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.

scholarly journals The Efficacy of the Application of Mother Tongues Education in Pakistan

sjesr ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. 257-261
Author(s):  
Shah Nawaz Khan ◽  
Dr. Abdul Karim Khan ◽  
Dr. Ihsan Ullah Khan
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Focus Groups ◽  
Mother Tongue ◽  
Medium Of Instruction ◽  
Primary Level ◽  
The Future ◽  
Mother Tongue Instruction ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Basic Concepts

No doubt, the importance of English cannot be denied, but at the same time, mother tongue has also due importance concerning one's culture and understanding basic concepts at schools at primary level. This paper is an attempt to prove the importance of mother tongue as a medium of instruction at the primary level in District Bannu. The data were collected from students’ focal groups of fifty classrooms from ten schools. Two questions were asked in each subject from the focus groups to check their concept of the subject. Similarly, among the teachers, thirty respondents were interviewed in the Parents-Teachers Meeting (PTM) to find out their views about the efficacy of mother tongue instructions at the primary level. In this connection, parents were also interviewed. The results showed that among the students whose concept was clear, eighty percent of students were those who were taught in their mother tongue whereas twenty percent of students were those who were taught in English. Again, among the thirty teachers, eighty-five percent felt comfortable with teaching in the mother tongue whereas fifteen percent of teachers showed positive inclination towards teaching in a second language. Lastly, parents also felt at ease with the mother tongue instructions as they conveyed that their children go to school with zeal. Thus, mother tongue instruction proved helpful at the primary level. This study will also prove helpful to other researchers in the future for conducting similar studies in other districts.

scholarly journals An Application of Grosjean’s (2001) Bilingual’s Language Modes on English Language Teaching as Medium of Instruction in Ghanaian Primary Schools

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (7) ◽  
pp. 133-138
Author(s):  
Edward Owusu ◽  
Charles Senior Afram
Keyword(s):  
Primary Schools ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
Mother Tongue ◽  
First Language ◽  
English Language Teaching ◽  
Medium Of Instruction ◽  
Teaching English ◽  
Speech Communities ◽  
Key Stakeholders

Bialystok (2015) argues that the bilingual’s cognitive benefit is related to the continuous supervision and the need for conflict resolution that happens when dual languages are co-activated. One framework that clearly projects the experience of the bilingual, in terms of swapping languages is the bilingual’s language modes (BLMs) by Grosjean (2001). In this review paper, we have highlighted the policy of medium of instruction for teaching English in primary schools in Ghana. Again, we have briefly described the tenants of the BLMs, and demonstrated how these modes can be applied on the Ghanaian bilingual primary schools. On the basis of the BLMs, we argue that the most suitable medium of instruction for teaching and learning of English as a second language at the primary level (primary 1 - 6) of a diverse Ghanaian multilingual society should be English language, and the mother tongue of the community within which the school is situated. This argument is in conformism with Anyidoho (2009), and Owusu et al. (2015). Consequently, this paper would enable the key stakeholders of Ghanaian primary schools, to reexamine the policy of instruction for teaching English in Ghanaian primary schools, by placing prominence on the first language of the various speech communities in Ghana. 

Implementing ELF-informed Activities in an Elementary Level English Preparatory Classroom

2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sibel Sert ◽  
Yonca Özkan
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
English Language Teaching ◽  
Elementary Level ◽  
Standard English ◽  
Educational Setting ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Qualitative And Quantitative ◽  
Mixed Method Design ◽  
Personal Interests

AbstractUpon the advocacy of the integration of English as a lingua franca, namely ELF, into English language teaching, some scholars (Hino & Oda, 2015) have focused on its possible implications for classroom settings. Implementing ELF-informed activities in an elementary level classroom within a norm-based educational setting, this study aimed to enable students to experience these activities, and explore their pre and post views regarding Standard English, the concepts of good English, and my English. In addition, it also investigated students’ preference for their educational setting after the implementation. The implementation took seven weeks and the activities were created by the researchers. Within a mixed method design, qualitative and quantitative data were collected via semi-structured interviews and two statement lists. The findings indicated that the majority of the students enjoyed the activities and their pre and post views regarding Standard English, good English and my English differ from each other. However, a substantial number of them preferred to be educated with Standard English in their language learning process. Findings also revealed that potential reasons behind this preference may be the domination of norm-based approach in their context, personal interests and prime objectives, and norm-based exams.

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.

scholarly journals A Plurilingual Approach to ELT in Primary School: Towards an Ecological Perspective

2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 84-106
Author(s):  
Alicia Chabert
Keyword(s):  
Primary School ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
English Language ◽  
Mother Tongue ◽  
Language Teaching ◽  
English Language Teaching ◽  
English Teaching ◽  
Ecological Understanding ◽  
Attitude And Motivation ◽  
Initial Results

Summary This paper aims to demonstrate that using a plurilingual and ecological approach to English language teaching can achieve better results in primary school independently of the mother tongue of the student. This article is based on the initial results of our international research carried out in three very different countries (Norway, China and Spain). While the author´s research project involves 328 participants, we will present the results of the first phase of the experiment, including 133 students. In this paper, we propose a plurilingual communicative approach to English teaching as a foreign language, making a distinction between languages for communication and languages for identification. This research examines the current teaching policies in the participating countries, and analyses cross-cultural and cross-linguistic perspectives in English language teaching while promoting the positive use of the mother tongue as a connecting tool in the students’ communication system. The subjects of this study were divided in control and experimental groups, in which they received traditional and plurilingual approach respectively. After the classes they completed a test and were then supplied with a Likert scale questionnaire focused on understanding their attitude and motivation towards mother tongue and English language learning. Based on observation and results obtained, we can conclude that a plurilingual approach that uses L1 as a tool in English teaching improves English learning, as well as develops an ecological understanding of languages.

scholarly journals Language Teachers’ Emergency Remote Teaching Experiences During the COVID-19 Confinement

2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 121-135
Author(s):  
Catalina Juárez-Díaz ◽  
Moisés Perales
Keyword(s):  
Online Education ◽  
English Language ◽  
Faculty Members ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
English Language Teaching ◽  
Online Questionnaire ◽  
Teaching Experiences ◽  
Open Questions ◽  
Digital Gap ◽  
Negative Feelings

This study describes 26 English language teaching faculty members’ and 32 preservice English as a foreign language teachers’ emergency remote teaching experiences and emotions. Verbal data gathered through an online questionnaire with open questions were analyzed using semidirected content analysis. Most faculty and all students reported negative feelings, which were connected with some faculty members’ focus on delivering content without interaction and with insufficient Internet access. Some students’ autonomy allowed them to overcome the first of these challenges. Teachers with online education training reported better experiences. Thus, universities and the State must provide more training and equipment to close the digital gap and ensure effective emergency remote teaching.

scholarly journals Written Corrective Feedback as Practiced by Instructors of Writing in English at Najran University

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 112
Author(s):  
Fatimah Mohammed M. Aseeri
Keyword(s):  
Correct Answer ◽  
Analytical Approach ◽  
English Language ◽  
Mother Tongue ◽  
Corrective Feedback ◽  
Faculty Members ◽  
Main Study ◽  
Written Corrective Feedback

The present study aimed to address the extent to which faulty members and students at the department of English language at Najran University practice using the ways of written corrective feedback. The questionnaire, as the main study instrument was used to collect data while the descriptive analytical approach was used to analyze these collected data. Findings revealed that the direct way of correction, i.e., the identification of student’s errors by underlining or circling and then telling them how to correct such errors without allowing them the chance to figure out what the corrections are, was the most practiced way of written corrective feedback. Using Arabic, as it was students’ mother tongue, to show them their errors and then explain to them how to correct these errors was the second practiced way. Indirect correction like for example correcting student’s errors through writing in the margin that there was an error without giving them the correct answer was the least used way, as indicated by faculty members. Nevertheless, correcting students’ errors by coding the exact error in the text without giving them the correct answer was the least used way from students’ viewpoint. Moreover, findings showed that both faculty members and students were in favor of the comprehensive not the selective way of correction.

