Bridging conceptual gaps for smooth teaching and learning

This paper primarily aims to reflect on the majority of my students’ inadequacies of using ‘remembering’, ‘understanding’, ‘analyzing’ and ‘evaluating’, four major levels of the Revised Bloom’s Taxonomy (2001), a helpful reading and writing technique included in Kathmandu University’s first year first semester undergraduate compulsory English and professional communication course, of course for the benefit of all the concerned ones—especially for those from the Asian regions whose communication in English reveals a number of linguistic and technical problems. The focus is more on the level of analysis, because the students had more problems regarding this level. My purpose is to make the level of analysis simpler, more systematic and practical, outlining its nature and various forms, and the inadequacies involved on the part of(the) students, analyzing alongside an analysis part of an assignment submitted by one of my students and a short, well known-about text taken from elsewhere. In doing so, I resort to certain assumptions of a body of theories, namely that of social support theory, reader response theory, and Gestalt theory, apart from my (experimental) experiences of teaching the Taxonomy. These assumptions and experiences gave me insights into how contextually analytical responses are safer when compared to shallow critical responses. I found that shorter texts are more helpful in introducing students to the Taxonomy. I also came across realizations about the importance of balance between textual contexts and extensions of mind, about the effectiveness and beauty of heuristic as well as holistic approaches with emphasis on bridging upon the basic conceptual gaps because of which inadequacies and difficulties arise.

Status of English language teaching in secondary level under different school interventions

Language is the primary medium of communication and expression of thoughts and ideas. In India, there are two official languages- Hindi and English. English has-been occupying a dominant position since independence. There have been serious attempts to integrate English language in the school curriculum since 1980s. In the schools of West Bengal, English is taught either as a first language or second language. The present study intends to find the status of teaching English language in the secondary schools of Siliguri (West Bengal) where the schools with three different boards, ICSE, CBSE and state boards are chosen. The sample consisted of 50 teachers and 50 students from a total of 25 schools. A survey method and observation inventory was used for collection of data. The conclusion is that English language teachers need to abreast themselves with the latest developments in the context of language teaching. The co-operation from the school, teachers, parents and students yield fruitful results in improving the status of English language teaching.

Veracities of teaching listening in Nepal

This study explores realities, problems and their solutions of teaching listening in English in secondary level education in Nepal. As it is a narrative inquiry, I chose three English teachers and six students from three different secondary level community schools of Kamalamai Municipality of Sindhuli district, Nepal as the participants of the study using purposive sampling procedure. The findings demonstrated that the listening skill is the neglected skill in our school education. The teachers do not pay much more attention to teach this skill in our community school by thinking teaching listening is not important for examination purpose. There is scarcity of audio-visual devices, the classroom is not techno-friendly, teachers are not dedicated and trained, monitoring strategies of concerned authority is not effective for teaching listening. Recommended solutions include - the students should be proactive and the school administration has to be responsible for making availability of listening equipment and materials. Similarly, the teachers should use various interactive and cooperative activities such as role-play, pair work, group work and communication games using authentic materials such as English films, favourite songs, funny short stories, some exciting programmes on radio, TV or the internet for the effectual teaching of listening.

Students’ and parents’ attitude towards the SEE English test

This paper reports on a study that explored students’ and their parents’ attitudes towards the fairness and accuracy of the Secondary Education Examination (SEE)English test- a high stakes test in the Nepalese context. It is most probably the first empirical study that has extensively explored this area. The data generated through a longitudinal survey among 247 SEE candidates and semi-structured interviews with six students and their parents in both the pre-test and post-test contexts indicates that students had mostly positive attitudes towards the test fairness and its accuracy in the pre-test context but mostly negative attitudes in the post-test context. However, parents had mostly negative attitudes towards the test in both contexts. Both students and their parents raised questions regarding the accuracy and fairness of the listening and speaking test in the post-test context. Having collected both the qualitative and quantitative data, this study has gained a comprehensive picture of the complexity of the test impacts within the Nepalese educational context, as perceived by students and their parents. The implications of the study have also been highlighted.

Contents and the language used in graffiti: A case of Kathmandu Valley

Graffiti is prevalent in modern cities across the world. It represents a range of issues and ideas, and its meaning can be interpreted socially, culturally, and politically. It features distinct forms of language. Using Multimodal Discourse Analysis (MDA) approach, this study analyses the contents, language and linguistic features of 44 graffiti arts found in the Kathmandu Valley to interpret the meanings of the graffiti. The results of this study reveal multiple issues such as culture, politics, gender discrimination and violence against women. The use of language and linguistics in the graffiti seems distinct in terms of word choice, syntactic structure, and rhetorical devices. It was found that the graffitists used multiple modes such as sign, symbol, color, words with images and stylish writing structures. The study will be of great importance to the researchers who want to analyze the language of graffiti and interpret the meanings they denote and to contribute to the body of existing literature on linguistic studies of graffiti. It is also useful for course designers and educators as they can incorporate graffiti in the courses and use them as resource materials in the classroom.

A colorless sequence of structural analysis in Seto Dharatee

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Students’ perspectives on technology integration in ELT

Technology integration in English language teaching (ELT) has changed the mode of classroom instruction at school. The use of modern technologies at public secondary schools within Nepal is a big challenge. This study explores students ‘perspectives on technology integration in English language teaching at public secondary schools in Nepal. The study was framed under qualitative research design that used focus group discussion to gather data from the six groups of students in the Kathmandu valley. The thematic analysis of their views under different categories revealed that the ELT with technology integration is a dire need for developing students’ language proficiency. Additionally, the results show that the learners of English as a foreign language (EFL) are aware of the advantages of teaching with technology but the insufficient ICT infrastructure at school and the lack of EFL teachers’ professional skills and knowledge of integrating technology into their daily pedagogical practices are main obstacles of technology integration. The study points out implications for ELT practitioners, researchers, policy makers of ICT in education along with stakeholders.

English language teachers’ perspectives on learner autonomy

This study explores the perceptions and practices of the English language teachers to create autonomous learning environment in the context of Nepalese secondary EFL classroom. The study further unpacks the role of the teachers in creating better learning opportunities for learners so as to promote learner autonomy. The research is based on interpretive paradigm to look into kaleidoscopic view of variety of perspectives, classroom practices and emerging dilemmas of the teachers. Based on the findings, the research showcases the deep rooted social practices and myths to bring tensions in the relation between teachers and students. The school environment has to be homely and autonomy supportive. It seems pertinent to think over the concept of learner autonomy globally and act locally adapting the global trends and issues of teaching and learning, and at the same time, there is a dire need to remain mindful of the translated concept of learner autonomy thinking contextually and pragmatically.

A systematic analysis of a two-word concgram in Nepalese policy documents: A corpus-driven approach

Corpus linguistics can inform language teaching in various aspects from syllabus designing to creating exercises based on the real use of language. However, its use in language teaching is still rare. In the context of Nepal, though corpus linguistics forms a part of the University Curriculum in English Education, the students are rarely offered a practical experience of corpus analysis. The same is the case with teacher training courses. This paper followed an analytical procedure for identifying phraseological variation within a two-word ‘concgram’ that is a set of co-occurring words. In this paper, a two-word concgram, make/effort, is analyzed to identify concgram configurations, the most frequently used form, and its meaning by using concordance lines. Lastly, the paper presents the implications of corpus analysis in English language teaching.

Variations in English: Attitudes and awareness

Not available.