ELTWeekly Issue#29, Research Paper: Bridging the gap: Vernacular medium to English medium

By Tarun Patel

Bridging the gap: Vernacular medium to English medium

Sunil Shah & Surendra Gohil, Lecturers, H.M. Patel Institute of English Training and Research, Vallabh Vidyanagar, Dist: Anand , Gujarat – INDIA

Abstract:

“CAN A CHILD STUDY IN A HINDI/VERNACULAR MEDIUM SCHOOL TILL CLASS 4 OR 5 AND THEN BE SHIFTED TO A GOOD ENGLISH MEDIUM ONE?” is a question asked by a parent in the ‘Sawal’ section of the website http://www.ibibo.com. This is also a concern of many other parents in India. This paper seeks to answer this question with the help of a study, wherein the researcher has prepared and tryout some material based on Functional English to develop oral competence of the students of class IV and V who are at zero level or near to zero level competence. In such a task it is obvious that structural approach may not prove to be fruitful, hence the researchers prepared and tried out some materials based on Functional English for initial level of language instruction.

The significant questions which the paper deals with are as follows:

Can the students at zero level be taught through Functional English?
Is there significant improvement in students’ oral skills through the material prepared?
What are the difficulties for compiling and preparing material for the zero level language

instruction level students?

What should one keep in mind while preparing materials at the initial level of language instruction ?

Introduction:

The medium of instruction is very important at every level of education and more so during the elementary education, as that is the time when a child is exposed to the vast world of knowledge. It is a long held debate in India whether the medium of education should be the universally recognized English language or the regional language. There are pros and cons of both the options. While English is important when one grows up and goes into a professional life, regional language has an advantage of being easily understood, thus helping the students grab the right information and understand better. Educationists around the world have debated this issue but to no concrete result. In India, with its multilingual background, there cannot be one accepted medium of instruction. Though Hindi has been accorded the status of the national language, it is yet to gain a whole-hearted acceptance in many parts of India like South and East India. Thus, many state-run schools follow the language of their region to impart education. However, in urban India, English is the preferred medium of education for obvious reasons. Even people from economically weaker backgrounds and those who do not speak English themselves prefer to send their children to English-medium schools.

The prime reasons are preference of English as a medium of instruction in higher education and its worldwide acceptability. There are no good professional courses available in regional languages. Thus, it is believed those who study through regional languages tend to lag behind to those who have studied in the English language. Studies have been conducted worldwide to find out a better medium. Purists reckon that language is not just a means of communication but also a cultural window which introduces one to the social and intellectual surroundings. Language development leads to educational development, which in turn leads to national development. Till a long time, the medium of instruction in India was the dominant regional language from primary to the high school level. English was only introduced as a subject after the primary level. English as a medium of instruction throughout schooling was only found in a few schools. This trend worked in the favor of many but gave inferiority complex to a lot others. People who could not speak or understand English started feeling that they were no good. The point is highly debatable.

However, when it comes to higher education and especially the professional courses English medium is a must. It would not be proper to think that streams like Engineering, Medical, MBA or any technical course can be imparted in a regional language. When we talk about professional courses in vernacular medium the problems which we come across are acceptability and terminology. There are not enough terms in the regional languages that can define the concepts in these fields. Also, even if one were to get this education in the regional language, he/she cannot use it professionally as the whole world does no understand the same language and they end up becoming misfits.

This discussion leads us to further discussion about whether a child studying in Gujarati or Vernacular medium be shifted English Medium from class IV or Class V .

“CAN A CHILD STUDY IN A HINDI/VERNACULAR MEDIUM SCHOOL TILL CLASS 4 OR 5 AND THEN BE SHIFTED TO A GOOD ENGLISH MEDIUM ONE?” is a question asked by a parent in the ‘Sawal’ section of the website http://www.ibibo.com. This is also a concern of many other parents in India. This paper seeks to answer this question with the help of a study, wherein the researchers prepared and tried out some material based on Functional English to develop the oral competence of the students of class IV and V who had had no exposure to English language or were at zero level or near to zero level of English language competence. In such a task it is obvious that structural approach may not prove to be fruitful, hence the researchers prepared and tried out some materials based on Functional English for initial level of language instruction.

The significant questions which the paper deals with are as follows:

Can the students at zero level be taught through Functional English?
Is there significant improvement in students’ oral skills through the material prepared?
What are the difficulties for compiling and preparing material for the zero level language

instruction level students?