Subjective Ideas of Sexual Change in Male Schizophrenics

1966 ◽  
Vol 112 (489) ◽  
pp. 779-782 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. L. Gittleson ◽  
S. Levine
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Identity ◽  
English Language ◽  
Language Teaching ◽  
Personal Communication ◽  
English Language Teaching ◽  
Standard English ◽  
Sexual Content ◽  
Uncontrolled Study ◽  
Eugen Bleuler ◽  
Sexual Change

Ideas of changing sex, and the doubt about sexual identity which these ideas imply, are considered to be “invariable” and “pathognomonic” features of schizophrenia by Macalpine and Hunter (1955). The authors quote, in a footnote, a personal communication from Manfred Bleuler dated 1953 which states that Eugen Bleuler would have agreed that “schizophrenics are almost invariably, if not indeed invariably, in doubt about the sex to which they belong”. Planansky and Johnston (1962), in an uncontrolled study of 150 male schizophrenics, found that only 15 per cent. (22 cases) exhibited “direct expression of confusion of sex identity” and only 4·7 per cent. (7 cases) had clear delusions of having changed into a woman. Jackson (1960), Weckowicz and Sommer (1960), and Skottowe (1964) state merely that these ideas occur, or occur frequently. A check of the standard English language teaching texts reveals that Allen (1962), Bleuler (1911), Mayer-Gross et al. (1960), Noyes and Kolb (1963) and Sim (1963) make only oblique references to ideas of changing sex, whilst Anderson (1964), Arieti (1959), Bellak and Benedict (1958), Curran and Partridge (1963), Fish (1962 and 1964), Freeman et al. (1958), Henderson and Batchelor (1962), Merskey and Tonge (1965), and Stafford-Clark (1964) make no reference at all. In their study of schizophrenic delusions Lucas et al. (1962) similarly do not mention change of sex. They state simply that (in males) 30 per cent. had a sexual content.

scholarly journals REVISITING STAKEHOLDERS’ ATTITUDE TOWARDS MTB-MLE AND ELT

2020 ◽  
pp. 81-91
Author(s):  
Nimfa G. Dimaculangan ◽  
Marie Ann Gonzales
Keyword(s):  
English Language ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Mother Tongue ◽  
Language Teaching ◽  
English Language Teaching ◽  
Language Program ◽  
Global Competitiveness ◽  
Multilingual Education ◽  
Grade 3 ◽  
Global Language

A number of studies on the Filipinos’ attitude towards the Philippine official languages and on code-switching have been done; nonetheless, very few studies on attitude towards the Mother Tongue Based Multilingual Education (MTB-MLE) language program after its implementation in 2013 have been conducted. This paper presents selected stakeholder participants’ attitude towards the language program in relation to English language teaching (ELT) and learning after about seven years of its implementation, and now that it may be suspended through House Bill No. 6125 or the Act Suspending the Implementation of the Use of Mother Tongue as the Medium of Instruction for Kindergarten to Grade 3 as suggested by a prestigious national linguistic organization[13]. The writer’s self-designed attitude questions which were patterned after the language attitude questions [21] were used to gather data through interview. Analysis revealed that four out of six participants had a positive attitude towards MTB-MLE; two were undecided about their perception and attitude; however, three among the six did not fully understand the program. The participants supported ELT and acknowledged the role of English as the global language; nonetheless, they were uncertain as to whether or not MTB-MLE would have a positive impact on ELT and on global competitiveness. KEYWORDS: Attitude, Bilingualism, English proficiency, English Language Teaching (ELT), Language of Instruction (LOI), Mother Tongue Based-Multilingual Education MTB-MLE), Multilingualism.

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