scholarly journals Teachers’ Perception about English as a Medium of Instructions: Evidence from the Government Higher Secondary Schools of Sindh, Pakistan

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 362-371
Author(s):  
Abul Ala Mukhtar ◽  
Zafarullah Sahito ◽  
Abida Siddiqui
Keyword(s):  
Secondary Schools ◽  
English Language ◽  
Mother Tongue ◽  
Social Institutions ◽  
Medium Of Instruction ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Common People ◽  
British Rule ◽  
The Government ◽  
Set Up

This case study inquires the perceptions and experiences of teachers about the English as a medium of instructions at government higher secondary schools of Warah city of Sindh, Pakistan. It witnesses that a large chunk of the population is diversified to use their provincial or regional languages as destined by socio-political heritage. Because English was remained a paramount part of educational context in Pakistan during British rule. In Sindh, students learn English from their teachers at their schools, who by no means really acquire the required proficiency in the English language. The research design undertaken was qualitative in nature and revolved around the semi structured interviews. English as a medium of instruction has a daunting and remarkable role to set to be set up across the globe. The mother tongue has the supreme role to play in the organized system of social institutions, which has massive resources of linguistics pouring down to the common people in the forms of superb streams of dialects with definite code of syntax, semantics and pragmatism. The extra reading materials with the support of technology, the English lessons can play a pivotal role to give internalization and adaptation of English language as a medium of instruction.

Language policies for Hong Kong schools since 1997

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vincent Kan ◽  
Bob Adamson
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Secondary Schools ◽  
Language Policy ◽  
Mother Tongue ◽  
International Communication ◽  
National Language ◽  
Medium Of Instruction ◽  
Language Policies ◽  
Mother Tongue Education ◽  
Important Means

Francis of Education (print)/1474-8479 (online) Article 2010 Language in education debates in Hong Kong focus on the role and status of English (as the former colonial language and an important means for international communication); Cantonese, the mother tongue of the majority of the population; and Putonghua, the national language of China. This paper examines the language policy formulated in 1997–1998, and finds that it radically departed from previous policies by mandating the use of Cantonese as the medium of instruction in secondary schools. The paper then analyses two subsequent policy revisions and concludes that, while the tonal emphasis on mother-tongue education has remained, the policy revisions have reversed the language policy to previous practices that emphasised the importance of English.

scholarly journals THE ROLE OF THE «MIZRACHI» POLITICAL PARTY IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF JEWISH PRIVATE SCHOOLING IN INTERWAR POLAND

2020 ◽  
Vol 33 ◽  
pp. 69-80
Author(s):  
Oksana RUDA
Keyword(s):  
Public Schools ◽  
Political Party ◽  
Jewish History ◽  
Mother Tongue ◽  
Educational Institutions ◽  
Medium Of Instruction ◽  
Jewish State ◽  
Interwar Poland ◽  
Jewish Students ◽  
The Government

The activity of the Jewish party «Mizrachi» in the 20s and the 30s of the 20th century, aimed at developing private Jewish schooling with Hebrew as the medium of instruction, is analyzed. In interwar Poland, Jewish students were deprived of the opportunity to receive primary education in public schools in the mother tongue as the medium of instruction, as government officials only partially implemented the Little Treaty of Versailles of 1919. The development of Jewish schooling was also complicated by the Polonization policy, the cultural and linguistic heterogeneity of Poland's Jews. Polish-speaking «szabasówka», who implemented a nationwide program of educating Jewish students in the spirit of loyalty to the government, facilitated their assimilation. That part of the Jewish community, which perceived these schools as an assimilation factor, actively participated in expanding the network of private Jewish schools with Yiddish or Hebrew mediums of instruction. An important part in the development of such religious and national educational institutions took the Mizrachi party, whose program principles combined the Jewish religious tradition with activities aimed at forming a Jewish state in Palestine. The author examines the activities of the Jewish cultural and educational societies «Jabne» and «Micyjon tejce Tora», which were cared for by «Mizrachi». The societies took part in establishing preschools, primary and secondary schools, teachers' seminaries, evening courses, public universities, reading clubs, libraries, and more. Both Judaic and secular subjects were taught in these educational institutions. Paying due attention to the teaching of Hebrew, Jewish literature, and Jewish history in schools helped preserve Jewish students' national identity. Keywords «Mizrachi» political party, Poland, cultural and educational societies, religious and national schools, Hebrew, Yiddish.

scholarly journals Challenges of the Sudden Switch from Mother Tongue Instruction to English as a Medium of Instruction

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 76
Author(s):  
Shahinaz Abdullah Bukhari
Keyword(s):  
Focus Groups ◽  
English Language ◽  
Mother Tongue ◽  
Collaborative Work ◽  
Faculty Members ◽  
English Language Teaching ◽  
Standard English ◽  
Medium Of Instruction ◽  
Classroom Communication ◽  
Mother Tongue Instruction

The present study explored the challenges encountered through the transition from using the mother tongue as a medium of instruction at schools to using English as a medium of instruction at universities. Two focus groups were conducted with Saudi undergraduates and faculty members from different Saudi universities. The focus groups investigated how participants perceive this experience, what difficulties they face and how they cope. Participants expressed their preference for using English as a medium of instruction in higher education to maximise students’ future and international opportunities. Participant students reported difficulties in lecture comprehension, taking notes while listening and classroom communication. Participant content lecturers reported difficulties related to students’ reluctance to speak in English, lack of English terminology and insufficient lecture comprehension. Some suggestions that have been offered to overcome these challenges include the following: designing adequate trainings for content lecturers on teaching their content in English; using Arabic-English bilingualism as medium of instruction; giving emphasis to academic literacy and communication skills over the use of standard English models and enhancing the collaborative work between English language teaching practitioners and content lecturers.

Mother Tongue in Indigenous Script as Medium of Instruction

2017 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 71-89
Author(s):  
Ruchira Das
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Heritage ◽  
Formal Education ◽  
West Bengal ◽  
Mother Tongue ◽  
Medium Of Instruction ◽  
Tribal Community ◽  
Level Of Education ◽  
Primary Level ◽  
The Government ◽  
The City

Olchiki is the indigenous script of Santals, a dominant tribal community of West Bengal, formulated to promote and represent ‘adi’ cultural heritage and traditions in their mother tongue Santali. The script was recognised by the Government of West Bengal in 1978 and was introduced at the primary level of education. However, there have been contestations around its appropriateness as the medium of instruction for the migrant tribal community in the emerging context of the city and globalisation. These discourses have led to the formation of two distinct groups—those who support the introduction of Santali language in Olchiki as a means to formal education and those who resist usage of its script for schooling. In my article, I will present these conflicting views prevailing among the migrant Santals of a settlement called Santragachi, in Kolkata.

scholarly journals Corporate Entrepreneurship Performance: Findings From Government-Linked Companies in Malaysia

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 248
Author(s):  
Harry Entebang ◽  
Richard T. Harrison
Keyword(s):  
Corporate Entrepreneurship ◽  
Business Environment ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Senior Managers ◽  
Operation Costs ◽  
Overall Performance ◽  
The Government ◽  
Set Up ◽  
Better Than

A nation’s economic growth has been associated with the role of entrepreneurship. While recognising the work of entrepreneurship on the mindset and behaviour of individual entrepreneurs, research into an organisational perspective of entrepreneurship continues to emerge due to unprecedented developments occurring around the world over the last two decades. Notably, past studies have postulated that entrepreneurial organisations tend to perform better than conservative organisations. In this vein, the Malaysian government has set up Government-linked companies (GLCs) to enable these entities to become more effective, efficient, and competitive, which can assist the government in strengthening its economy. On the other hand, despite considerable improvements, the overall performance of GLCs has been unsatisfactory. Given the hostility and dynamism of the business environment, GLCs have no other option but to improve and perform better. Recognising this, the purpose of the study is to determine the underlying forces forcing GLCs to improve and to identify forms of corporate entrepreneurship (CE) pursued by GLCs. Building on the outcomes of semi-structured interviews with senior managers in GLCs, the need for CE is fostered by competition and market pressure, technological changes, and increases in operation costs. Finally, future studies of CE in Malaysia may consider other aspects of CE, including issues and challenges in pursuing CE effectively within GLCs business environment.

scholarly journals Educational Policy: Voices from Local English Teachers and Students towards National Exam in Yogyakarta

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 217
Author(s):  
Laser Romios ◽  
Nindya Primandita ◽  
Novilda Angela Saragih
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
Group Discussion ◽  
Sampling Technique ◽  
English Teachers ◽  
School Level ◽  
Learning Activity ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Teachers And Students ◽  
The Government

<p class="AbstractText">This study is aimed at exploring the voices of English teachers and students of a state senior high school towards the National Exam policy and its implementation in Indonesia. Several theories of psychology and language learning were applied in this study as the theoretical framework. This study used a descriptive qualitative method. The participants were chosen by purposive sampling technique. The data for this study were garnered through a Focus Group Discussion (FGD) conducted to the selected twelfth-grade students and semi-structured interviews done to two English teachers. Both data were analyzed descriptively. Upon the analysis, two paramount themes prevailed: (1) the negative response towards the implementation and accuracy of National Exam (NE) policy in Indonesia; and (2) unintended impacts of NE policy on teaching and learning activity, students’ motivation, and English Language Learning and Curriculum. This study offers information for the government as the policymaker, school leaders, teachers, and researchers to understand how the NE is implemented at the school level.</p>

scholarly journals The Challenges of Effective Teaching and Learning of English in Public Secondary Schools in Nigeria

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 154-158
Author(s):  
Murana Muniru Oladayo
Keyword(s):  
Secondary Schools ◽  
Effective Teaching ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
National Development ◽  
Continuing Professional Development ◽  
Poor Quality ◽  
National Language ◽  
Foreign National ◽  
The Government

The strategic place of English language in national development and mutual co-existence of Nigerians is not debatable. English has become a foreign national language to which the destiny of Nigeria is inextricably tied. The teaching of English at all levels of education in Nigeria is bedeviled with certain debilitating challenges. This paper examines some of the challenges of teaching and learning English in public secondary schools in Nigeria. It identifies such problems as poor quality of pupils admitted to secondary school, incompetent teachers of English, poor methodology and lack of motivation among others. The paper concludes that effective teaching of English language is a sine qua non for meaningful development in Nigeria and emphasizes the need for collective efforts in this direction. It recommends better training and retraining of teachers through continuing professional development practices and better commitment on the part of the government to the course of English studies in schools in Nigeria.

scholarly journals Challenges and Strategies of University Students in English-medium Instruction (EMI) Classes: A case study

2021 ◽  
pp. 9-25
Author(s):  
Kamran Akhtar Siddiqui ◽  
Hassan Syed ◽  
Zafarullah Sahito
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
English Language ◽  
Linguistic Diversity ◽  
National Language ◽  
School Level ◽  
Medium Of Instruction ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
English Medium Instruction ◽  
Continuous Use

English language has grown to be a lingua franca of the present day world. Therefore, even non- English European and Asian countries have adopted English as a medium of instruction. English has continuously been the medium of instruction in the higher education of Pakistan in spite of having a great linguistic diversity and national language Urdu as the medium of instruction at school level. This study aims to explore the perceptions of undergraduates about EMI, challenges they face in EMI classrooms and solutions they suggest for mitigation of their issues. The qualitative data collected through semi-structured interviews reveals that students perceive EMI to be beneficial for higher education, employment and progressive thought. However, they face challenges related to teachers’ English proficiency, code-switching, vocabulary and receptive as well as productive skills. They suggest that English-proficient instructors, continuous use of English, language support from university can help them overcome these challenges effectively.

scholarly journals Kuwaiti Parents’ Perceptions towards Introducing a Foreign Culture into Their Children’s EFL Textbooks in Public Elementary Schools

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 45
Author(s):  
Mohammad Almutairi
Keyword(s):  
Elementary Schools ◽  
Public Schools ◽  
English Language ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
English Language Teaching ◽  
Depth Information ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Public Elementary Schools ◽  
Cultural Content ◽  
The Government

This study aims to investigate Kuwaiti parents' views and opinions towards introducing native speakers' and international cultures into their children's' EFL textbooks in public schools in the light of recent debates that discuss the relationship between culture and English language teaching. It also intends to explore and discover their perceptions towards the current cultural content being taught in Kuwait public elementary schools. For this purpose, questionnaires were distributed among Kuwaiti parents whom their children study in the government public schools followed by semi-structured interviews to get more detailed and in-depth information about the topic discussed. The findings of this study show that the vast majority had negative opinions and views towards exposing their children to native speaker's cultures for social and religious reasons. One of which is their underlying concern about the negative impacts of native speakers' content on their children's cultural and national identity. However, most of them agreed their children learn EFL through the prism of the international multicultural cultural content to prepare them use the language in different cultural contexts when they grow up. The results also showed that most of them preferred to keep the current ELT syllabus which uses the host cultural content rather than replacing it with the native speakers' one for the same reasons and also in view of growing awareness of the role played by culture in the EFL classroom which propound the nature of the Kuwaiti society of being conservative and cautious.

scholarly journals L2 Learners’ Problems in Speaking English of Rural Background Engineering Students in Ap

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 5942-5946
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Rural Area ◽  
English Language ◽  
Engineering Students ◽  
Mother Tongue ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Communication Tool ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Teachers And Students ◽  
Time To Learn

In Indian education system, learning English language is a second language (L2) which is unavoidable and undividable apart from their mother tongue (L1). An intellectual, physical and emotional contribution is necessary to learn a second language successfully and to communicate a linguistic message. Especially, the rural area of engineering students used L1 (Telugu) as a way of communication tool in some of the engineering colleges as they are facing many challenges while speaking English as a second language (L2). The present study would investigate the causes, problems and difficulties faced by the rural area students who came to study engineering courses in VIIT (A) College in Visakhapatnam, AP. The researcher has used a questionnaire and semi-structured interviews for 40 students includeing 32 male and 8 female rural area students for data collection. The collected data analyzed statistically and graphically. In the data analysis, the results revealed the reasons for failure like due to less time to learn English in the classroom, inadequate encouragement from teachers, family and friends. It is also found that the Teaching of English language in bilingual method and late foundation of English medium studies in previous academics. This piece of writing also facilitates the researchers who aim to investigate similar problems in speaking skills for rural area engineering students. The study also presented some of the suggestions and recommendations to overcome the struggle for the language teachers and students.

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