What should one keep in mind while preparing materials at the initial level of language

instruction ?

The research was taken up at Swaminarayan Vidyapith[English Medium Girls School CBSE], Karamsad. The school also encourages admissions to students from vernacular medium (Gujarati) in class IV and class V English medium. The English language competence of these students is at zero or near to zero level. These students are admitted on the basis of their aptitude towards learning.

It is also misleading to think that such children will only learn simple language, such as colours and numbers, nursery rhymes and songs, and talking about themselves at the initial stage. Of course, if that is all they are taught, that will be all that they can learn. But children can always do more than we think they can; they have huge learning potential, and the foreign language classroom does them a disservice if we do not exploit that potential(Cameron,2001). Hence it is extremely necessary to prepare and try out materials to help such learners in bridging the gap of 6 years. The researchers prepared some materials which they got validated from experts, which would help such students to develop the required communicative competence.

Objectives of the study:

The researchers undertook the project with the following objectives.

1. To prepare material based on functional English, which will be helpful at the zero level of language instruction.

2. Try out of the material prepared for the initial levels of language instruction.

3. To find out the effectiveness of material based on Functional English at the initial level.

Variables:

In the present study, the Material prepared by the investigator is manipulated as the independent variable to verify its effect in the development of the oral skills the sample group is assumed to be dependent variable.

Limitations of the study:

The present study includes preparation and tryout of some material based on Functional English. These prepared materials covers only limited topics and techniques. The researchers focused only on developing oral skills and not other skills related to general competence of English. The study is limited to a few samples only, namely a group of 25 students admitted to class IV and V with zero or near to zero level of competence in English. The study only covers the geographical area under Swaminarayan Vidyapith , Girls School. The duration of the experimental teaching was that of thirty hours including the input session.

Research methodology:

The present study is experimental in nature. The researchers followed the One group pretest-posttest design.

Materials for teaching the beginners:

Teaching absolute beginners requires the teacher to pay special attention to the order in which new language is introduced. The teacher lesson plan plays an essential role in making sure that new language is introduced slowly and incrementally. This 20 point program provides a syllabus to take students from speaking no English at all, to being able to fulfill basic communication needs including; giving personal information, and describing their daily routines and the world around them.

Obviously, there is a lot more to speaking English confidently than these twenty points. This 20 point program has been designed to provide a strong base on which to build while, at the same time, providing learners with the most important language skills they will need to get going.

When teaching absolute beginners, it is very important to proceed methodically building on what has been introduced. These exercises will appear very simple. But we should remember that the students are taking very little steps to quickly establish a base on which to build. To begin teaching absolute beginners it is important to use gestures, pointing and what is often called “modeling”.

Some of the teaching points included in the course are as follows:

- Introducing oneself/ others

- Identifying items or people in the classroom and the school

- Introducing and asking for identification.

- Seeking information

- Basic Greetings

- Personal Information

- Telling the Time

- Talking about their Daily Routines

Methods of data collection:

The investigator followed the following method for data collection
Internal pretest (prepared by the investigator)
Internal posttest (prepared by the investigator)

The researchers prepared the questions to check the oral skills at the initial level, the researchers took the pretest in the form of audio-recording of the responses. The marks were allotted as per the marks allotted to questions asked by the researchers at the time of actual audio -recording. Following the treatment of the material produced by the investigators posttest was taken in the same manner as the pre-test.

Analysis and interpretation of data:

The data were analyzed on the basis of the scores obtained by the sample group in pretest and posttest. Several types of statistical parameters were used to verify the validity of the findings of the experiment. They were-

i. Measures of Central Tendency or averages- the mean, the median and the mode;

ii. Measures of spread or dispersion- S.D.;

iii. Measures of relationship- correlation, C.V.;

The data was analysed on the basis of the scores obtained by the students in the pretest and posttest. Simple statically methods were used to interpret the data.

Highlights of the analysis :

The mean scores made by the students in the pretest are 3.6 and post experimental test 11.6.
There is a difference of 8 marks between the pretest score and posttest score which is positive.

Mode of the score showed positive increase of +7, where as Median showed positive increase of +7. ( Mode pretest=5, posttest=12, Median pretest =+5 and posttest=12)

There is a high standard deviation ( 3.588 ) in posttest score compared with low standard deviation ( 2.638 ) in pretest score. The standard deviation is seen high in the posttest as some of the students who did not do well in the pretest have done extremely well in the post test.

The correlation of coefficient between scores of pre and post experimental test was positive and worked out at + 0.364.

