Present Status of English Teaching at Primary Level in Marathi Medium Schools

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1 Present Status of English Teaching at Primary Level in Marathi Medium Schools Dr. Patil Vaijayanta Nagorao Associate Professor School of Educational Sciences Swami Ramananda Teerath Marathwada University Nanded & Mr. Nalge Mahesh Kumar Madhavrao Research Associate Abstract: In the 21st century, modern English is considered as a global language. According to Wikipedia, over 370 million people speak English as their first language: 200 million to 1.3 billion people use it as a second language or learn it as a foreign-language. English is also the universal language of science, economy, and other branches. In Maharashtra state English language teach from first standard since year 2000.The impact of English teaching is not satisfactory for the students which are the more important factor in the today s society.majority students from Marathi medium schools are not able to speak English language fluently like Marathi and Hindi. In this paper we have tried to study the factors behind this situation so we study the status of English teaching at Marathi medium schools by doing a survey at Nanded. Introduction: Language which has been considered man s most remarkable achievement, is so much a part of our lives, like the air we breathe, that very often we take it for granted and as often are not aware of its characteristic features. Language is a system. English has a status of associate language, but in fact it is the most important language of India. After Hindi it is the most commonly spoken language in India and probably the most read and written language in India. English in India is used not only for communicating with the outside world, but also 210

2 for inter-state and intrastate communication. English symbolizes in Indians minds, better education, better culture and higher intellect. Indians who know English often mingle it with Indian languages in their conversation. It is also usual among Indians to abruptly move to speak fluent English in the middle of their conversations. English also serves as the communicator among Indians who speak different languages. English is very important in some systems legal, financial, educational and business in India. Importance of English: English due to its international importance is a language to be aspired for N. Krishnaswammy and LalitaKrishnaswammy (2006, p.1) have rightly said: Much like oil or the microchip, English, today, is used globally. Life will become paralyzed if petrol and computers are not available anymore similarly, we may find it difficult to function if we don t understand or speak English. There are various factors which contribute to the importance of English language. They make it one of the most important languages in the world. It is for this reason that English occupies an important place in our educational system. English in Maharashtra: Geographically speaking, there are three types of area within the state. They are Rural, Urban and Cosmopolitan. In rural area, the language used for day-to-day conversation is the regional language Marathi. In urban area, both Marathi and Hindi are used for social intercourse. But in the cosmopolitan cities like Mumbai, Pune, etc., majority of the educated people use English for day-to-day and intellectual communication. The use of English is one of the most important problems in Maharashtra. In Maharashtra as far as the teaching of English is concerned there was no uniformity in the teaching of English before It was only in 1968 that the uniform syllabus at primary level was implemented and from 1972 English as a compulsory subject was introduced from the fifth standard, when children are about ten eleven years of age. This age is the most appropriate stage where a child can learn a foreign / second language. Now-a-days, Maharashtrians have realized that English can play an important role as a global language of international culture and communication. People s consciousness that east and west can share common thoughts and cultural heritage provides an optimistic view 211

3 that the status of English in Maharashtra will be far better than can be imagined in the years to come. Now English is taught from first standard in Marathi medium Schools in Maharashtra. English in Education: In India, as in other linguistically and culturally pluralistic societies, the position of English is determined by various political, cultural and social considerations (Kachru, 1986b p.15: 11-30) sees primarily three questions which continue to be discussed. The first question concerns the position of English in early and in higher education. The second question is concerned with the roles of the regional language Hindi and English. The third question deals with the model of English presented to Indian learners, and how that presentation can be made uniformly and effectively. The government of India has primarily been concerned with the first two questions, which are directly related to language planning at both the national and state levels. There are, as yet, no acceptable answers to any of those questions (Kachru, 1986b p. 15:11-30.) The three language formula was developed for the educational load to be fairer, to promote national integration, and, to provide wider language choice in the school curriculum (Srivastava, 1990 p.37-53) according to the formula; people from non-hindi areas study their regional language Hindi and English and another language. Although the formula sounds fine in theory, practically it has proved to be a failure in India as a whole, since it has not been followed in practice. Hindi states didn t enforce the curriculum, and the anti-hindi DMK government in madras removed all teaching of Hindi from schools in Tamilnadu. Thus in India, there is a great number of sociolinguistic pressures influencing the development of language education, Spolsky (1978 p ) has stated that the language policy of the school system is both a result of the pressures and a source of pressure itself. He, too claims education to be the strongest weapon for enforcing language policy, listening the following pressures to have an effect on language planning in a society, family, religion, ethnicity, political pressures, cultural pressures, economic pressures, legal pressures (lack of the official language can often become the basis for discrimination), military pressure (desirability to use one common language) (Spolskey, 1978). Effective learning takes place only when the learner is able to communicate fluently both in writing and speaking and is able to use English for library purposes. In this context, Mahajiteswar Das holds a different view saying that teaching English as a library language was not beneficial in terms of providing job opportunities because the students who learn to use English only as a library language are less competent than the students who acquire competence in all the four skills of English 212

