it
should yield the same result whoever values it), useful information with regard to the
achievement of the student can be obtained. In order to make sure that the test is valid and
reliable, areas like determining the purpose of testing, developing test specification, selecting
appropriate item types and preparing relevant test items have to be considered. Most classroom
tests take the form of progress tests, since they assess the progress which students have made
in mastering the material taught in the classroom. Effective classroom tests are an integral part
of instruction. They are given to motivate the student.
They bring to light individual needs, facilitate grouping and give both the teachers and pupils
a clue to the students’ and weaknesses besides the problem areas. They also enable the teacher
to assess the degree of success of his teaching, helping him to identify areas of weakness or
difficulty.
Situational or problem items should be included besides standard items. Pictorial
representations like graphs, diagrams should be made use of to design some items. Further
explanation is given along with examples in the following paragraphs.

a. Situational / Problem Items: These items enable the appraisal of students’ ability to
evaluate ideas, infer feelings and handle problems. It is also called interpretive test. The
situation / problem presented should be realistic and challenging and give scope for discussion.
b. Pictorial Items: Care should be taken to construct the items based on diagrams, pictures,
charts, maps, tables etc in all types of instructional media.
c. Items for Cognitive Objectives: Items designed to assess feelings, attitudes and values
should also be considered, since they are the outcomes of instruction.
d. Items for Written Tests: There are several possible written test items. Multiple choice
questions, Match, Fill ins, Completions of Sentences etc. In these types of tests the questions
and the choice provided should not be confusing nor should clues and suggestions be given.
Directions for these tests should be clear and appropriate.

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Examples
I. Multiple choice questions.
Put a circle around the letter at the side of the word which best completes the sentence.
1. Did you __________ that book from the school library?
a. beg b. borrow c. hire d. ask
2. I’ll wait here until it _______ dark.
a. will be b. be c. is d. has been
3. A herd of elephants ____ going towards the water.
a. are b. is c. have d. were
4. The children ________ playing since 5 ‘O Clock.
a. are b. were c. has been d. have been
5. They _____ their cars here regularly.
a. parked b. will park c. parking d. park

II. Match the following

Novels Authors
1. Pride and Prejudice Oliver Goldsmith
2. The tale of two cities Charlotte Bronte
3. The Vicar of Wakefield Thomas Hardy
4. Far from the maddening crowd Charles Dickens
5. Jane Eyre Jane Austen

III. Fill in the blanks.

1. She ________ coming next month.
2. Tide and Time _________ for no man.
3. Bread and butter ______ fine by me.
4. It is ____ honour for me.
5. _______ does this pen belong?

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1.2. Standardised Test

The standardized tests are tried and tested tests. They are also called Achievement Tests. Great
care is taken to prepare the questions for these tests. Before they are administered they are
standardized on a large number of students. They are tried on several thousand children in
order to determine their suitability for various categories of the students. Norms are established
and comparisons are made between performances of different students and different schools.
Since generally these tests are held annually, performance of students of one year can be
compared with the performance of students of another year. They are designed primarily to
measure individual performance rather than to act as a means of motivating the student or
reinforcing learning.

The standardized tests consists of questions whose answers would either be ‘yes’ or ‘no’ or
‘true’ or ‘false’ etc. These tests consume less time as compared to the essay type examination.

The Salient features of the test

1. Multiplicity of Questions – Wide range of questions covering the topic.

2. Objective and Simplified Marking – Easy to mark
3. No Partial Credits – No ambiguity. The answer can be either yes/no or true/false.

Merits of the test

Comprehensiveness, lack of bias and object scoring are some of the main merits of this test.
Also these tests are more accurate in testing a student’s achievement in subjects and skills.
Thereby a teacher can readily spot the brightness or weakness of the student in the different
school subjects. On the basis of this the student might be given adequate opportunities to make
the necessary improvements.

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Demerits of the test

This test does not give any scope for explanation. So a student is not tested in the presentation
of an answer or in his literary style. Secondly, a student cannot be stopped from guessing.
Guessing might play a role in scoring.

Example

1. The president of India is Manmohan Singh. True/False

2. The Capital of India is Delhi. True/False
3. The Indian flag is called the Tricolour. Yes/No
4. There are nine planets in the solar system. Yes/No
5. The sun goes round the earth once a year. Yes/No

2. Proficiency Test

Whereas standardized test looks back on what should have been learnt, the proficiency test
looks forward, defining a student’s language proficiency with reference to a particular task
which he will be required to perform. These tests are in no way related to any syllabus or
teaching programme. Students from different schools and even different countries can take
these tests. Does a student know enough English to join in a foreign university? For instance,
for UK– IELTS and for USA– TOEFL. The proficiency test is concerned simply with
measuring the student’s control of the language in the light of what he will be expected to with
it in his future performance of a particular task. Thus, the proficiency test measures specific
skills and not general attainment.

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3. Aptitude Test

A language aptitude test assesses a student’s aptitude for learning a language. Language
learning aptitude involves factors such as intelligence, age, motivation, memory, phonological
sensitivity and sensitivity to grammatical patterning.
Aptitude test, generally seek to predict the student’s probable strengths and weaknesses in
learning a foreign language. Thus language learning aptitude is a complex matter.

4. Diagnostic Test

The term ‘diagnostic test’ is widely used. Yet, very few tests are constructed solely as
diagnostic tests. However, the achievement and proficiency tests are used for diagnostic
purposes; the problem areas are identified, diagnosed and remedial action is planned.

Remedial Work

Tests by itself mean nothing; it acts as a means to an end. They act as devices of measurement
– how well has a student learnt what he is supposed to have learnt? Different type of tests
measure different aspects of a student’s knowledge gained by being tutored. Tests also act as
testing pads for teachers in order to identify the areas of difficulty faced by the students, to
differentiate between the bright students and the weak students and also to figure out their
strengths and weaknesses.

Therefore our tests should fulfil the following purposes:-

1. They should bring about qualitative improvement in teaching and learning through an
effective mechanism.
2. The tests should help promote competitive spirit and motivation among the students.
3. The feedback should help change our materials and methodology from time to time.

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 4. They should enable the teachers improve their own teaching.

Identifying the problem

Despite good teaching, the rate of learning English and the question of learning will be
different for different pupils. As long as our educational system is based on one – to – many
relationships, individual attention is just impossible. When there are slow learners, who need
special attention and techniques. Along with other bright children then the teacher has an uphill
task.

The inadequacies in teaching and learning show up in the final examination and a large number
of failures tell the tale. Although a student is studying the language for years, yet he might not
be fluent and effective in communication. These failures can be traced to routine type of
teaching, indifferent learning and parental neglect. Prompt remedial measures have to be taken
in respect of the glaring errors if all the educational effort is not to go to waste.

NECESSITY OF EVALUATION
The chief goal of education has been to develop that part of the human psyche which needs to
imbibe knowledge and values and thereby facilitate changes in human behaviour. Therefore
as discussed in the previous chapter the school where education is imparted to children brings
our desired behaviour pattern’s and changes in pupils i.e. the primary objectives of an
educational institution. It follows that the objectives of any process or system need to be
measured and analysed and evaluated.

What is Evaluation?
It is said to be the process of determining the value of something. It is an accepted fact the
valuation is an important of education.

The process of education progression.

1. Objectives are determined

125 needs are assessed

3. Learning objectives are spelled out the

programme is designed

2. Evaluation of the results of the activities.

Evaluation determines whether all the goals and objectives of a languages programme have
been effective. It is accomplished by the measuring of data on the effectives and efficiency of
the programme.
The inter-relationship among the objectives, leaning experiences and evaluation tools has been
represented in a triangle of Objectives evaluation by the learned educationist, Dr.
Benjamin. S.Bloom

Learning experiences Evaluation tools

THE TRIANGLE OF EVALUATION

A close look at the triangle shows how all the three steps are inter-related. The objectives of
teaching are pivotal in any evaluation procedure. Learning experiences and tests are directed
towards these objectives.
Evaluates is the process by which we from judgement of students. Are the goals of Education
reached the student?
Appraised is another word used as a synonym for evaluation
Evaluation takes into account the previous achievements of the pupil and determines the rate
of his progress
Prof. Downie has put down the purpose of evaluation as follows
To provide information for grading and promoting students
To report to parents
To evaluate the methods of teaching those were followed
To motivate the students
The strength and weakness of the students is diagnosed.

126
Till a few years ago the statistical analysis of the test results was taken as evaluation. But today
in a world that has become a global village and simultaneous activities having taken place the
concept of evaluation has been to remember a broader view of not only tests bur non-test
techniques also
Evaluation is comprehensive and continuous
The total personality of the students is being apprehended. The Evaluation studies whether the
objectives and curriculum design have been able to guide the students and judge his or her
progress. It is a continuous process to ascertain that the student has been able not only to learn
the various aspects and basics of the subject but that his abilities, interest, health, adaptability
and character have been addressed to
Having started on the note that measurements by a few tests oddly spread over a period of the
year is different from the concept of evaluation, let as consider the tools of evaluation.
A tool of evaluation used in education is a device or technique that will facilitate that process
of measuring and recording the abilities of behaviours of pupils.
The following tools are the common one used:
Tests
Questionnaire
Observation
Check lists
Rating scales
Anecdotal record
Critical incidents
Interview

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A Variety of tests with examples is discussed below

1. Short-Answer Tests based on Recall

There are two types of tests based on recall. One is simple recall and the other is completion.
Simple Recall: The simple recall item is an old method attempting to objectify the responses
to tests and examinations. This procedure differs from the usual essay type of question by
limiting the answer to one word or one phrase. Indeed, most complicated questions involving
explanation or discussion may be broken down into several questions with short answers.
Care must be taken to phrase the questions in such a way that the answer is definite or short—
a single word if possible. Of course, such brevity and precision require that the subject matter
of a definite nature also.
The blanks for the answers, long enough for eligible writing in all cases, should be placed
in a vertical column to the right of the question. It is most important that all the acceptable
answers should be listed on the scoring sheet. For testing understanding rather than rote
memory, questions and statements should be expressed in language. Different from that
used in the textbook. In general, usage dictates that one point is given for each correct item.
We can express the test items in three different forms. They are question form, statement
form or stimulus word.

Question Form
(a) What is the name of the Oriya Poet who has written 'Labanyabati'? (a)
(b) Which is the longest dam in the world? (b)
(c) If M.A. is divided by C.A. What is the Quotient usually called in psychology? (c)
Statement Form
(a) Give the number of the amendment of the constitution of
India which was responsible for Secularism, (a)
(b) What is the data which appears on the declaration of independence in India?
(b)
(c) What is the name of first president of India? (a)
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Stimulus Word
(a) Scientist's Name: Their important contributions
I John Beyord : i)
II Einstein : ii)
III Newton : iii)
IV C.Y Raman : iv)
V Galileo : v)
English to Hindi
I Book : i)
II Utensil : ii)
III Dress : iii)
IV Beauty : iv)
V House : v)

Uses:

In simple recall type of test items there is no recognition, but only recall, reduces the process
of guessing to a minimum. One can be assured that the path followed in the solution of the
problem is pretty largely controlled. As compared with usual essay type it directs the thought
process towards a definite goal and prevents padding and bluffing. The form is one frequently
used and hence is familiar to the subject. Finally, it is fairly economical of space is easy to
construct, and allows a wide sampling of subject matter in a. comparatively short time.
Limitations:
When we compare it with recognition type of short-answer test it appears that it is harder to
score because it is impossible to predict beforehand exactly the answer which the subject will
give. There are some which deviate slightly from the lists of acceptable answers furnished by
the key and hence are difficult to score. The more precise the form of the question, then less
does this difficulty appear. The modern age is the age of scoring. Machine works as a substitute
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of any method of scoring. Therefore, interpretative aspect of the answer is a distinct
disadvantage. When an ordinary teacher evaluates in his area of instruction it is not a drawback
for him. When there is a need of higher type of mental process in the difficulty arises. We
usually consider rote memory to those which are concerned with naming, citing, giving the
author, or his works.
Completion Test:
This test consists of a sentence or a paragraph from which one or more words or phrases are
omitted. The pupil is asked to fill in the blanks. This test resembles the fill-in-the blanks type
of the question in the essay type examination. Therefore, it is called fill-in-the-blank items.
Like true-false and multiple-choice items, they can be read and answered quickly, and
therefore, used to measure learning covering many objectives. Completion items do not give
the student a chance to recognize the correct answer. In this test a student will have to generate
the correct answer or acceptable alternative. It is very easy on the part of the teacher to
construct these items. So far as time factor is concerned this test take less time in comparison
to true-false and multiple choice items. Here reliability of the score is comparatively high.

Guidelines to Construct Completion Test Items

1. A teacher should not use a phrase directly from a text or other material presented to
students. Since there are chances of memorization such things to be avoided.
2. The teacher should try to provide the clue to the students so that they can know what kind
of information to provide. All sorts of ambiguities should be avoided.
3. In order to avoid ambiguity and misinterpretation one should use one or two blank spaces.
4. In order to provide a clue before the problem is presented the blank space should be
provided at the end of the sentence.
5. Grammatical clues should be avoided.
Examples
Simple Recall Type:
When we put the blank at the end of the sentence we call it simple recall. For example: The
chromosome is an (1) of (2) threadlike (3).

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 Sentence Completion Type:
Most difficult of all in constructing the sentence completion test is to achieve .that nicety of
balance - between supplying just enough material to make the solution possible and giving so
much information that the answer can be guessed at. Blanks" may occur at any place in the
sentence and should possess three characteristics.
(1) They all should be of the same length,
(2) All should be numbered, and
(3) The correspondingly numbered blanks should be placed in a vertical column to the right or
left of the sentences. Blanks should almost always call for but one word.
In general the larger number of blanks the -more difficult is the item.
The completion sentence probably finds its greatest usefulness in testing the development of a
rather complex idea in a whole paragraph.
Used in this manner it approaches very closely an instrument for validating ' the higher thought
processes.

Uses and Limitations:

Since the uses and limitations are the same as simple recall type there is no need of special
mention of it.

2. Short-Answer Tests Based on Recognition

There are four types of short-answer tests based on the capacity of the individual. These tests
help to recognize .the correct answers.
They are:
(1) Multiple choice tests,
(2) Alternative response or true-false tests,
(3) Matching tests, and
(4) Tests of the higher mental processes.
For our purpose we shall discuss all these types except tests of the higher mental processes.

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Alternative Response: Items in this category may be written in several forms: true-false, yes-
no, right-wrong, correct-incorrect, and two-option multiple choice. They may be dictated or
presented in written form. Carefully constructed alternative-response items can be used to
appraise, interests, attitudes, misconceptions, superstitions and understanding of principles and
generalizations. They should be used when only two logical responses are possible, such as
north or south, right or left, larger or smaller and the like. Examples of several different forms
follow:
1. (The true-false variety is simply a statement.) The area of Brazil is greater than the area
of the United States. T. F.
2. (The yes- no variety consists of a question) Do you have the right to break a rule made by
your class if you did not vote for it?
3. (The cluster variety is a statement with several completions.)
Agriculture is profitable in the South because:
(i) many workers are available. T. F.
(ii) the land is mountainous. T. F.
(iii) there are many forests. T. F. .
(iv) there is a long growing season. T. F.

Alternative-response items may be used in a variety of ways. Places on a map can be marked
by letters or numbers and children can be asked to write T or F in response to statements
regarding what is given, what conditions exist and the like. Comprehension of a topic can be
appraised in a similar way after children have read a selection, heard a report, or seen a film.
More than mere knowledge can be tested with items that require application of concepts.

Uses of Alternative-Response Items

(i) Include an equal number of true or false statements, be sure the true statements are not
consistently longer than the false statements; arrange true and false items in random order.
(ii) Avoid specific determiners—for example, items containing alone, all, no, none, never,
always and the like are usually false, whereas items containing generally, should, may, and the
like are usually true.

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(iii) Be sure each statement is definitely true or false; avoid ambiguous terms such as few,
many, and important. Place the crucial element of the statement in the main part of the
sentence, not in a phrase or subordinate clause. Avoid double negatives.

(iv) Make each item short and specific. Avoid unfamiliar or figurative language.

(v) Simply the marking of correct responses (and scoring) by placing T and F (or Y and N for
yes-no) in a column at the right, as shown in the examples above. For scoring, make a stencil
(with holes punched in the position for correct responses) to place over the answer column. If
the items are dictated or no answer column has been provided, instruct the children to write it
for true or for false, which are easier to score than T or F.

Uses and Limitations of Alternative-Response Items:

The advantages of alternative-response items are not valid. One of the important advantages
of it is that it is easy to construct such items. No doubt it is easy when we construct
unambiguous alternative-response items but it is difficult to measure significant learning
outcomes because they need specific skill.

The second advantage of alternative-response item is that it facilitates to obtain wide sampling
of course material. In this test item a student can respond to many test items within a short
period of time. Thus it facilitates wide coverage of areas within a short time.

One of the disadvantages of alternative-response item is that with the short-answer item it is
largely limited to learning outcomes in the knowledge area.

In this test item another limitation is that there are chances of guess work. "With only two
alternatives, a pupil has a 50-50 opportunity of selecting the correct answer on the basis of
chance alone."

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Matching:
Matching items are used to measure the ability to associate events and dates, events and
persons, terms and definitions, principles and applications, tools and their uses, pictures and
concepts, causes and effects, and the like. They should be used only when several pairs of
items are sufficiently homogeneous to require a child to think critically in order to make proper
associations.

There are two specific procedures in constructing a matching exercise. In the first one, called
COMPLETION MATCHING, an essential word or phrase is omitted within each sentence of
a list of sentences.
The second type is known as column matching. In this procedure two columns of statements
are placed side by side and then the numbers of one column are matched with the numbers or
letters of the other.
Example:
Arrange the items in the first column in random order; arrange those in the second column in
alphabetical, chronological, or some other reasonable order.
1. Keep the column close together and on the same page so that children will not become
confused looking back and forth or turning the page to check matching pairs.
2. Use consistent form so that items in each column can be associated without difficulty. If
parts of sentences are to be matched, be sure no grammatical clues are introduced.
Advantages of Matching Items: In matching items many questions can be answered in a short
space because the same set of answers can be used for a large number of items. Guessing is
reduced under the usual method of construction but may be reduced to a minimum by having
several items use the same answers. Its greatest usefulness comes in answering questions who,
when, what and where. Whether or not it tests the more complicated mental processes depends
upon its construction. By matching principals and their illustrations the subject is called upon
to discriminate compare and conclude. Such a procedure calls for the same sort of mental
processes which are demanded when an individual is asked to give an original illustration of a
principle he has learned. This type of short-answer test is capable of making a rapid survey of
a particular phase of a subject matter area.

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Limitations: Matching tests are difficult to construct. It is so easy to have undone the large
variety of specifics which need to be heeded in constructing them. Clues that one had never
suspected and more than one correct answer are apt to appear most unexpectedly. Furthermore,
it fits so well simpler items such as events and their dates that more complicated associations
are apt to be neglected. Small units of subject matter rarely furnish that homogeneity demanded
of a good matching test and hence a small unit of instruction is difficult to test adequately by
using this form.

Multiple-Choice Test Items: This type of items is used more frequently than any other by
professional test makers. It consists of a question or incomplete statement (called the stem)
followed by two or more responses. (The correct’ or best one is the answer; the others are
distracters.) The usual procedure is to have children select the correct response from among
three to five choices. Variations on this procedure are (a) to select the best answer, (b) to select
the incorrect answer; and (c) to select two or more correct answers. In the primary grades,
children should be asked to underline the correct or best answer so that no difficulty will arise
in marking letters or numbers which designate answers.

The multiple choice test is also known as: (i) The Multiple Response Test. (ii) The Best
Answers Test. (iii) The Best Judgments Test. Directions: Look at all four words and draw a
line under the one word that makes the sentence true. (A variation: Draw a line through the
incorrect words.)

Workers in sawmills make

(a) nails (b) bricks (c) plaster (d) lumber.
Directions: After each question there are four words that might be used to answer the question.
Only one of the words is correct or better than any of the others. Make a circle around the letter
in front of the word you think is best.

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Example: The first president of India was
(a) Gyani Zail Singh.
(b) Sir Sarbapalli Radha Krishnan.
(c) Dr. Rajendra Prasad.
(d) Zakir Hussain.

Uses of Multiple-Choice Items

1. Use them to check recognition and discrimination. Use the simple recall form if the children
should be expected to remember a given fact. Use the alternative-response form if there are
only two possible answers.

2. Place the major portion of the statement in the introduction or stem, not in the possible
answers. Make the stem clear and complete so that the nature of the answer will be known
to the pupil. Avoid negative statements in the stem whenever possible; they tend to be
confusing.
3. Be sure all possible answers are plausible; children quickly eliminate absurd options. Word
the incorrect responses as carefully as the correct ones; make some of them about the same
length1 as the correct response if more than one word is involved.
4. Avoid clues such as words or phrases in the introduction that also appear in the correct
answer, or placing ‘a’ or ‘an’ at the end of the introduction when the options do not all begin
with a vowel or consonant. For example, "A pictogram is an A'. Illustration B. narrative C.
tool D. mural" can easily be answered by associating an with the option that begins with a
vowel.
5. Phrase all choices so that they are grammatically correct when joined to the introduction;
avoid choices that overlap or include each other—for example : "Last year air travel increased.
A. less than 10 percent, B. less than 20 percent, C. more than 30
percent, D. more than 50 percent." Place choices at the end of
the item; distribute them evenly among answer positions; include
at least four choices whenever possible; and keep all choices in
the same category—that is, do not mix persons, places or things.

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6. Arrange the items in groups of five with a double space between groups. Group
together items with the same number of choices that is, do not mix three-choice and four-
choice items.

Limitations: It is very difficulty to construct multiple-choice test items. It takes as much time
to construct one good multiple-choice item as to construct three to four simple-recall or true-
false items, and they occupy as much space on the page. Plausible alternatives are hard to find.
It also takes more of the pupils' time to answer multiple-choice items than to answer true-false
items. A great impetus has been given the use of the multiple-choice form since the advent of
the IBM scoring machine. This machine scores a whole test accurately provided the answers
are placed in certain defined positions. The multiple-choice form with its five positions lends
itself admirably to machine scoring.

3.1 Multiple-choice grammar items (1): item types ,

The type of multiple-choice item favoured by many constructors of grammar tests is the
incomplete statement type, with a choice of 4 or 5 options. This item may be written in any of
the following ways:
(a) Tom ought not to....... (A. tell B. having told C. be telling D. have told) me your secret,
but he did.
(b) Tom ought not to me your secret, but he did.
A. tell
B. having told
C. be telling
D. have told
A. tell .,"
(c) Tom ought not to having told me your secret, but he did.
C. be telling
D. have told
(d) Tom ought not to have told me your secret, but he did.
A. No change

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B. tell
C. having told
D. Be telling

Item types (b) and (c) are preferable to (a) because the options do not interrupt the flow of
meaning in the sentence: .these items present the entire sentence so that it can be read at a
glance. Unfortunately, item (a) confuses the reader because of the long parenthesis (i.e. the
four options occurring between ought not to and me). Item type (d) shows the correct (or an
incorrect) form as part of the sentence in such a way that it cannot be compared on equal terms
with the other options: & correct option, for instance, is generally easier to recognize when it
appears in the framework of the sentence than as part of a list of distracters.

Another item type appears below, but it is not recommended since it

requires the tcstee to spend time on unnecessary reading. Not only is it uneconomical but it
does not present the "problem" (i.e. the options) as clearly as example (b) does.
A. Tom ought not to tell me your secret, but he did.
B. Tom ought not to having told me your secret, but he did.
C. Tom ought not to be telling me your secret, but he did.
D. Tom ought not to have told me your secret, but he did.
The following method is useful for testing short answers and responses:
(f) "Tom ought not to have told me."
A. "So ought you."
B. "Neither ought you." -
C. "Neither you oughtn't."
D. "So oughtn't you."
Item type (g) requires the student to select the alternative which is true according to the
information conveyed in each sentence. Such an item may be included either in a test of
reading comprehension or in a test of grammar: a knowledge of the particular syntax is
necessary for the understanding of the sentence.

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(g) "Tom ought not to have told me."
A. Tom did not tell me but he should.
B. Perhaps Tom may not tell me.
C. Tom told me but it was wrong of him.
D. It was necessary for Tom not to tell me.
It may be argued that an understanding of syntactical patterning is just as-necessary for the
following item:
"was Robert late last week?"
"Three times."
A. How much
B. How many
C. How often
D. How long
Items which appear in a test of grammar and structure should be made to sound as natural as
possible. The following mechanical test item:
This book belongs to Peter. It is
A. Peter's book
B. the book to Peter
C. the book of Peter
D. the book of Peter's
can be rewritten as follows:
This book belongs to Peter, but that is
A. Mary's book
B. the book to Mary
C. the book of Mary
D. the book of Mary's
Sometimes it is useful to construct grammar items in the form of very short dialogues or
conversational exchanges. A short dialogue may help to make an item much more natural and
meaningful by providing a context. In addition, such a dialogue is sometimes a useful means
of ensuring that there is only one correct option, as will be seen in Section 3 of this chapter.

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Note that distracters should generally be incorrect in writing and in speech. The following item
proved unsuccessful when it was included in a test because many of the more able students
selected option D, the reason being that they pronounced used to quite correctly as opposed to
/ju:sta/.
I to go to my uncle's farm every weekend.
A. am used
B. used
C. was used
D. use
3.2 Multiple-choice grammar items (2): structure recognition tests
This section attempts to show some of the broad areas which can be tested by using, multiple-
choice techniques. Several examples are given on the following pages for most of the areas
included in the list. Three rough divisions have been made according to the ease with which
the areas lend" themselves to multiple-choice techniques. Generally speaking, the construction
of multiple-choice items (and the writing of effective distracters) –for those areas in Group A
are fairly straightforward while those in Group B and C present more difficulty. However, the
use of a particular type of item must be largely determined by both test and course objectives.
Often the teacher will wish to use a combination of techniques to assess the various factors
involved in learning the language. The success of any test format and type of item used can
only be determined statistically from the test performances of the students, and methods of
evaluating a test are described in Chapter Ten.
(1) Tenses (beyond the very elementary stages)
(2) Modals and "special" verbs
(3) Question tags
(4) WH-question words
(5) Relative pronouns and clauses
(6) Linkers
(7) Prepositions and adverbial particles
(8) Adjectives and adverbs ;
(9) Pronouns

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(10) Determiners
(11) Infinitive forms .
(12) Order of adjectives
(13) Position of adverbs
(14) Reported speech
(15) Concord
(16) Positive/négative transformations
(17) Statement/interrogative transformations
(18) Active/passive transformations \
Examples of multiple-choice items are given for areas 1 — 14 listed above. When attempting
to use m/c items to test such features as concord, positive/negative transformations, etc. (i.e.
any feature where the choice is essentially between only two options), the test constructor is
sometimes forced to introduce additional problems in order to construct 4 options. Thus, we
find an "impure" item, testing not only concord (is/are) but also the ability to distinguish
between this and that:
Whose book over there?
A. is that
B. are those
C. is this
D. are these
Testees who select option C will still fail to answer the item correctly, even though they may
have mastered the features of concord being tested here. In this sense, the item is unfair and
will not offer the testees any reward for correctly opting for the form is. Indeed, since the
choice is essentially between A and B, it might be argued that a large number of two-choice
items1 would be better than a few four-choice impure items.
(1) Tenses
1. Robert in Kenya a few weeks ago.
A. is arriving B. arrives C. has arrived D. arrived
2. Don't talk so loudly: your father ...
A. sleeps B. is sleeping C. slept D. had slept

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3. Where did Mr Smith go while we
A. talk B. have talked C. were talking D. had talked
4. I wish I the answer to that question.
A. knew B. would know C. will know D. know
(2) Modals
1. We to hurry or we'll be late.
A. should B. must C. ought D. had Peter come with us tonight, but he isn't very sure yet.
A. can B. could C. may D. will
3. "I _______ to introduce you to Helen."
"How do you do?"
A. would like B. like C. do like D. am liking
4. Please take a message he call.
A. may B. will C, shall D. should
(3) Question tags
1. Your father's paying for the tickets, ? ?
A. aren't you B. aren't they C. isn't it D. isn't he
2. Mary's finished reading the newspaper, ?
A. isn't she B. wasn't it C. hasn't she D. isn't it
3. It'll rain soon, ? You ought to take a raincoat.
A. won't it B. ought it C. isn't it D. may it
4. Tom said he wasn't feeling well, ?
A. was he B. isn't he C. wasn't he D. didn't he
(4) WH-question words
1. " are you going?" "To London."
A. When B. Why C. Where D. How
2. " is Dick talking to?" "John Green."
A. Where B. When C. What D. Who
3. " does Mr Robinson go to London on business?"
"At least once a month."
A. How often B. How many C. How D. How long

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4. "is the chair made of?" "I think it's leather."
A. Which B. What C. How D. Who
(5) Relative pronouns and clauses
1. Is that the spot you had the accident?
A. which B. where C. whom D. why
2. The boy's photograph you saw was taken a long time ago.
A. who B. whose C. whom D. which
3. Have you met the woman husband is a doctor?
A. which B. of whom C. whose D. of which
4. Are those the students ?
A. you were talking about
B. that you were talking about them
0. about that you v/ere talking
D. you were talking about them ,,,
(6) Linkers
1. We've had good weather I arrived.
A. since B. for C. while D. during
2. it was very cold, neither Michael nor Andrew put on his coat.
A. However B. Although C. But D. Nevertheless
3. The food was so good I ate all of it.
A. but B. that C. as D. than
4. He'll never pass hard he tries.
A. however B. even though C. despite D. yet
(7) Prepositions and adverbial particles
1. Did you arrive there night?
A. in B. on C. at D. through
2. I live a few yards the bus stop.
A. from B. away C. off D. for
3. Mr Smith has gone to England holiday.
A. for B. on C. in D. by

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4. Turn the switch off: the water is boiling
A. out B. down C. off D. over
(8) Adjectives and adverbs
1. Those towels are for us to use to dry the dishes.
A. so wet B. too wet C. as wet D. wet enough
2. Dick is than both Tom and Alan.
A. fatter B. more fat C. the fattest D. as fat
3. Who is student in the class?
A. the taller B. tallest C. taller D. the tallest
4. I'm sure you're not as Mr Lee.
A. as strong B. strong C. stronger D. the strongest
(9) Pronouns
1. "I've forgotten my sandwiches." , vii,,
"It doesn't matter. You can have "
A. some of us B. us some ,.
C. some of ours D. some of our ' ,:,
2. "Is my camera like Bill's and Ann's?"
"Yes, it's almost the same as '
A. them B. they C. their D. theirs
3. You shouldn't Say nasty things about Jane. She's a friend of
A. her B. you C. ours D. me
4. Mr Smith's wife was ill, so I called an ambulance to take..,. ..... to
hospital.
A. she B. her C. they D. their
(10) Determiners
1. Is that a map of... . ?
- A. West Indies B. a West Indies C. the West Indies D. any West Indies
2. Let's listen to music on the radio.
A. One B. those C. a D. some
3. Sociologists are concerned with the problem of man in

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A. a society B. the society C. society D. some society
4 of the boys in the room has a pen and pencil.
A. Each B. All C. Both D. Every
The following m/c item type2 is another way of testing the use of the article, though it is highly
artificial and should not be used too often. Remember that the student's ability to use the
language should be tested — not his knowledge about the language.
"Is (1) desk made of (2) wood?" "No, it's an iron desk." In this sentence the
A. is necessary at (1) only
B. is necessary at (2) only
C. is necessary at both (1) and (2)
D. is not necessary at either (1) or (2)
(11) Infinitive/-ing forms
1. 1 wanted the actor, but my car broke down.
A. meet B. to meeting C. meeting D. to meet
2. Don't you enjoy television?
A. to watch B. watching C. to watching D. watch
3. Mr Brown made Peter to the dentist's.
A. go B. to go C. went D. going
4. You must give Audrey a lift in your car: you can't allow her
home.
A. walked B. to walk C. to have walked D. walk
(12) Order of adjectives
1. Tony is going on the picnic with boys.
A. two little other B. other two little .'..,'
C. other little two D. two other little
2. Look smart and wear your dress. ,< ,
A. new white cotton B. white new cotton .
C. cotton white new D. white cotton new
Writing English Language Tests
(13) Position of adverbs

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1. A. I have got just dressed.
B. I have just got dressed.
C. I just have got dressed.
D. I have got dressed just.
2. A. Always the old man enjoys watching television at weekends.
B. The old man enjoys watching always television at weekends.
C. The old man enjoys always watching television at weekends.
D. The old man always enjoys watching television at weekends.
The preceding items differ in format from the other items included in the list so far and require
a different rubric. The following m/c item type, however, is preferable. (The testee has to select
the letter showing the best position for the adverb in each sentence.)
Always the old man (A) and his friend (B) enjoy (C) watching (D) television.
(14) Reported Speech
1. "Have you passed?" I asked Bill.
I asked Bill A. had he passed
B. had you passed
C. if he had passed
D. that he had passed
2. "Is that your pen?" Mr White asked Ann.
Mr White wanted to know A. was that Ann's pen
B. is that Ann's pen
C. if that was Ann's pen
D. that was Ann's pen

3.3 Constructing multiple-choice items

Although it is not always possible to use samples of students' own written work to provide the
basis for the test items, it should not be too difficult for constructors of classroom tests and
school achievement tests to take advantage of the type of errors made by students in their free
compositions and open-ended answers to questions.