Coefficient of variation is also low ( 30.93 ) in post test score compared with coefficient of variation in pretest score ( 73.277 ).

All the students of the sample group have improvement in their score in post test. However there is difference in level of improvement in all the students.

Observation by the investigator:

Although the learners were new to the language they actively participated in the different activities conducted during the tryout of the materials for the initial level of language instruction. Initially the students were not comfortable with the new language they were learning but different games and activities motivated them. However, it was the brighter students who took initiative in answering the question and participation in class. But gradually all the 25 students started taking active interest in these classes.

The results show that all the 25 students have shown improvement .However, there were a few students who were not able to cope with the level of the class. The reason behind this could be lack of effort on the side of the learner. One of the students confessed that they were listening to the language for the first time. It was observed that the students were gradually gaining confidence to use the new language.

They were more involved and seemed motivated in learning English Language. Add the end of day 7 of they were able to use language more confidently and fluently than they have thought of. It was observed that the learners made a conscious attempt to talk in English language with their peers. They were able to comprehend each others language. Other qualities as cooperation, negotiation, consensus making and leadership developed as they worked together. Communication was not only with the students but also with the teacher.

At the end of the treatment it was observed that the students were able to communicate in a purposeful manner appropriate to the context. They were found more enthusiastic to use the language with these teachers of other subjects and their seniors. Their stage fright decreased as some of them were able to perform well in the school assembly. They also appeared to listen to each other more carefully.

Suggestions for further research:

Materials for the Initial level of language instruction should be prepared in consultation with the needs of other faculty teachers also. Through such a coordinated effort materials will become more relevant for the learners. These materials will teach language items but students should feel that they are learning something relevant to their studies. More materials should be prepared which will take care of other language skill i.e. listening , reading and writing. These materials which are for the initial level of language instruction will be liked by the students if it is related to their subjects and needs. Such material should be prepared and tried out as it will helps the students to bridge the gap between them and English language as they have not got the exposure to the language in vernacular (Gujarati) medium schools.

Conclusion:

This study was undertaken with the aim of preparation and tryout of some materials based on Functional English at the initial level of language instruction. The researcher did face some bottlenecks while carrying out the experiment. Based on the observations, taken during the tryout of materials the researchers drew some suggestions.

During the research the researchers faced few problems. The difference in their level of understanding was a barrier as the researchers had to make some changes in the procedure of tryout of materials. These difficulties helped that the researchers how to prepare such materials, which steps to follow and how to teach students at the initial level of language instruction in a better way.

The study proved to be useful for both the investigator and the students. These materials were useful to develop the oral skills of the students. These materials provided the learners the confidence which is required to learn a new language. This study will be useful for not only practicing teachers but also for future researcherss and material producers.

References:

Brumfit, C. Communicative Methodology in Language Teaching. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. 1984.

Cameron, Lynne. Teaching Languages to Young Learners. Cambridge University Press, 2001.

Finocchiaro, M. and Brumfit, C.J. The Functional-Notional Approach from Theory to Practice. Oxford University Press, Oxford. 1983.

Johnson, K. and K. Morrow. (eds).1981. Communication in the Classroom. Longman Group Ltd, London.

Das, Anirban. ” How important is the medium of education.” 03 July 2008.

< http://find-read-discover.com/articledetail//How_important_is_the_medium_of_education>

About.com. March 2005. The New York Times Company. September, 2007 <http://esl.about.com/od/absolutebeginners/Teaching_Absolute_Beginners.htm>

Nunan. “Challenges in Teaching Young Learners”.April 2005.

<http://www.nunan.info/presentations/challenges_teach_young_learners.pdf>

*** ELTWeekly Team would like to thank Sunil Shah & Surendra Gohil for contributing this research paper.

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ELTWeekly Issue#29 commento

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August 12th, 2009

About... Tarun Patel

This author published 569 posts in this site.
Tarun Patel (http://tarunpatel.net/blog/) is an ELT and Communication skills teacher, working with Charotar University of Science & Technology (CHARUSAT - http://charusat.ac.in/). He has been dealing with the Language learning processes for last seven years. 'Technology in Teaching English' is his favorite domain and he has presented several research papers in national and international conferences on the same theme. He is the founder editor of ELTWeekly (http://eltweekly.com/), India's first weekly ELT eNewsletter which reaches in more than forty countries and benefits more than 1600d teachers of English and Communication Skills. Have a look at his personal blog http://tarunpatel.net/blog/.