Vol. 4 Issue 6 – Research Paper: ‘A study on the impact of Area on the undergraduate learners’ attitudes towards the English language’ by Hitendra Vyas

Abstract

The present paper focuses on the impact of Area on the undergraduate learners’ attitudes towards the English language as regards to the situation of ELT in India. SLA research has consistently pointed out that attitudes towards the target language play an important role in learning it. The research on the role of attitudes in English language teaching naturally interests the investigator as a college teacher of English in an Arts college. The researcher has examined the undergraduate learners’ attitudes towards the English language. This paper focuses on the undergraduate learners of English in Arts colleges affiliated to the Gujarat University (Ahmedabad) but located in urban and rural areas. It has been observed that students do want to learn and improve their knowledge of English but somehow they shy away from the language. On their part, the college teachers of English have consistently displayed a lack of understanding of the students’ needs, problems, and interests.

English Language Teaching (ELT) In India

India is a multi-lingual country. The Indian Union (1950) adopted Hindi in Devnagari script as the national language. It is ironic, however, that our constitution was first drafted in English and then translated into Indian languages. This irony is the metaphor for the place of English in India. It was decided that English would continue as an associate official language till 1965 by which time Hindi was expected to develop as a language for mass communication and replace English. However, this did not happen (Sood 1988). Indians have not yet been able to clearly define the role and status of English in India. Some want to retain English while others want to do away with it once and for all. Many people accept English as a “necessary evil”, in that they publicly declare that the language should be thrown out of country and at the same time send their children or grandchildren to good English medium schools (Krishnaswamy et al. 1992).

In linguistic complexity India is almost like the continent of Europe. And in this highly multilingual national context, English has the constitutional status of an “associate official language”. As such it is the dominant medium of communication in administration, higher education, industry and commerce, science and technology, and journalism. The value of English can hardly be overestimated in the given circumstances. English has been variously described as the “window on the world”, and as “language of opportunity or development”. One finds more books in English than in any other Indian language, especially books related to science, technology, arts, valued professions, and education. English continues to be used as a link language across the country.

Such importance of English may easily mislead one into believing that “all is well” with the teaching of English in India. However, we need a few facts to get in touch with reality. The status and role of English have not changed in post-independence India. But the standard of English teaching has certainly deteriorated (Sood 1988). There are all kinds of varieties of English to be found across the country, ranging from a near native variety to a bazaar variety (Krishnaswamy et al. 1992). Only about five percent of the total population of India is estimated to know English and a large proportion of this is “concentrated in the largest cities of the country” (Prabhu 1987). Millions of learners are eager to learn English but the resources are limited, methods of teaching are not suitable to the learners’ requirements, and teachers are not well trained. Expensive English medium schools and almost-free government schools exist side by side to cater to the demand for English education. What this practically means is that some learners from the upper class or high-income background have a greater exposure to the language than other learners who are not so fortunate.

ELT situation in India suggests an absence of any kind of language planning; especially in the teaching of English. Even when policies have been framed, their implementation has been unsatisfactory because of lack of political will or lack of co-ordination among the concerned agencies like the central and the state government/s or universities (Krishnaswamy et al. 1992). This has led to an “aimless drift” and striking dissimilarities can be found as regards to the school year when the teaching of English begins, the total number of school years during which it is taught, whether it is used as a medium of instruction at some level or not, class size and examination (Prabhu 1987; Jadeja 1988).

The age at which the teaching of English starts at school varies among different states. But, generally, it is between 7 and 12 years. The teaching of English at school-leaving stage is compulsory in some states while not in others. As a result, the number of years for instruction of English at school also varies from one state to another. For example, in Gujarat, English is an optional subject from standard V to VII and from standard X onwards. English may or may not be a medium of instruction at university or graduation level in different universities. