Research Paper - qurtuba.edu.pk · Web viewI wish to express our sincere thanks and gratitude to our research Supervisor Mr.Ameer Sultan, (Lecturer at International Islamic University

Department Of English, International Islamic University Islamabad.

Learning English as Second Language in a Pakistani Society

Submitted by: Muhammad Arslan Ahmed Awan

1069-FLL/BSENG/F13

Submitted to: Sir Ameer Sultan

Research Paper Muhammad Arslan Ahmed Awan

Research Paper

Acknowledgements:

I praise to Allah Almighty, The most merciful and the mostBeneficent who granted us wisdom

and knowledge for completing this study.

I wish to express our sincere thanks and gratitude to our research Supervisor Mr.Ameer Sultan,

(Lecturer at International Islamic University Islamabad) for his precious guidance and value able

advices.

I amespecially thankful to the Administration of F.G&The City School for their cooperation

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Title page …………………………………………………………………………......1


Research Paper

Acknowledgement ………………………………………………………………….…2

Table of contents………………………………………………………………………3

Abstract ................................................................................................................…….4

1. Introduction……………………………………………………….…………4

1.1 Hypothesis……………………….……………………………………… 4

1.2 Research objectives.....................................................................................5

1.3 Research questions……………………………………………………….5

1.4 Significance of study……………………………………..........................5

2. Theoretical framework…………………….......................................................5

3. Literature review………………………………………………………………6

4. Methodology………………………………………………………….…………7

4.1 Data analysis…………………………………………………………………8

5. Findings…………………………………………………………………………15

6. Recommendation……………………………………………………………….16

7. Conclusion………………………………………………………………………16

8. References………………………………………………………………………17

Learning English as Second Language in a Pakistani Society


Research Paper

Abstract:

The purpose of this research is to explore the problems of Pakistani Students in learning English

as a Second language. The objective of this study is to highlight the effect of the educational

system in English language learning. This studyfollows the guidelines provided by

StephenKrashen.The target population is Government and Private schools in the city of

Islamabad.We will take Sample of 20 students from primary level. Interviews will beused as a

research tool to conduct data. The datais being analyzed statistically to find out the problems.

The results show that all the difficulties in the learning English language as a second language

are because of our educational system. This researchsuggests that defective educational system is

a threat to learn English language.

Keywords: Problems inlearning English language, Educational system, regional diversity.

Pronunciation.

Introduction:

Great Britain ruled subcontinent for long time. Before British Raj no language was declared as

official language of subcontinent, because subcontinent was a multilingual society. After

acceptingthe rule of Britain over subcontinent, English was declared as official language of

subcontinent. After Independenceof Pakistan in 1947 English language still maintainedit's

position. Gradually peopleof Pakistan started to learn English language because of its status.

Most of them were from different regional backgrounds as a result multilingual society formed.

Due to multilingual background people of Pakistani society face problemsin acquiring English

language.Pakistani peoplemade a lot of efforts to improve the standard of education. Researchers

havedone a lot of work to find out the problems and factors that are proved as a hindrance in

acquiring target language. The main problem is educational system of Pakistan. The

educationalbackground of teachers and their limited knowledge is also a major factor. In this Research Paper Muhammad Arslan Ahmed Awan

Research Paper

study we will highlight the problems and suggest the solution for the problems of acquiring

English as target language.

Hypothesis:Defective educationalsystem of Pakistani society proves to be a hindrance in learning English as

second language.

Research Objectives:1) To assess the effect of educational system in learning English language.

2) To findout the effect of regional diversity in acquiring target language.

3) To findout the problems of students when they try to speak English language.

Research Questions:1) How educational system plays its role in learning English language?

2) How regional diversity plays its role in learning English?

3) How Pakistanistudents face problems when they try to speak English?

Significance of study:The followingresearch will highlight the problems in learning English language and it will

suggest the solutions to overcome these problems. The educational system of schools, role of

teachers, and different pronunciation of same words by different students from multiple regional

backgrounds compelled researchers to do the analysis of the issues in learning of English

language.

This researchwill help the researchers to find out the problems of students whose aim is to learn

English as second language. It will highlight, what are the shortcomings and hindrances in the

way of learning English as second language.

Theoretical Framework:


Research Paper

This researchfollows the guide lines of StephenKrashen'stheory of Second Language

Acquisition.He is awell known linguist and researcher. The theoryof Second language is taken

from his book“Principles and Practice in Second Language Acquisition” (Krashen,1985).