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The following extract from a student's letter is used here and in later sections to show how test
items can be constructed. The letter was actually written by a student in a country where
English is learnt as a foreign language. The errors have not been "manufactured" for the
purpose of illustration, but they do represent errors made by students from only one particular
language background. The mistakes, therefore, will not be typical of mistakes made by
students from many other language backgrounds and thus the distracters appearing later may
be useless for such students.

Every teste is at least acquainted with the topic and some of the more specialised vocabulary
to be used in the dictation. It is then advisable to read through the whole dictation passage at
normal speed before beginning to dictate (either once or twice) in rhythm units and phrases as
far as possible. (Some teachers consider that they make the dictation easier by reading out the
text word by word: this procedure is extremely harmful and only serves to increase the
difficulty of the dictation by obscuring the meaning of each phrase.) Finally, after the dictation,
the whole extract is read at slightly slower than normal speed.

The following is an example of part of a dictation passage, suitable for use at an intermediate
or fairly advanced level. The oblique strokes" denote the units which the examiner must
observe when dictating.

Before the second half of the nineteenth century /the tallest blocks of offices/were only three
or four storeys high.//As business expanded/ and the- need for office accommodation/grew
more and more acute, / architects began to plan taller buildings.//Wood/and iron,/however,/
were not strong enough materials/from which td construct tall buildings.//Furthermore,/the
invention of steel/no* made it possible to construct frames/so strong that they would
support/the very tallest of buildings.

To sum up, dictation is a teaching device which merits a much closer examination than has
been given to it in the past; the very least of its claims is its capacity to assist in developing

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sound-symbol relationships. However, as a testing device it measures too many different
language features to be effective in providing a means of assessing any one particular skill.

Translation, as a skill on its own, is not perhaps of the greatest use to in any students of
English as a foreign language. Where translation is a necessary skill, however, it is generally
in the field of technical literature, in which translation from the target language (English) into
the mother tongue is demanded. Only on very rare occasions is translation from the mother
tongue into English ever required.

Translation is a special skill in its own right and involves language tasks which students are
not capable of attempting before a certain level of proficiency in the target language.
Unfortunately, when translation is introduced too early in the/curriculum, it is often
responsible for establishing in the student a mental block between the foreign language and
the mother tongue, especially at the elementary and intermediate stages of learning a language.

Many tests of translation tend to be unreliable because of the complex nature, of the skills
involved and the subjectivity of scoring. In too many instances, the unrealistic expectations of
examiners of translation manifest themselves in highly artificial sentence & and literary texts
set for translation. The testee is expected to display an ability to make fine syntactical
judgments and appropriate lexical distinctions - an ability which can only be acquired after
achieving a high degree of proficiency not only in English and the mother tongue but also in
comparative stylistics and translation methods.

If translation is to be tested/at all, the teacher should attempt to identify precisely those features
which he wishes to test: e.g. vocabulary, structure, word order. Test items might then be
constructed in the form of completion items or multiple-choice items. If, however, the total
skills of translation are to be tested, the test writer might at least present a task which is
meaningful and relevant to the situation of the testees. Thus, for example, students might be
required to write a report in the mother-tongue based on information covered in a series of
extracts presented in English. In this case, the test constructor should be aware of the complex

148
range of skills being tested. Above all, word for word translation of difficult literary extracts
should be avoided. If translation is taught in the school, a case may be made out for testing it:
however, translation should not to be taught at all below the intermediate stages of language
learning.

Paraphrase, Precis writing and Summary writing

Tests of paraphrase involve both the writing and the reading skills but lack any degree of
relevance. Too often literary texts are given to the student to re-write in his own words. It may
be asked how the student can possibly express a poem or piece of prose in language which will
compete with the original. His own version, written under all the pressures of test conditions,
is bound to be a very inferior equivalent. Furthermore, such a test is wholly meaningless in the
context of the language tasks demanded of the student in real-life situations. It can be argued
that, if the paraphrase test is intended to test comprehension, this skill is much better tested by
a reading comprehension test. If intended to test the student's writing ability, again this is better
done through a test of writing.

Much the same can be said about precis writing. This test assumes that the various pieces of
writing presented to the student can be considerably reduced in length without much real loss.
Precis is a traditional classroom "skill", taught to students of English as a mother tongue and
extended to foreign-language learners. In both situations, it bears little relation to any real-life
task. Why should a particular passage be rewritten in the student's own words in approximately
one-third of the length of the original? The student is expected to display a variety of skills
which have virtually no connection with those skills involved in learning a language or in using
it.

Even the scoring of precis presents a problem because of the variety of features involved. For
example, how many marks should be awarded for each point of information included by the
student in his precis? How many marks should be deducted for grammatical errors or for a

149
precis which exceeds the required number of words? How many of the words and phrases in
the original text should be allowed in a precis before marks are deducted?

Summary, on the other hand, is a useful skill provided that the tasks set are realistic. Generally
speaking, the student is required to summarise only a part of the extract or certain aspects of
it. Moreover, he is given a specific purpose for writing the summary.
E.g.

Write a brief report of the accident described in the following three eye-witness accounts. The
report must be as objective as possible and should not occupy more than one page, as it is to
be included in a file for submission to the local inspector of police in order to enable him to
decide whether or not to prosecute.

An appropriate number of words for the summary can be given as a guide to the student but
no candidate should be penalised unduly for writing more or fewer words than suggested. In
the scoring of summaries, the student should be allowed to use as many of the original words
and phrases as he wishes, although the test should be so constructed that it is impossible to
reproduce lengthy sections of the original passage(s).

Testing literature

Although objective testing does not appear to lend itself to the testing of literature, much more
work is still required in this field before valid conclusions can be drawn. It is certainly possible
to devise quite sophisticated multiple-choice items testing the different degrees of sensitivity
and literary appreciation. Each distracter can take the form of a particular interpretation of a
certain section of a poem or prose extract which, though not actually incorrect, is neither the
fullest nor the most critical interpretation possible. True/false types of items can be constructed
in a similar way.

150
Testing literary appreciation in this way is an excellent teaching device for developing
students' critical faculties. However, it is important that such an approach should be balanced
by more subjective, open-ended tests. At such advanced stages when literary appreciation is
taught in the school or college curriculum, the students' fluency in the written language should
be of such a standard that little difficulty is experienced in the communication skills
themselves.

At a lower level, objective tests can be set as a means of ascertaining the degree of a student's
familiarity with a reader or text which he is supposed to have read. Such tests can provide a
fast and reliable way of checking the student's reading; they are designed to show whether or
not a student has read a particular text — and nothing else.

151
3.4 Constructing error-recognition m/c items
The fourth sentence of the letter on Page 29 begins Sun is shining, trees become green and the
error caused by the omission of the article may be tested as follows, using a multiple-choice
item: is shining brightly today.
A. Sun B. The sun C. A sun D. Some sun
It may be argued, however, that the choice here is strictly between options A and B. In such
instances where the choice is strictly between two options, one useful device (still using the
multiple-choice format) is the error-recognition type of item.
Error recognition3: item type I
Each sentence contains four words or phrases underlined, marked A, B, C and D. Select the
underlined word or phrase which is incorrect or unacceptable.
1. I_do hope you wouldn't mind waiting for such a long time.
A B CD
2._ I'm frightened that you'll feel angry to me.
A B C T7
3. I didn't see Bill since he went into hospital last month.
"A B C D
4. My car had broken down, so I went there by foot,
ABCD between the various students. Tests which are designed for a large number of testees
(and which are to be standardized) are first tried out on a representative sample of testees. This
small sample mirrors the much larger group for whom the test is intended. The results of the
test are then examined to determine the extent to which it discriminates between individuals
who are different. I When the final version of the test is eventually used, therefore, its
discriminatory powers have already been established. Consequently, there will then be little
need for concern if, for example, it is found that the scores of individuals in a group cluster
around a central point. The test has been proved capable of discriminating; it does not do so in
this case because there is nothing to discriminate.

The extent of the need to discriminate will vary depending on the purpose of the test: in many
classroom tests, for example, the teacher will be much more concerned with finding out how

152
well his students have mastered the syllabus and will hope for a cluster of marks around the
80% and 90% brackets. Nevertheless, there may be occurrences in which the teacher may
require a test to discriminate to some degree so that he can assess relative abilities and locate
areas of difficulty.

9.4 Administration
A test must be practicable: in other words, it must be fairly straightforward to administer. It is
only too easy to become so absorbed in the actual construction of test items that the most
obvious practical considerations concerning the test are overlooked. The length of time
available for the administration of the test is frequently misjudged even by experienced test-
writers, especially if the complete test consists of a number of sub-tests. In such cases sufficient
time may not be allowed for the administration of the test, the collection of the answer sheets,
the reading of the test instructions, etc. In the case of all large-scale tests, the time to be allowed
should be decided on as a result of a pilot administration of the test (i.e. a try-out of the test to
a small but representative group of testees).

Reference
(Including books and articles to which reference has been made in this Book) ;
Published tests
Carroll, J. B. and S. M. Sapon,
Modern Language Aptitude Test (Psychological Corporation, New York, 1959) Pimsleur,
P.,
Language Aptitude Battery (Harcourt, Brace & World, New York,
1966)
Closed tests and examinations
Davies, Alan:
English Proficiency Test Battery (EPTB) Forms A and B Ingram, Elisabeth:
English Language Battery (ELBA) Educational Testing Service (Princeton, New Jersey,
U.S.A.):
Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) University of Michigan:

153
Michigan Test of English Language Proficiency. University of Cambridge Local Examinations
Syndicate:
First Certificate in English
Certificate of Proficiency in English
Joint Matriculation Board (Universities of Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds, Sheffield and
Birmingham):
Test in English (Overseas) Association of Recognized English Language Schools:
ARELS Oral Examination
Bibliographies
Centre for Information on Language Teaching:
Foreign Language Testing - Specialized Bibliography 1 (C.I.L.T., 1971)
Books and articles
Anderson, J.,
"A Technique for Measuring Reading Comprehension and Readability",
English Language Teaching, 25, 2, 1971, 178-82. Bright, J. A. and McGregor, G. P.,
Teaching English as a Second Language, Longman, 1970.

154
 UNIT V

Dealing with Classroom Problems

In ancient times, education was very much at the feet of Guru in the Gurukuls (Ashram
Schools). It was very much personalised, and content, level of achievement and objectives of
learning were different for different learners. The teacher decided methods of teaching and
learning; and learners received knowledge from Guru through oral and personal
communication. Memorization was resorted to since books or pothi were either not available
or were perishable. The education was localized dependent on the teacher expertise available
locally and students had to move to other places in search of Guru and experts in various fields.
The same methods continued to the early centuries of second millennium.

"However with the emergence of industrial society, when more manpower was needed in
various trades, production and service centres, educational institutions started admitting more
students to fulfill the needs of industrial society. The form of education changed from
personalized education to mass education; and a mechanism of a classroom with a large
number of students instructed by a teacher/lecturer was evolved."

(Cited from: Prof. Ram Takwale's lecture "Challenges and opportunities of Globalization for
Higher Education in India - Alternatives through e-education" U.G.C. Golden Jubilee Lecture
Series, UGC, New Delhi, P.7)
In today's formal teaching - learning atmosphere classroom is very important place. It is
physical and psychological ground for teaching and learning activities. In its general form (the
general concept in our mind) it is a place where teacher and some students meet regularly for
a designated period of time over an interval of four to nine months. Within broader limits, the
composition of classroom group in arbitrary and the motivations and needs of the participants
do not determine the schedule of meetings. In addition classroom functions under a "norm of
rationality" which specifies that activities involving all students must go on during meetings
and that these activities must have an educative justification. "Descriptive studies of

155
classrooms have revealed a number of interesting properties of these environments including
multidimensionality, simultaneity, immediacy, unpredictability, and history. A classroom is
multidimensional in that many events occur over time, many purposes are served, and many
people with different styles and desires participate. The sheer quantity of elements, in other
words, is large. In addition, many events in a classroom occur simultaneously. While phrasing
a question, a teacher must monitor different levels of involvement in work, search for an
appropriate student to answer, anticipate interruptions, and judge whether particular students
are violating classroom rules. Similarly, selecting a student to answer a question has potential
consequences for the student's achievement and attitude, the learning of other students, the
direction and momentum of the discussion, and the student’s perceptions of the teacher. The
simultaneous occurrence of multiple elements shortens the time frame and confers immediacy
to the flow of classroom experience. Decisions must be made rapidly with little time for
reflection. At the same time these qualities of classrooms life together with a high frequency
of interruptions make the course of events at a given moment unpredictably. Finally, since the
history of a classroom group extends over several months, actions on one occasion set a
precedent for actions at a later time. Hence early decisions are crucial and flexibility decreases
as the year progresses. Given this combination of properties, a classroom is indeed a complex
environment."

(Cites from V.K. Kaushik and S.R. Sharma, Organisation and Management in Secondary
Schools, N. Delhi: Anmol Publications, 2004, P. 96-97)

Classroom situation is more or less the 'Communication - Situation'. Most of us (the teachers)
while taking our classes were deadly horrified. Different types of internal and external
problems emerge in a classroom. Dr. Issac Sequeira makes a very fine annotation on the
problems being faced by teachers in classrooms.

"In most cases there is absolute pandemonium on that occasion in his encounter with students
the goes to the first class with great trepidation yet with high ideals of bringing the light of
knowledge to his students and what he meets with is a solid wall of resistance - catealls boos,

156
stamping of the feet paper darts and what have you. This is the acid-test - a test not of his
knowledge in his subject but of his patience and dedication to the profession. If he is rarely
dedicated and has a fairly good command over his subject he will soon wither his initial storm
because students will quieten down when they are convinced that the teacher knows what he
is talking about, and is competent in his subject. Getting over the first hurdle is very important,
however, many potential good teachers have given up the profession because they have
allowed this first experience to unnerve them. Many others, though they have not given up the
profession, have allowed the experience to disillusion them so that they have become
uninspired and uninspiring teachers."

(It is cited from the talk of Issac Seqniera given at the inaugural meeting of the planning group,
Osmania University.)
Teaching is very much works on the principles of communication. It is a process not an event.
Teaching can be represented by the following figure:-

Channel
Receiving
Teaching Message of the IDEA
facts by Perception
student

Grasping Medium Decoding

Teaching is successful when the learner understands all the parts of the lesson delivered by
teacher. The problem is when a classroom emerge in the following conditions:
(1) Problems is the part of the teacher
(i) Lack of confidence
(ii) Lack of training
(iii) Lack of subject knowledge
(iv) Lack of communication ability
(v) Lack of interest / teaching aptitude

157
(vi) Lack of motivation
(2) Problem in the part of the audience (the students)
(i) Lack of attention
(ii) Poor I.Q.
(iii) High I.Q.
(iv) Unmotivated
(v) Need / Interest
(vi) Social environment
(vii) Expectations
(viii) Number
(3) Organisational Problems
(i) Noise problem in classroom
(ii) Seating problem in classroom
(iii) Lack of proper ventilation

A problem is that teacher play a major role in the failure of teaching and classroom
disturbances. A teacher should be the master of his/her subject and should don full confidence.
Complete training of teaching; formal and informal, is also necessary. Teacher should be
motivated towards teaching. He should have taken teaching as a choice not as a burden. A
good teacher is a good motivator. He/she should understand his responsibility towards the
students and society. He should also take up teaching as a challenge and feel a sense of
achievement after delivering every lecture / teaching every class.
Students willingly or unwillingly also lead to the failure of classroom teaching. In a classroom
generally four types of students are found. It is presented as below.

158
 Students in class

Active Dull Disturbing

Hyper active
(They are the (These are the (They are so
(Their I.Q. level is
ideal students. students with because of several
very high. They can
They read the less I.Q. They factors. Sometimes
understand the
lesson well in the it is because they
lesson in lesser time try to learn the
are mere intelligent
than expected by class, remain lesson but most but less motivated
the teacher and they mentally of time the towards studies. In
keep on showering academically and lesson bounces some cases they are
questions. The physically active. above their not cultured and
problem lies in the They are mind.) they aim at
fact of their being in
disciplined and disturbing the class
the class. If the
responding.) only. In some cases
teacher responds
I have found that
only to them the
they have been
other students of the
forced to be there is
class feel ignored
the school by their
and they create
parents.)
problems.)

A successful teacher is a good manager. He manages all these categories of students and
devices a via media for successful teaching in the class. To overcome classroom problems the
teacher should devise a lesson in such a way that every category of the students could find
some food for thought in a way or the other.

Organisational/physical status of the schools also create hindrances in successful teaching

learning process. In most of the conditions I have seen the schools running in 2-3 rooms.
Sometimes the norms and standards for constructing school buildings are ignored. In such case
the situation turns ugly and indirectly that leads to classroom problems.

A teacher must have adequate knowledge or his/her lesson. He must be able to talk
knowledgeably and must be worth listening too if he is to make impression on and further the
learning process of his students. When he casts an impression upon his students he can
motivate them well. In my very personal view for a successful class, motivation is more

159
important than mere classroom teaching. In the present academic environment and overall
social milieu most of the students come to the schools and colleges just for entertainment. It is
sometimes a case of "status symbol" or "at worst postponed unemployment." In such situation
it is a teacher who can guide them and conduct their counselling. I will cite here Gilbert Highet,
who writes in his Preface to The Art of Teaching:
"I believe teaching is an art, not a science. It seems very dangerous to me to apply the aims
and methods of science to human beings as individuals. Teaching is not like inducting a
chemistry reaction, it is much more like painting a picture, or making a piece of music or on a
lower level like planting a garden or writing a friendly letter. You must throw your heart into
it, you must realize that it cannot all be done by formulas, or you will spoil your work, and
your pupils and yourself."
(The art of Teaching, New York: Alford A. Knopf, 1950)
I suggest the following points to combat the classroom problems.
(1) The teacher should realise that he is a teacher.
(2) He should be flexible in his behaviour.
(3) A teacher should have complete knowledge of his subject. He should be trained and
confident.
(4) A teacher should be adept in the art of questioning.
(5) A teacher should involve the students in the process of teaching.
(6) A teacher should arise such issues that motivate and force the students to thinking.
(7) A teacher should be honest in praising the students.
(8) A teacher should avoid any type of bias or prejudice.
(9) A teacher should adopt different methods of teaching.
(10) A teacher should use audios-visual aids as per the requirement of the teaching content.
(11) A teacher should be a good manager.
(12) Teacher should be disciplined and punctual.

Questions :
(1) What are the major classroom problems?
(2) What suggestion will you give to combat the classroom problem?

160
(3) How was the system of education in ancient times?
(4) How Industrial Revolution affected the educational system?
(5) Comment on 'mass education'.
(6) What are the properties of a classroom?
(7) What problems generally a new teacher faces in the classroom?
(8) Mention the classroom problems emerging in the part of the students.
(9) Enumerate major organisational problems.
(10) What are the major categories of students in the class?
(11) "A successful teacher is a good manger" discuss.
(12) "Teaching is an art" Comment.

161
Large Classrooms and Co-operative Learning strategies

21st Century is the time of knowledge and skill society. Knowledge and educated people are
the resources for development. Societies and nations depend on institutions imparting quality
education for creating knowledge and knowledge people. It is a well established fact that
people's endowment of skills and capabilities and investment in education and training
constitute the key to economic and social development. Skills and training increases
productivity and income and facilitates everybody's participation in economic and social life.

With such a trend and expectations in the air, an unprecedented number of students is thronging
to the classrooms from the very school level to the universities and colleges. Even not wanting
to do it, the educational administration finds it a binding to admit the students and therefore
irrespective of the ideally laid down norms and regulation the classes become bigger and
bigger, and it is seen in such cases that generally occurs a great decline.

Educational institutions will have to adopt constantly to environmental charges to face decline.
Serious and constant efforts to periodically review its goals, policies and processes have
become the call of the hour. There is an urgent need for sustaining internal innovations,
experimentation, quality and relevance. Institutions have to be programmed for automatic self
of concern here is a very practical problem that everybody associated with the process of
teaching and learning understands and faces - the problem of large classrooms. Irrespective of
the set norms of 30-40 students in a class, the classrooms are seen packed with 150-200
students is most of the situation. In such a condition the spirit of teaching dwindles and the
very process itself proves night mare.

To maintain the ideals of good teaching a teacher needs proper planning. For this, the following
aspects of management are very much required.
(i) Planning (Programming, decision making)
(ii) Organising
(iii) Co-ordinating (administering)

162
(iv) Directing (Commanding)
(v) Controlling (reappraising, monitoring)
(vi) Communicating (reporting)

By bringing these managerial cardinal points into practice the teacher can bring the concept of
co-operating learning into practice.

Co-operative learning is task based learning and teaching. Here a large class can be divided in
different groups and subgroups. A teacher should be very careful in selecting the pupils for a
group. It should be a groups of different I - Q level students; a totally heterogeneous groups.
The groups should be trained and facilitated in such a way that they could evolve their
leadership themselves.

Kassin Shravan and Ghazi Ghaith define co-operative learning in the following way -
"An instructional approach that emphasizes conceptual learning and development of social
skills as learners work together in small heterogeneous groups according to the principles of
positive interdependence, individual accountability, face-to-face promotive interaction, and
group processing (Johnson, Johnson & Stanne, 2000)".
TESL Reporter 38, 2(2005) p. 15.

The following table devised by Johnson D.W., Johnson R.T. and Stanne M.B. in their research
paper entitled, "Co-operative Learning Methods: A Meta Analysis", (Retrieved September 13,
2004, from http://www.clcrc.com/pages/cl-methods.html) gives a complete view of different
co-operative learning models, their history and developers.

163
 Table 1: Modern Methods of Cooperative Learning

Researcher Date Method ESL/EFL Primary

Developer Applications

Johnson & Mid 1970s Learning Together Reading, Writing,

Johnson Speaking, Culture

DeVries & Edward Early Teams -Games- Language, Rules and

1970s Tournaments (TGT) Mechanics

Sharan & Sharan Mid 1970s Group Investigation Writing, culture

(GI)

Johnson & Late Constructive Culture

Johnson 1970s Controversy (CC)

Aronson, Blaney, Late Jigsaw Procedure Reading, Literature

Sikes, Stephan & 1970s
Snapp; Slavin

Slavin Late Student Teams- Language, Rules and

1970s Achievement Divisions Mechanics
(STAD)

Cohen Early Complex Instruction Social skills, Culture,

1970s (CI) Reading, Writing.
Language Rules and
Mechanics

Slavin, Leavy, & Mid 1970s Team Accelerated None

Madden Instruction (TAI)

Kagan Mid 1970s Cooperative Learning Speaking, Listening,

Structures Reading, Writing

164
 Stevens, Madden, Mid 1970s Curriculum Packages: Reading, writing,
Slavinn, & Farnish Cooperative Integrated spelling, Vocabulary,
Reading and Literature
Composition (CIRC)

Learning Together
This CL model organize instruction according to the principles of heterogeneous grouping,
positive interdependence, individual accountability, social/collaborative ability as determined
by past achievement as well as based on some demographic variables such as gender, race,
ethnicity, and so forth. Positive interdependence among group members is structured through
setting a common goal, assuming a common identity, using the same space and resources,
getting the same reward and so forth. Individual accountability is structured through individual
testing, random responses to teachers' questions, and reporting on behalf of the group. Finally,
learners do group processing to reflect on their achievement as a group and plan for further
cooperation. In the context ESL/EFL instruction, learners may learn together in a classroom
climate of academic and personal support in order to read and comprehend a certain text, write
an essay, and/or prepare a group project or presentation about certain aspects of the target
culture (i.e., beliefs, conventions of behaviour, attitudes, values, and so forth).

Teams-Games-Tournaments (TGT)
In this method, instruction is organized into the five major components of lesson planning -
class presentation, team study, tournament, determining individual improvement points, and
team recognition. Initially, the teacher introduces the material under study in a class
presentation, following which learners work together to complete worksheets in heterogeneous
groups of four members each, making sure that all team members have understood the
material. A tournament is then held at the end of a week or unit during which team
representatives of similar levels of ability (high, average, low) compete together to earn points
for their teams. Finally, the achievement of various teams is determined by calculating the
average improvements earned by the members of the teams. TGT is most appropriate for
teaching spelling and the language rules and mechanics of the target language.

165
Group Investigation (GI)

This method divides work among group members who plan and carry out investigations,
complete individual specific tasks, and then reconvene to discuss their work, coordinate the
various tasks, and present a final group project. First, the teacher presents a problem to the
learners who work in heterogeneous groups to scan topics, identity resources, assign primary
responsibilities, individually research issues, and then reconvene to prepare and present a
group project. In the ESL/EFL context, GI is particularly well-suited for completing complex
tasks such as writing a research paper, preparing a presentation about some relevant theme or
issue, or developing culture capsules, mini-dramas, and clusters to learn about certain aspects
of the target culture.

Constructive Controversy (CC)

Learners in Constructive Controversy (CC) are assigned to heterogeneous groups of four

members each and each group is divided into two pairs. Instruction proceeds by stating an
issue and assigning a position to be advocated by each pair. First, learners research and prepare
the best possible case for their assigned position, present their best case to the two other
members of their team, engage in open and free discussion, reverse roles to have the best case
possible for the opposing position presented, and finally drop all advocacy and strive together
to find a synthesis on which they can all agree by summarizing the best evidence and reasoning
from both sides. CC is particularly well-suited for researching and debating certain aspects of
the native language culture and the largest language culture, thereby increasing ESL/EFL
learners' knowledge of cross-cultural variations in the belief systems, norms, and values as
well enhancing the learners' general research and communication skills.

166
Jigsaw Procedure

This procedure can be used whenever the material under study is in a narrative or expository
form. Instruction proceeds according to the following stages of lesson planning: reading the
assigned material, expert group discussion, team reporting, and finally team recognition as in
TGT. Jigsaw is most appropriate for teaching literature, biography, a chapter in a book, or any
other similar narrative, expository, or descriptive textual material.

Student Teams-Achievement Divisions (STAD)

This method is very similar to the TGT method described above except that instead of the
tournament in the TGT, learners in STAD take individual quizzes and tests in order to
determine their mastery of the material under study. Like TGT, STAD is most appropriate for
teaching the language rules and mechanics of the largest language.

Complex Instruction (CI)

In Complex Instruction (CI) learners use multiple-ability curricula that are designed
specifically to foster the development of higher-order thinking skills through group work
activities organized around a central concept or big idea. Most importantly, the tasks require a
wide array of intellectual abilities so that students from diverse backgrounds and different
levels of academic proficiency can make meaningful contributions to the group task. In
addition, learners are trained in using CL instructional strategies in order to acquire group work
norms and management skill. CI ensures equal access to learning through status treatments to
broaden learners' perceptions of what it means to be smart, and to convince learners that they
each have important intellectual contributions to make to the multiple-ability task. In the
context of ESL/EFL, CI can be used to teach all the language skills in addition to language
structure given that instruction is organized around certain general sociological principles and
is not designed to suit any particular type of knowledge or skills apart from social interaction
and group participation.

167
Team Accelerated Instruction (TAI)

TAI is a program specifically designed to teach mathematics to students in grade 3-6 or older.
As such, it is not directly relevant to ESL/EFL instruction.

Cooperative Learning Structures

The CL structural approach is based on using a variety of generic and content-free ways of
managing classroom interaction called structures. These structures can be used for team and
class building, communication, mastery learning, and critical thinking. Examples of these
structures are Round Robin, Mixer Review, Talking Tokens, and many other structures that
are explained in Kagan (1985). Round Robin can be used to generate ideas for writing as well
as a pre-reading technique to build a reader's background knowledge in ESL/EFL Classes.
Likewise, Mixer Review can be used to review material already studied and ensure that
learners have achieved mastery of vocabulary, spelling, and language rules and mechanics.
Finally, Talking Tokens can be used to organize group discussions, promote accountable talk,
and ensure equal opportunities of participation and practice for all learners.

Curriculum Packages

These are specific programs for teaching mathematics and language and include the
Cooperative Integrated Reading and Writing (CIRC) program. CIRC is a comprehensive
program for teaching reading and writing based on reading literature and basal readers.
Learners work cooperatively in pairs to read for each other, summarize stories, write responses
to literature, and practice their spelling, decoding, and vocabulary development skill.
Likewise, they develop comprehension and writing skills through reading and process writing
workshops.

168
Importance of Co-operative Learning:
1. It promotes classroom interaction and enhances learners' cognitive and communicate
development. (Kegal 1985, Kessler, 1992, MC Groarty, 1993)
2. Co-operative learning makes it possible "for learners to have maximum opportunities for
meaningful input and output in a highly interactive and supportive environment". (Ghaith,
2003)
3. Classroom interaction increases linguistic competence of the students and becomes a
catalyst is increasing their overall academic performance.
4. Co-operative learning is very effective in developing positive attitude towards learning
and towards other learners. (Gunderson & Johnson, 1980)
5. It enhances intrinsic motivation. (Clement, Dornyee & Novels, 1998, Szostek and Noels,
1994, Vshiode, 1996)
6. It creates solidarity among team members through their working together to achieve group
goals.
7. It also decreases levels of anxiety and increases self confidence. (Deci & Ryan, 1985)
8. It increases social backing for academic achievement. (Daniel, 1994)
9. It is very important device in EFL, ESL classroom.
10. It also develops a civic and humanitarian feeling.
11. It facilitates the participants in developing the faculty of listening.
12. Co-operative learning is very beneficial is developing conferencing skill.
Acknowledgement:
For the partial content and references of this section on co-operative learning we are very
grateful to the editorial board of TESL Reporter, a publication of the Department of English
language Teaching and Learning. Brigham Young University, Hawait (Vol. 38, No. 2,
October, 2005) and also to Mr. Kassim Shaaban and Ghazi Ghaith the authors of the paper
"The Theoretical Relevance and Efficacy of Using Co-operative Learning in the ESL/EFL
classroom" published therein.

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Questions:
(1) What do you mean by "Co-operative Learning"?
(2) Define co-operative Learning?
(3) Write a note on the Modern Methods of Co-operative Learning?
(4) "Co-operative Learning is the need of the hour" discuss.
(5) "Co-operative learning is best possible social method of instruction" do you agree, if yes
give reasons.

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The Role of Teacher

Countries, civilization and monarchs which have been able to provide sublime education to a
great number of citizen and engaged in higher education and research have been in the
forefront of development. Those who would not adequately invest in higher education and
research have lagged behind. The present environment is pushing human society into a
knowledge society and teacher is its architect.

The success of any educational system depends on the quality of the teacher which in turn,
depends on the effective teaching - learning process is a classroom. The POA (Programme of
Action) of UNESCO assumes that Teacher's performance is the most crucial input is the field
of education whatever policies may be laid down, in the ultimate analysis, these have to be
interpreted and implemented by teachers as must through their personal example as through
teaching learning process.

The National Policy on Education (NPE, 1960) suggests that the status of the teacher reflects
the socio - cultural ethos of a society. Teachers stand as living institution in the course of
education and scholarship. They stand for humanism, for tolerance, for reason, for knowledge,
for the adventure of ideas, for the search of truth. They stand for leading of human race towards
even higher objects. If they discharge these duties it is well with the nation and the people.

These teachers have secured a great place and reciprocally they have to play a sublime part in
nation building. It is the human resources that make a country great and prosperous. I would
like to quote a line from great America poet Emerson -
"Not Gold but only men can make
A people great and strong."

And it is the teacher who make these men. We cannot forget the role of Acharya Kautilya and
Aristotle respectively is moulding the fate of Chandragupta Vikramaditya and Alexander. The
following three metaphors can be used to determine the role of a teacher.

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1. as a beacon light to society
2. as a seer
3. as an architect of civilization

Teachers are highly regarded persons of society and therefore teaching has been called a noble
profession. It has become today the largest profession. In ancient civilizations, the world over,
teachers were given very great position is society. In ancient India, it was mixed up with
religion. Later, it became separated from religion with the passage of time it became a
profession. At the early stage, it was the profession of Rishis, the enlightened members of
society. At the pace of time the profession was democratised. The members of different class
and status on the basis of their knowledge power came to be teachers but the spirit obviously
remains the same.
Before clearly focussing the role of teacher one should understand as well the responsibilities
of a teacher.

"Good teacher are keen and enthusiastic, well organised, firm but fair, stimulating, know their
stuff and are interested is the welfare of their pupils."
(Effective Teacher & Teaching, V.K. Rao, R.S. Reddy, New Delhi: Commonwealth
Publication, 1992, Preface.)

With the emergence of WWW education has become limitless and also a commodity. It has
emerged as a competitive market therefore in the world only good teacher with quality
education will survive.

The following responsibilities of a teacher can be understood as their role in the society.
(i) He/she should try to develop individuals as well as to teach them to learn content.
(ii) He himself remain a curious learner all life through. Here I will cite Harold Hazen to
back my view - He says more than ever the life of the professor must be the life a student."
Further he should attain mastery in his subject thoroughly he should "take plenty of time to
prepare, no matter how often he has covered the subject before."

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(The Journal of Engineering Education Oct. 1959, P. 15, Richard M. Sutton Reflections on
Teaching I have seen Jr. of England Education, June 1951, P. 959)
(iii) He should use variety of instructional aids.
(iv) He is also responsible for using imagination and resourcefulness is presenting learning
situation.
(v) Teacher should cultivate his own individuality he must love to teach and love her
subject. The style of teaching is most important.
(vi) Further he should adopt such a holistic approach in education which can combine the
values with the state of the art development in every field of human life.
Recognising the above said roles and responsibilities of our we can realise the glorious position
of teacher i.e.
"Gurur Brahmha Gurur Vishnu
Guru Devo Maheshwarah
Guru Sakshat Parabrahmha
Tasmin Sri Gurvo Namoh."
That is Guru is every great deity. I worship him.
(vii) I further say that the great principle of duty discipline decency decorum should never
be forgiven by a teacher and he should very well note it that punctuality is the key to success
forgotten.
(viii) A teacher has collective responsibility to their students, which should cross subject
boundaries and particular vested interest groups in the school.
(ix) A teacher has commitment to self evaluation and regulation within the occupational
group.
To accept the profession of teaching is to move on razor's edge. In my view a teacher is
expected to maintain and inculcate the role of:
(i) veracity and honesty
(ii) intellectual operations
(iii) derivation of contentment from learning and knowledge
(iv) transferable skill
(v) self organisation

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(vi) self discipline
(vii) alacrity of mind
(viii) Altruism
(ix) Personal responsibility

Being a teacher is being a torch and also being a torch bearer for the coming generations
"Teaching is a form of public service which requires from a teachers expert knowledge and
specialized skills, acquired and maintained through rigorous and continuing study, it calls also
for a sense of personal and corporate responsibility for the education and welfare of the pupils
is their charge." (ILO, 1984, p.6)
E. Faure writes on the nature of teaching and teachers.

"One of the essential tasks for educators present is to change the mentalities and qualifications
inherent in all professions; thus they should be the first to be ready to rethink and change the
criteria and basic situation of the teaching profession, in which the job of educating and
stimulating students is steadily superseding that of a simple given instruction."
The same scholar further writes:
"A teacher should be able to teach the highest level whatever his field in education; this should
depend only on his personal worth. Ideally the teaching function should be regarded in the
same way, as deserving the same dignity, whatever the particular sphere in which it is carried
on, legislative, professional, labour union and social action should gradually reduce and finally
abolish hierarchal distinctions maintained for no valid reason among the various categories of
teachers."
(E. Foure, 1972, Learning to Be UNESCO, Paris, p. 216)

A well known UNESCO document entitled "Recommendation Concerning the status of

Teachers" determines the following roles and responsibilities of teachers.
1. Recognising that the status of their profession depends to a considerable extent upon
teachers themselves, all teachers should seek to achieve the highest possible standards
in all their professional work.

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2. Professional standards relating to teacher performance should be defined and maintained
with the participation of teachers' organisations.
3. Teachers and teacher organisations should seek to co-operate fully with authorities in
the interests of pupils, of the education service and of society generally.
4. Codes of ethics or of conduct should be established by the teachers' organisations, since
such codes greatly contribute to ensuring the prestige of the profession and the exercise
of professional duties in accordance with agreed principles.
5. Teachers should be prepared to take their part in extra-curricular activities for the benefit
of pupils as adults." (P.9)

The ILO report on "The teachers in developing countries" (1991) finds the role of teachers
upto the highest pedestal. An excerpt is being given below:
"The teaching profession should enjoy academic freedom in the discharge to professional
duties. Since teachers are particularly qualified to judge the teaching aids and methods must
suitable for their pupils, they should be given the essential role in the choice and the adaptation
of teaching material, the selecting of text books and the application of teaching methods, within
the framework of approved programmes, and with the assistance of educational authorities."
(ILO 1991: "Teachers in Developing Countries", Geneva)

International Commission on Education for the Twenty First Century recommends the
following.
"While the psychological and material situation of teachers differ greatly from country to
country, and upgrading of their status is essential if 'learning throughout life' is to fulfil the
central function assigned to it by the Commission in the advancement of our societies and the
strengthening of mutual understanding among peoples. Their position as master or mistress in
the classroom should be recognised by society and they should be given the necessary authority
and suitable resources.
The concept of learning throughout life leads straight on to that of a learning society, a society
that offers many and varied opportunities of learning, both at school and in economic, social

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and cultural life, whence the need for more collaboration and partnerships with families,
industry and business, voluntary associations, people active in cultural life, etc."

Therefore a teacher is the person who can make a clay ball a human being, be it the play
Pygmalion of George Bennard Shaw or the Sanskrit Subhashitani, the teacher is second only
to God Great philosopher and north Indian saint poet Kabir Das' statement makes the final
quote on the role of a teacher.
"Guru Kumhar Sisa Kumbh hai, Garh Garh Karahi Chat
Antar haath sahaar dai, bahar maria chot."

That means, a student is a clay pitcher and teacher makes it while preparing it, he eradicates
the oddities giving palm's base inside and trapping from outside.
(Delors, J. 1996 Report of the International Commission on Education, UNESCO, Paris, P.
153)

Questions :
(1) "The success of any educational system depends on teachers discuss.
(2) What does National Policy on Education (NPE 1960) suggest about teacher?
(3) "Teacher stands as living institution in the cause of education and scholarship"
comment.
(4) What responsibilities a teacher has towards society?
(5) What roles are expected from a teacher?
(6) What responsibilities of a teacher are suggested in the UNESCO (1966) document?
(7) How can a teacher make a 'New World'?
(8) What are the provisions of ILO Report on the teachers in Developing Countries?
(9) Write an essay on the role and responsibilities of a teacher.
(10) "To be a teacher is to walk on the razors edge discuss.

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Using Politically Correct Language

More than three thousand languages of the world differ greatly in practical implications. Most
of them are dying out either because the groups, that speak them are loosening the grip or,
more commonly, because the speakers have adopted any other language; due to the flexibility
and all inclusiveness of that. English is now one of the growing world languages. It has made
great leaps with the advancement of the scientific knowledge and enhancement of global
culture. Its flexibility and sustainability to change is another favourable factor. We should be
very clear on the fact that like other aspects of human culture, language is also subject to
change. Our clothes, our food, our technology and our speech differ from generation to
generation just as they do from age to age. This change is sometimes radiant, sometimes mild,
sometimes fast and sometimes slow, sometimes opaque, sometimes inherent but the ulterior
motif is to provide something new abreast with the milieu.

This change is sometimes so soft and quiet that it cannot be seized. It cannot be roped in
chronological and spatial chains. Try to rope it and it disappears. If we try to seize the
sociolinguistic changes in language, in most of the cases we shall have dust. Sometimes in
finding out the fashionable changes in language, we meet failure and see our own image
grinning upon us.

Language is very sensitive, who wants to relish, must go softly towards it. Any gesture of
violence and violent assertion of some dogma is shown and the language is gone. The same
we have seen in the cases of Sanskrit, Persian, Greek and Latin like classical languages that
got extinguished for the want of flexibility.

Languages are very sensitive to the social ethos. It grows like a plant in its own natural pace.
The moment we try to check it, it extinguishes or corrupts.

English has traditionally enjoyed a great privilege of autonomy. To quote David Crystal, "Only
a few centuries ago the English language consisted of a collection of dialects spoken mainly

177
by monolinguals and only within the shores of a small island. Now it includes such
typologically district varieties as pidgins and creoles, new english and a range of differing
standard and non standard varieties that are spoken on a regular basis in more than 60 different
countries around the world." 1

This is due to the copiousness and the cosmopolite a character of its vocabulary. "The English
language has not existed in isolation but has always been in close contact with other European
languages. Contact must be taken into account when we consider the origin of the English
language. It is self evident that English is not a single object with a single origin. English
vocabulary, expressions and idioms come from a wide range of sources; mainly Latin, French
and Germanic, but also Hindi, Hungarian and Native American and Australians languages.
English pronunciation is largely Anglo-Saxon but also in part Danish and French. English
Grammar is basically Germanic, but it has been modified by French and Latin".2

By Politically correct language I mean here a language that is pure and not offending even
single member of society. Democracy is in the air every where in the world and the larger good
of larger number is our concern today.

Oxford Advanced learners' Dictionary defines the word "political correctness" as "noun [U]
(sometimes disapproving) the principle of avoiding language and behaviour that may offend
particular groups of people".
(OALD, P. 976)

Language should be used in such a way that is soothing, sweet and cool. It is said by a saint
poet in North India.
"Aisee baani boliye man ka appa khoy,
Auran ko sheetal karai, aapahu sheetal hoi"

That is to say that one should speak such a tongue that is itself cool, having full potential for
soothing others.

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Recently there have been greater efforts to mould languages in such a shape. English has been
a great example of it.

English language has been very liberal to the demand of situation; sensing to the need of time
and clime, and therefore, it has become a global language. English has become now the
medium of oral and written communication for various purposes at the international level. In
this sense it is more than the national language of Great Britain. The UNO has recognised it as
an international language alongwith French, German, Russian, and Chinese. In this capacity
English is the lingua franca and the language of the official dispatch in diplomacy,
international trade and commerce, and it is because of the fact that "the speakers and writers
of English have long abhorred the notion of any formal regulation of their language... English
speakers have tended to accept theirs as an imperfect, ever changing chameleon of a language.
English, as a tongue will be able to shift with the demands of the day, to bend under the assault
of the new, and to demonstrate an uncanny residence simply by way of its boundless utility."3

But the process has not been always smooth. In the course of international and inter generation
flow of the language so many cultural problems have emerged before the traditional usages of
English; it may be native vs. non native usages, sexist vs. non sexist usages, the question of
naming or the gender specific use of the language, draws our immediate attention. The
American English (Am E) is extremely experimenting on different cultural nuances of
language. Primarily the 'androgynous'4 factor is working behind this phenomenon. The
Linguistics Society of America has made a seminal forté in this field. "The following
guidelines were approved by the Executive Committee as suggestions for the preparation of
written and oral presentation in Linguistics (5/95) and updated (4/02):
1. When possible, use plurals (people, they) and other appropriate alternatives rather than
only masculine pronouns and "pseudo-generics" such as man, unless referring specifically
to males. In glossing forms from another language, it is possible to use forms such as
(third person singular) in place of pronouns, thus avoiding the introduction of gender
specificity or asymmetry when it is absent in the original. For example, sentences

179
 referring to an individual whose sex is not identified are incorrectly translated into English
sentences with the person he which unambiguously conveys maleness with reference to
specific individuals. Some writers have found the use of he or she or he s/he she/he/it or
he/she/it to be helpful in this regard. Others find it useful to alternate the gender of
pronouns where appropriate.
2. Avoid generic statements that inaccurately evoke only one sex (eg. "Speakers use
language for many purpose - to argue with their wives" or "Americans use lots or
obscenities but not around women.").
3. Whenever possible use terms that avoid sexual stereo typing. Such terms as server,
professor and nurse can be effectively used as gender neutral; marked terms like waitress,
lady professor and male nurse cannot.
4. Use parallel forms of reference for women and man; eg. cite all scholars by surname only
or all by first name or initial plus surname.
5. In constructing example sentences avoid gender-stereotyped characterizations.
6. Avoid peopling your example exclusively with one sex, or consistently putting reference
to males before reference to females."5

These guidelines if followed carefully can very efficiently avoid sexist practices. Sexist
practices in writing indicate those modes of writing that are unfavourable to either of the sexes;
intentionally or obliquely by indirect effect. Under the present world forces where democracy,
subaltern studies, feminist studies and third sex studies are in the air the sexist expressions in
language are uncivilized and offensive. It is very important for the writers to take care of their
expressions. It is further mentioned in the LSA Guidelines for non-sexist usage:
"Although Linguists (like all scholars) need to guard against sexist linguistic and scholarly
practices in their main texts and accompanying citations and acknowledgements, sexism in the
linguistic literature is most often obvious in constructed example sentences. Sometimes this is
the result of an effort to inject humour in otherwise dry prose, sometimes it is due to the use
of traditional examples and sometimes it is due to inattention."6

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The sexist usages can ruin the very intention of the writer or the speaker. In this context the
following example given by Gayle G. Yates is worth noticing:
"A seven-year-old girl child brought home a note from school that said, "Help your child with
his reading. He will learn to love books if books are a regular part of his home atmosphere."

Her serious response was, "That note isn't about me. I'm not a 'he'."7

Varda One, a feminist freelancer from USA who writes 'Manglish' column for Everywoman
proposes three possible suggestions for checking the use of "man" generically.

"1. Use man specially only, use a word for woman, use person or human or refer to both sexes.
2. Use man generically only, specify when referring to one sex by using a modifier such as
male man or female man.
3. Use man generically only invent a new word for man in the specific sense and for woman."8
The use of "he/she" or he or she in place of avoiding he for both sexes has also been assailed
by the lingua-sensitive feminists. In this regard I reproduce the statement of Lynn T. white, as
cited by Gayle G. Yates:
"The grammar of English dictates that when a referent is either of indeterminate sex or both
sexes, it shall be considered masculine. The penetration of this habit of language into the minds
of little girls as they grow up to be women is more profound than most people, including most
women have recognised: for it implies that personality really a male attribute, and that women
are human sub-pieces. It would be a miracle if a girl - baby, learning to use the symbols of our
tongue could escape some wound to her self respect: whereas a boy baby's ego is bolstered by
the pattern of our language."9

Thus we see that the use of male pronouns to mean both male and females cut a very sorry
figure in sexist usages of English. We can save our writings from sexist malady upto some
extent by adopting the following measures:
(i) As far it is possible repeat the upon rather than using the pronoun.
(ii) Use plural pronouns (if possible) in place of singular.

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(iii) Use 'one' as pronoun (but not frequently)
(iv) Use plural pronoun for singular antecedent.
I am compiling a table below that exposes the sensitive usages of some words.
Sl. Word/phrase/ The revised and more
No. construction acceptable version
wrongly used
1 Man and wife Husband and wife
2 Salesman Salesperson
3 Sculptress Sculptor
4 Danseuse Dancer
5 Actress Actor
6 Poetess Poet
7 Chairman Chairperson, Chairone
8 Spokesman Spokesperson
9 Craftsman Artisan
10 Forefather Ancestor
11 Manmade Artificial / Handmade
12 Weatherman Meteorologist
13 Policeman / policewoman Police officer
14 Adopted child Child
15 Illegitimate child Child of unmarried parents
16 Mentally retarded Mentally challenged
17 Handicapped Physically challenged
18 Blind Visually
19 Deaf impaired
20 Fat/obese Hearing impaired
Over weight

In other case referring the use of Mrs./Miss Robet A. Day suggests, "If you want to write
sensitively, use the little "Ms." in everything you write, from informal letters and memos to
journal articles and books. A rare exception might be made for a woman who has made it
182
known that she insists on being addressed in the older terminology. Otherwise, marital status
of other people in none of your business."10
The use of Ms. for all women as a parallel to Mr. has been popularised by feminist writers.
Basically it was coined by Roy F. Bailey, a Kansas journalist in 1950. On the feminist relation
of the use of 'Ms.' Gayle G. Yates remarks:
"Unmarried women are addressed as 'Miss', married women as 'Mrs', and even divorced
women as 'Mrs', while there is no linguistic distribution between married and unmarried men.
Again is, embedded in this linguistic practice an assumption that a man's identity is individual
in manhood, while women's identity is dependent on her relationship to a man. For naming
her, calling her who she is, identifying her woman must indicate whether or not she is or was
married. This linguistic problem is related to the legal and social problem of a women being
expected to assume her husband's name at marriage while the male continues to have the same
name throughout his lifetime."11
To make language more sensitive, the use of cliches and jargons should also be discouraged.
A cliche is "a phrase whose aptness in a particular context when it was first invented has won
it such popularity that it has become hackneyed and is used without thought in contexts where
it is no longer apt."12 Cliches like 'not justifiable assumption, 'leaves much to be desired',
'achieve a radical transformation', 'toe the line', 'intents and purpose', 'leave no stone unturned',
last but not the least' very frequently come to our mind. Their usage show that the writers are
not much sincere to the writing or the receiver but he is making the formal manifestation only.
Exceptionally some cliches are very apt in conveying meaning, if it is the case one should not
hesitate in using them.

Use of jargons is another bottleneck for the language sensitivity. Jargons are technical and
specialised words. Sir Ernest Gowers one of the profounders of plain English, and a 'great
crusader against linguistic nonsense has defined jargons in the following way;
"The proper meaning of Jargon is writing that employs technical words not commonly
intelligible. For instance is grammarian's Jargon for using a word in a wrong sense. When
grammarians call writing Jargon merely because it is verbose, circumlocutory and flabby, they
themselves commit the sin of Catachresis that can denounce in others."13

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For maintaining the sensitivity of language Jargons, should be fully weeded out of our
communication.

In the medical field also by some sparing and sincere use of words we can make our language
more sensitive. I cite here a suggestion given by Robert A. Day:
"In the medical and nursing professions, patients should not be dehumanised. A patient should
be a patient, not a case. Use man or woman, not male or female. Use boys or girls not male or
female children. Use children not paediatric population. Use a specific age such as a 78-year-
old man not aged person, senior citizen or geriatric case."14

Medical practitioners should also take case of the age, aptitude and competence of the patient
in writing the prescriptions, instructions etc.
Generally speaking, in all the situations and professions the 'Sender'15 should adopt 'You point
of view'16 and if devised so, the language of the communication will be closer to sensitivity.

Under the present situation, globally it is being accepted that the best kind of language is one
which expresses no sign of the author's personality and even existence; this I will express in
T.S Eliot’s phrase 'Negative Capability'. Good language is firm, clear and unambiguous, a
language which is tidy and exact, with no synonyms and with all the possibilities of
misunderstanding repealed. The sensitivity of language is therefore, not the sensitivity of folk
but the sensitivity of cult, the sensitivity of exactness, the sensitivity of objectivity logic and
precision.
Notes and References
1. David, Crystel : "How many millions? The statistics of English Today", English Today

1:7-11, 1985

2. Gerry, Knowles: A Cultural History of the English Language, London: Arnold 1997, p.3

3. Simon, Winchester: "Introduction" to H.W. Fowler's, A Dictionary of Modern English

Usage, Oxford: Oxford, 2002

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4. Which aims to erase prejudice against women at the root, to seek equality between

women and men, and to replace inadequate mythology about the proper place of women or the

proper definition of women; incorporates within its field of operations all those aspects of the

culture that have a contributing or determining effect on our view of persons or human beings

and as sex differentiated persons.

5. LSA Bulletin - December 2004, p. 61

6. ibid, p. 60

7. Gayle Graham Yates: What women want, Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1975,

p. 132

8. Varda One: "Manglish" Everywoman November, 12, 1971, p. 16

9. Kate Millet and Casey Swift: De-sexing the English Language", MS., spring 1972, p.

7, cit by Graham Gayle Yates: What Women Want.

10. Robert A Day: Scientific English, Hyderabad: University Press India, 2000, p. 111.

11. Gayle Graham Yates: What Women Want, p. 136

12. Earnest Gowers: The Complete Plain Words, Middle sex : Penguin Books, 1962, p. 13.

13. Earnest Gowers, ABC of Plain words, London : HMSO, 1951, pp. 75-76.

14. Robert A. Day, op. cit, p. 112.

15. Sender - In the process of communication, the writer, or speakers; who sends the

information.

16. You Point of view - By this phase, I mean that the Receiver is more important. The

writer or speaker should forget his level of knowledge and come to the level of the receiver so

that adequate and successful communication could be established.

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Questions

1. What is the relationship between language and social ethos?

2. What suggestions the Executive Committee on linguistics in USA has given, on the use

of language?

3. What do you mean by sexist use of language, how can one avoid it?

4. What do you mean by clichés? Give examples.

5. What do you mean by Jargons? Explain with example?

6. What do you mean by politically correct language? How can it be maintained?

186