scholarly journals Using English as a Medium of Instruction: Challenges and Opportunities of Multilingual Classrooms in Nepal

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 43-56
Author(s):  
Pitambar Paudel

English as a medium of instruction has great influence in school education in Nepal. It is taken as a pluralistic language which promotes harmony and tolerance, and increases career, opportunities, hope and progress. At the same time, there is a danger of survival for local languages due to the imperialistic role of English. In such a context, this paper has tried to explore the results created due to the extensive use of English as a medium of instruction. To address this objective, the study employs a phenomenological research design under the qualitative approach. The information was collected from eight teachers and eight parents of eight different community schools through interviews and purposively selected two focus group discussions. The collected information from both the tools and sources were coded, triangulated, analyzed, interpreted and presented into three different themes. The results show the use of English as a Medium of Instruction (EMI) in school education as a debatable issue due to the fear of loss of local languages despite its advantages. This implies that the government should make an appropriate language policy and education system to maintain a harmonious and mutual relationship between English and other languages in school education so that children can get opportunities in English language, and become aware of their languages.

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 362-371
Author(s):  
Abul Ala Mukhtar ◽  
Zafarullah Sahito ◽  
Abida Siddiqui

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.


2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 175
Author(s):  
Mzamani Johannes Maluleke ◽  
Ernest Kwesi Klu ◽  
Vincent N. Demana

The study aimed at investigating the extent to which English is used as a medium of teaching and learning Life Sciences in a South African rural high school. As the government has given recognition to the country’s multilingual, multi-ethnic and multicultural composition, School Governing Bodies are mandated to choose any of the eleven official languages as a medium of instruction (RSA, Act 108 of 1996), but the power of deciding which language to use as a medium of instruction has been taken by teachers to shield their own shortcomings. To be able to explore and understand the prevailing situation, the researchers employed a qualitative design which translated into researchers observing classes, evaluating learners’ written texts and interviewing the teachers as methods of collecting data. The findings are that: first, learners’ and teachers’ proficiency levels in English are very low, as such, the English language is not a pivot of learning and teaching in the South African education system. This emanates from the fact that although in theory the majority of the South African schools have adopted English as a medium of instruction, in practice, this is far from the truth as teachers employ code alternation in the form of code switching, code mixing and sentence translation as viable means of scaffolding the learning of content subjects.


Author(s):  
Anita Lie

The increasing dominance of English has brought implications in language policy and the teaching of English in the multicultural Indonesia. A high power language such as English is taught in schools as a language of modern communication, while the national language is regarded as a force of unifying the nation and local languages as carriers of ‘tradition’ or ‘historical’ identity. Within that context, this article focuses on the increased use of English among an emerging group of young and adolescent learners and their possible identity transformation. This article examines the issues, challenges, and opportunities in English language learning and identity transformation in the multicultural context of Indonesia. A description of the multicultural context and linguistic diversity is presented to understand the language policy and its implications in the functions and degrees of the national language Indonesian, local languages, and English in Indonesia. Issues in the spread of English are explored to understand the challenges and opportunities in transforming cultural identity and achieving performance standards in English. 


1970 ◽  
Vol 15 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 121-133 ◽  
Author(s):  
Prem Prasad Poudel

This article aims to discuss some of the major challenges emerged recently in the muItilingual classes in higher education of Nepal. For this, I sampled 20 teachers from four campuses of Kathmandu valley. Similarly, 30 students were selected from those campuses. A set of separate questionnaires was distributed for both teachers and students and at the same time the classes of the teachers were observed. I conducted focus group discussions to elicit the real information from the informants. Major findings show that in the classes of higher education, neither the teachers nor the students are satisfied with the use of medium of instruction. There are communication problems, content delivery problems, comprehension related problems because of language gaps. Finally, in this article, some suggestions are made to make English language teaching in the multilingual settings more effective.Key words: Multilingual classroom; Multiculturalism; Medium of instruction; Multilingual educationJournal of NELTA Vol. 15 No. 1-2 December 2010Page: 121-133Uploaded date: 4 May, 2011DOI: 10.3126/nelta.v15i1-2.4618


sjesr ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 192-197
Author(s):  
Dr. Syed Shujaat Ali ◽  
Dr Ghani Rahman ◽  
Shahabullah

The present study is concerned with the investigation of the language attitude of Pashto speakers towards English. The study aims to look into issues of language interplay of Pashto language with the English language. The study took the data from undergraduate level students through a questionnaire and found out that most of the speakers have a positive attitude towards the English language. They are of the view that through the English language they explore the world more and more because most of the materials are available in the English language and by learning it one can express himself. They opined that the government should declare English as the official language of the state once again because it is still the medium of instruction in most parts of the country. This shift of change of the official language created difficulty in learning, though they are of the view that we can contribute to society without English.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 150
Author(s):  
Farzana Sharmin Pamela Islam

As 21st century is the era of modern technologies with different aspects, it offers us to make the best use of them. After tape recorder and overhead projector (OHP), multimedia has become an important part of language classroom facilities for its unique and effective application in delivering and learning lesson. Although in many parts of Bangladesh, a South Asian developing country, where English enjoys the status of a foreign language, the use of multimedia in teaching and learning is viewed as a matter of luxury. However, nowadays the usefulness and the necessity of it are well recognized by the academics as well as the government. The study aims to focus on the difference between a traditional classroom void of multimedia and multimedia equipped classrooms at university level by explaining how multimedia support the students with enhanced opportunity to interact with diverse texts that give them more in-depth comprehension of the subject. It also focuses on audio-visual advantage of multimedia on the students’ English language learning. The study has followed a qualitative method to get an in-depth understanding of the impact of using multimedia in an English language classroom at tertiary level. For this purpose, the data have been collected from two different sources. Firstly, from students’ written response to  an open ended question as to their comparative experience of learning  lessons with and without multimedia facilities; and secondly, through  observation of English language classes at a private university of Dhaka, the capital city of Bangladesh. The discussion of the study is limited to  the use of multimedia in English language classroom using cartoons, images and music with a view to enhance students’ skills in academic writing, critical analysis of image and critical appreciation of music. For this purpose, cartoons in English language, images from Google and music from You Tube have got focused discussion in this paper.


Author(s):  
Balkar Singh

The capability or calibre cannot be judged based on Results, as it depends on the student to student & also the examination is testing of knowledge of a student, for the whole year in two or three hours. In July 2020 the exam result of the secondary standard was declared by the Board of School Education Haryana, Bhiwani and there is a discussion about topper & the schools in which these toppers were studying & strategy of these toppers regarding exam preparation, their interviews & photos were published in the Newspapers, why not? It must be but in this spark light, there is some darkness behind this. Everyone is congratulating these students, as they are studied from the Private Schools of the Urban City areas of the Haryana, a few are from the most educated families, whose parents their selves are teachers or professors. Through this, we are ignoring a bitter truth of the poor students of the Government Schools, who despite lack of all the big & small facilities, as compare of these Private schools’ performed equal to these toppers. KEYWORDS: Testing of knowledge, Education in Private Schools, Toppers and Calibre.


Author(s):  
Pankaj Sharma ◽  
Ravi Parkash

The paper analyze the role of rural tourism for the development of rural areas, The study analyzed how the different types of tourist product diversifications influence the development possibilities of studied rural areas in India. The government should sponsor private Sector to promote tourism in rural areas. For upgrading the rural tourism government requires to understand the rural location, demography, socio-culture, financial and political background of that area. How we can involve the rural citizens to improve their socio-economic condition. The objective of this paper is to present an update on rural tourism expansion and development in India. Rural tourism is rising in terms of number of visitors and the government of India should focus on it as an engine of growth


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-30
Author(s):  
Lisa Grace S. Bersales ◽  
Josefina V. Almeda ◽  
Sabrina O. Romasoc ◽  
Marie Nadeen R. Martinez ◽  
Dannela Jann B. Galias

With the advancement of technology, digitalization, and the internet of things, large amounts of complex data are being produced daily. This vast quantity of various data produced at high speed is referred to as Big Data. The utilization of Big Data is being implemented with success in the private sector, yet the public sector seems to be falling behind despite the many potentials Big Data has already presented. In this regard, this paper explores ways in which the government can recognize the use of Big Data for official statistics. It begins by gathering and presenting Big Data-related initiatives and projects across the globe for various types and sources of Big Data implemented. Further, this paper discusses the opportunities, challenges, and risks associated with using Big Data, particularly in official statistics. This paper also aims to assess the current utilization of Big Data in the country through focus group discussions and key informant interviews. Based on desk review, discussions, and interviews, the paper then concludes with a proposed framework that provides ways in which Big Data may be utilized by the government to augment official statistics.


Author(s):  
Arthur Bagonza ◽  
Stefan Peterson ◽  
Andreas Mårtensson ◽  
Henry Wamani ◽  
Phyllis Awor ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Regulatory inspection of private drug shops in Uganda is a mandate of the Ministry of Health carried out by the National Drug Authority. This study evaluated how this mandate is being carried out at national, district, and drug shop levels. Specifically, perspectives on how the inspection is done, who does it, and challenges faced were sought from inspectors and drug sellers. Methods Six key informant interviews (KIIs) were held with inspectors at the national and district level, while eight focus group discussions (FGDs) were conducted among nursing assistants, and two FGDs were held with nurses. The study appraised current methods of inspecting drug sellers against national professional guidelines for licensing and renewal of class C drug shops in Uganda. Transcripts were managed using Atlas ti version 7 (ATLAS.ti GmbH, Berlin) data management software where the thematic content analysis was done. Results Five themes emerged from the study: authoritarian inspection, delegated inspection, licensing, training, and bribes. Under authoritarian inspection, drug sellers decried the high handedness used by inspectors when found with expired or no license at all. For delegated inspection, drug sellers said that sometimes, inspectors send health assistants and sub-county chiefs for inspection visits. This cadre of people is not recognized by law as inspectors. Inspectors trained drug sellers on how to organize their drug shops better and how to use new technologies such as rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) in diagnosing malaria. Bribes were talked about mostly by nursing assistants who purported that inspectors were not interested in inspection per se but collecting illicit payments from them. Inspectors said that the facilitation they received from the central government were inadequate for a routine inspection. Conclusion The current method of inspecting drug sellers is harsh and instills fear among drug sellers. There is a need to establish a well-recognized structure of inspection as well as establish channels of dialogue between inspectors and drug sellers if meaningful compliance is to be achieved. The government also needs to enhance both human and financial resources if meaningful inspection of drug sellers is to take place.


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