The maintenet of this theory is based on two principles that are people have two different ways

of learning second language, Acquisition and learning. Acquisition is a subconscious process one

is that language can be acquired unconsciously. It means that people learn language by following

natural process. The otherpoint is that language can be learned through conscious process by

following systematic structure of language.

Literature Review: Critical reviewabout the learning of English language in a multilingual Pakistani society like

Pakistan shows that Pakistan is facing problems in learning English language. In Pakistan two

languages are used for educational purposes that are Urdu and English. Teachers continuously

switch between these two languages due to which students face a lot of problems. This study will

highlight the factors that affect the second language learning. Main problemis the educational

system of Pakistani schools. There lies a lot of difference between the scheme of education in

private sector school and the government schools. Students of private schools are highly

facilitated as compared to government schools. Although in government schools teachers are

highly paid but they don't pay attention to students their only aim is to collect money and spend

their time in gossiping.

In educational system, qualification and competence of teachers played a vital role in the career

of students. If the teacher is not competent enough to teach the pupil at basic level then students

have to face many problems in their future career. "British Council Regional Director for South

Asian Region Stephen Roman said that English proficiency level amongst teachers in Pak was

quite poor while 90pc teachers in Punjab were not equipped to teach different subjects in English

medium”. (English-more than a subject, 2014)

The biggest challenge that people face in learning English as second language is due to their

diverse cultural background diversity specially effect their pronunciation. They can't pronounce


Research Paper

proper words. "As with most teachers of language arts, English teachers face growing pressures

to meet the needs of increasingly diverse learners, both in terms of ethnicity and language but

also in terms of economic and social circumstances" (Colarruso.2010)

Another problem is that our society is based on class difference i.e. upper class, lower or middle

class. This social strata society divided educational system as well lower class students cannot

access higher educational institutions. Pakistani government schools have worst conditions.

They don't have even a proper furniture and teacher for students. "LAHORE: The teaching of

the English language in Pakistan is class-based as the country’s education system is programmed

to provide different levels of English teaching to people belonging to different economic status”.

(English — more than a subject.2014)

"Those who afford go to elite private schools and access better learning material, authentic

environments and well-trained teachers whereas the poor and low-income families miss out on

the opportunity to learn English up to the standards assumed by society."(English — more than a

subject.2014)

One of the factors that influence language learning is highlighted here in report is that teachers

communicate with students in their mother language. Students cannot develop communication

skills. "English language in Pakistan today: Class, the workplace and the shift in language use,”

conducted by the British Council. "It is said that English was not being taught as a language but

rather as a subject, confined to the 40-minute class sessions. It said there was a wide urban-rural

divide in the standard of English teaching as people in urban settings had much more choice and

better quality of teaching and learning facilities available compared to the rural areas".(English

— more than a subject , 2014).

Methodology:The current research is purely quantitative. We will take the sample based on two groups of

students. Each group contained ten students of Islamabad city. In this research our target is City

school from private sector and Federal Government school from government sector. The level of


Research Paper

students is primary. We analyzed the problems of acquiring second language by conducting

interview.

Interview is being conducted on the basis of 10 questions. All questions were open ended. The

interview is designed according to research questions and research objectives. Students were free

to express their opinions. During interview we focused on their pronunciation, their way of

communication and level of confidence in each student. Interview is being recorded and data is

collected by analyzing the recordings of students’ answers. This analysis differentiated the

language learning of students of private schools and government schools.

Primary level is considered as a basic level of developing skills of reading, writing, listening and

speaking. From kindergarten level to the primary level students learn the basics of their

education. These skills help them in their career. If the base of education is limited and their

skills are poor at this level then they will face hurdles regarding speaking and writing. In short

students couldn't develop communicative skills as well as writing skills.

The interview is being analyzed in the light of our frame work based on Krashen's theory. The

basic tenet of this framework is that people can learn or acquire target language based on their

initial proficiency level. Either they learn through unconscious process. Acquiring language

through following natural process or conscious process that is by learning and practicing

structures of grammar or a person learn language through the process of listening, speaking

reading and writing.

The main focus of our research is that although every school flow the basic systematic structure

of teaching target language but why students cannot properly learn target language. If they

understand the basic structure they couldn't properly communicate or write it.

We focused on the scheme of learning second language in government schools. What are the

faults in their scheme due to which students cannot acquire target language? Then we compared

educational system of private schools and their scheme of study in learning target language to

government schools.

Data Analysis:


Research Paper

Students participated in this study were 20 in number. 10 of them were from private sector and

10 were from Government sector. The age of students was between 9 to 11 years. In order to

collect data we conducted an interview. We analyzed our gathered data statistically and it is

shown in tables and charts. Each factor is discussed according to their respective category.

First of all most important thing to be highlighted is the regional diversity of students of both the

sectors. The ratio of regional diversity is shown in the following graph.It is noted during the

interview that thestudents from different regional background have problems of pronunciation.

For example we provided them with a word “Thank you”. The pronunciation of Punjabi students

was different then the Pashto speaking students. So at the primary level In a class when there are

students from different regional background it is not easy to teach them a second language

effectively.

Regional diversity

s

Table 1. Medium of teaching in classroom

Private sector:

English language 90%


Research Paper

Urdu language 10%

Government sector:


Urdu language 90%

Privstr sectorGovernment sector

Figure 1 . (Medium of teaching in classroom).


Research Paper

When students were asked about what is their medium of communication in classroom. Students

from government sector informed us that teachers usually communicate with us in Urdu. In

English class, teacher read the story or the lesson in English and then translates the whole story

in Urdu to explain it. Teachers usually don't even ask Students to read the lesson. From this we

have observed that if the teacher doesn’t communicate with students in English in order to teach

English language how they could learn language. They don’t even know how to read a simple

sentence. This observation answers to our research question that defective educational system is

the main hindrance in acquiring target language. On the other hand students from private sectors

tell us that their medium of communication in classroom is English. Teacher also taught them in

English. Teachers of private sectors not only communicate in English language in class room but

they also motivate them to use English language outside the classroom. This strategy helps the

students in learning English language as well as builds strong communication skills.

Table 2.English language: like or dislike:

Private Sector


Urdu language 20%

Government sector:


Urdu language 30%Research Paper Muhammad Arslan Ahmed Awan

Research Paper

English language

Urdu language0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

Privstr sector Government sector

Figure 2 English language: like or dislike

In response of this question most of the students from government sector said that they are

interested to learn English language but we see that most of them were not even able to answer

the questions in English language. When we asked them question in English. The students

requested to translate the whole question in Urdu. Before interview they were very confident but

we have clearly seen that they lose their confidence level during the interview. On the other hand

most of the students of private sector do not face problems while answering the same questions.

When we try to confuse one of the students and asked him 'should I translate the question in

Urdu for you? He replied with full confidence that there is no need to translate the question for

me in Urdu. This shows once again that students want to learn English language but due to their

defective educational system they can't fulfill their dream of learning.


Research Paper

Table.3 Teacher’s behavior in classroom:

Private sector:

English language

80%

Urdu language 20%

Government sector:


Urdu language 70%


Research Paper

English language

Urdu language0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%Privstr sector Government sector

Figure 3 Teacher friendly or unfriendly

When we ask a simple question about the behavior of teacher in classroom to, 8 out of

10students of private sector said that the behavior of teacher is friendly. Moreover teacher

motivates us to learn English language. While teachers in government sector are not friendly.

There is distance between students and teachers. At this point the problematic educational system

of Pakistan can also be blamed. The administration of the government schools do not focus on

the results and competence of their students. Administration and the staff of school only try to

get job in government schools because of the facilities and pay provided by government of

Pakistan is higher than those of private sector schools. Staff of the school and the administrators

very clearly knows that whatever they teach their students in class room no one is going to

question them. They also know that their monthly pays are also permanent. Not all the teachers

of government sector are same but majority of the teachers follows the same tradition.


Research Paper

Table 4. Passage reading:

Pronunciation

Government sector 10%

Private sector

90%

Reading skills


Research Paper

Government sector 20%

Private sector 80%

Pronunciationreading skills

Figure 4.pronunciation and reading skills

When we provide a simple passage on a daily routine and asked to the private sector’s students

to read it aloud. They read the whole passage very confidently and clearly. They read it without

skipping the words and without mumbling. On the other hand when the same passage is given to

the government sector’s students 9 out of 10 try to read it but not even a single word was

pronounced correctly. Even one student refused to read the passage due to lack of reading skills.

The students were not a loud and clear in their reading. They took pauses while reading and

continuously skipped the difficult words. Sometimes they started mumbling. They were not

confident in their reading skills.

Findings: The results of our present study shown that the learners of English language are facing many

problems in Pakistan. The present study explores the two well known schools of Pakistan. These

schools are “F.G school I/10-1 Islamabad” and “The City school Islamabad”. We find out that

the basic problem is with our educational system. As Students of government school told us that.

Medium of teaching in their class is Urdu throughout, even in English class. It is also observed

that "Most Pakistanis want their children to learn English. Private schools offer all instruction in


Research Paper

English while government schools offer instruction in either Urdu or the local provincial

language” (Abid,2010).

Teachers usually don't even ask students to read the lesson. From this we observed that if the

teacher doesn’t communicate with students in English in order to teach English language how

they could learn. They do not even know how to read a simple sentence. This observation

answers to our research question that defective educational system is the main hindrance in

acquiring target language. Quality of education and condition of government schools is

diminishing day by day. In private schools the syllabus is up-to-date. Mostly people prefer

private schools instead of government schools. Even nowadays people from lower class also

send their children to get good quality education from private schools. "Thousands of ghost

teachers have been drawing salaries from the education departments of the four provinces".

(Abid,2010).

There is no one who can question the teachers of government schools that, why they don't have

any concern with the educational career of their students. "They simply show up to collect their

salaries on the appointed day”. (Difference between Private and Govt,2010)

Another difference between government and private schools is that there is larger number of

students enrolled in each class. Single teacher taught large number of students due to large

number of students he/she can't pay full attention to each student. On the other hand in private

schools students are fifteen to twenty in number. It's convenient for teacher to teach small

number of students with good concentration. So we anyone can relate the idea that defective

educational system is a biggest problem in acquiring language learning.

This study also observed that Regional diversity plays its role in language learning. Students

from different regions obviously speak different mother languages. They have different

background. When they move towards schools for learning they face many problems specially in

speaking Urdu and English. When Students of different background are provided with the similar

environment they face many challenges while learning. Students of the local area do not accept

them or they have different mother languages. Moreover, other students tease them because of

their accent or pronunciation. For example in our research we conducted interview from students


Research Paper

of different regional background. We observed that they were very confident while answering in

English language but their pronunciation was different. It was interesting to explore their accent.

The accent of Pashto speaking students was different while they speak in English. Each student

red a passage in a loud voice but they pronounced the word 'th' with less stress. Another

hindrance that we observed is the socio-economic status of a child. This is also a big problem in

acquiring English language. How? Because when a student has lower family status his parents

could not afford his school's expenses. They would definitely send him to the government

school. We have already discussed that government schools are the main hindrance in the way of

learning target language. During this research project we observed that children from lower class

or lower middle class were enrolled in government schools. Most of them have the same socio

economic status. If one out of ten students have the better social status and still studying in the

government school this is due to their parents’ negligence.

Recommendations: This research illustrates defected educational system of Pakistani society as well as hindrance in

learning English as second language. First of all it is recommended that to review educational

system of government sector. Keeping in view the problems of learning English language, and

classroom environment, it is recommended that to bridge the gap between the private and

government sectors. Moreover, trained teachers are also required for teaching English language.

It is also strongly recommended that further researches should be conducted on the role of

teacher in learning a second language.

Conclusion:We came to the conclusion that learning English language is possible when the environment is

appropriate and useful. The basic problem with our educational system is that it is divided into

two sectors, private and government sectors. There is a huge difference in the environment of

private and government schools. In government schools, factors are not helpful for the learning

of students. Teacher’s attitude towards use of English language in private sectors and

government sectors is different. All such factors had bad impact on the learning of students. If

the learners are from the private schools they have suitable environment for learning English


Research Paper

language. English language is used as a medium of teaching and students have many useful

factors for learning English language.

The structured interview with students highlights the lacks of students of government schools

and mastery of private schools’ students over English language. To fill this gap of learning

English language it is necessary to bridge the gap between private and government schools.


Research Paper

References:

1) Colarrusso,Dana M. (2010) Teaching English in a Multicultural Society:Three Models of

Reform.Canadian Journal of Education, Volume 33,No.2,Language, Identity, and Educational

Policies.pp.432-458.

2) Krashen,S.(1985). Principles and Practices in Second Language Acquisition.Cambridge

University Press.

3) Arfa, Shahid. (n.d.).Private schools vs Public schools in Pakistan [Blogger]Received from

http://www.pkhopecom/private-schoolsvspublic-schools.

4) Abid.(2010,February). Difference between Private and Govt.Retrieved from

http://educationsystem-abid.blogspot.com/2010/02/difference-between-private-govt.html

5) English-more than a subject. (2014,March 27).Retrieved from

http://www.dawn.com/news/1095878

6) Colarusso, O'Rourke.(2010)."Special Eductaion for ALL Teachers"Kendall Hunt Publishing

Co.


Research Paper

Documents

Research Paper - qurtuba.edu.pk · Web viewI wish to express our sincere thanks and gratitude to our research Supervisor Mr.Ameer Sultan, (Lecturer at International Islamic University