4 language. Therefore, according to Mahajiteswar Das, it is necessary to develop all the language skills in order to improve communication skills (Indira, M.2003:4). Mark Tully (1997: 51(2) ) points out that the elitist status of English in India creates problems for the economic development because that means that the education of the mass of people will be ignored. He argues that the solution for the situation would be that the spread of English throughout India would be encouraged. So that it would become a genuine link language of the country, not just, as it is at present, the link language of the elite so English is introduced as a subject in class I in many States. In a few states, it is introduced in class III or at class V level. The teaching and learning of English today is characterized by the diversity of Schools, classroom procedures and teaching of textbooks for the purpose of passing the examination. Now in Maharashtra English is one compulsory subject from first standard of Marathi medium schools. In this paper we discussing about the English languages status in primary level in Maharashtra. Methodology To find out how the teachers teach English as a language and the level of preparation of teachers,classroom processes during English periods in sampled schools were observed in Marathi medium schools. Theobservations were focused on development of listening, speaking, reading and writing skills,medium of transaction, and use of TLMs and availability of reading material in English. Sampling For presentstudy 10 Marathi medium schools from Nanded city are selected 5 schools are privet and 5 are government schools in this sample are selected. 20 teachers each 2 from 10 schools are selected for the study. Data collection On visiting the schools, data related to teaching of English was collected through: Classroom observation interviewing teachers teaching English Interaction with students Conclusions: The students from Marathi medium schools at level 1 knew only a few English words and phrases.the students from Marathi medium schools are not able to speak whole sentence in English.The students from Marathi medium schools could not read and write simple 213

5 and short sentences in English.The students from Marathi medium schools were able to recite and sing poems, songs, rhymes and enact small plays. They enjoyed stories and poems. But they were not able to narrate experiences, exchange ideas and carry out brief conversation in English.It was noticed that teachers began their lesson by reading directly from the textbooks and generally finished the lesson abruptly.the teachers and students were entirely dependent on the books; they stick on only to the written words and printed instructions and do not move beyond the textbook.majority teachers of primary level English not having graduation in English.Majority teachers not having command on English teaching skills like Listing, Spiking, Reading and Writing. Discussion: English has been stared from first standard in Marathi medium schools also from June Butunfortunately, even after a decade, the desired goals have not been achieved to the full extent. Apart frommany other reasons, like social and family background of the students, size of classrooms, and availabilityof teaching aids, the basic reason is unavailability of competent and well trained teachers. The teachersare not appointed specifically to teach English at primary, the teachers in general were not very confident when it came to teaching English. Teacher says like, I am not an English teacher; I have to teach English; My pronunciation is weak; I cannot speak English correctly and fluently. I am not trained in English; This indicates that teachers were not prepared specifically to teach this subject and their own content knowledge may be not adequate enough to take up the task. It is evident that the teachers teaching English were not comfortable in using English. Notonly he/she was unaware of the importance of transacting the lesson in simple English, he/she was not equipped to do so.teachers generally used direct approach of starting the class making useof textbooks. Theteachers have fallen into `the Textbook Trap. Theyused the textbook as their primary instructional tool inall the classrooms and adhered only to the written wordand printed instructions. There was no effort to movebeyond the textbooks. They did not teach any otherwords or sentence patterns or provided oral and writtenpractice beyond that given in the text-books. Language is best learnt through the development of four skills the skills of speaking,listening, reading and writing.it was seen that teachers consider skill development as an integrated practice; integrated inthe sense that they feel listening and speaking are 214

6 automatically learnt during reading andwriting. Listening and speaking do not require separate exercises, games or activities, but canbe learnt while practicing reading skills by reading aloud. New words in English were introduced through the Direct Approach Methodi.e. a teacher gave the meaning of the new words in mother tongue before giving the meaningin English. English teachers do not used words in sentences to help the learners infer the meaning. Pomes were being taught line by line or word by word. The emphasis wasmore on explaining the meaning of words, rather than understanding/enjoying poetry.teachers paid less attention to pronunciation, intonation and appropriate use of pauses. Teachers teach only the poems given in textbooks; explain the meaning of poemwith no attention to the feeling of emotion in the poem, its appreciation or enjoyment.recitation of poem with proper rhythm, music of words, sounds or reflecting the mood weremissing. Teachers explained the meaning of the poem in Marathi language. In a way theytranslated the poem for the learners. Ideally after the model reading, children should be reading along with the teacher to enjoy the rhythm and music of the words and also enjoy the poem. Children would enjoy andunderstand the poem better if the poem is enacted. Grammar teaching is made by memorization of rules,most of the teachers were using traditional methods leading to monotonous class and rote memorization which was adversely affecting the students interest in learning English. Grammar should be teach through context and pattern practice. So it is need to improve the quality of English teaching. Training must given to teachers included with advance level training in communication skills, grammar and creative writing skills. Specific training programmes for teaching of English, both short term and long term need to be conducted. They should be based on teachers needs. School and class libraries should be developed to promote the habit of reading amongst children. Teachers should read more English other than text book. Government should appoint some special English teachers in each school

7 References: 1. Burton, J. (2006), Teaching English as a foreign language in primary School, TESOL, Widdowson, H.G. (1990), Aspects of Language Teaching, Oxford, O.U.P 3. Carless, D. (2008). Student Use of the Mother Tongue in the Task-Based Classroom. ELT Journal 62 (4), Cook, G. (2007). Unmarked Improvement: Values, Facts, and First Languages. IATEFL Conference, Aberdeen, April. 5. National Curriculum Framework (2005); National Council for Educational Research and Training, New Delhi NCERT (2006); Position Paper, National Focus Group on Teaching of English; National Curriculum Framework 2005; National Council for Educational Research and Training, New Delhi. 7. Cook, V Second Language Learning And Language Teaching (3rd Edition). OUP Inc. New York. 8. Ellis, Rod. (1985). Understanding Second Language Acquisition. Oxford, OUP. 9. Ellis, Rod. (1984). Classroom Second Language Development. Oxford and New York, Pergamon. Web Reference: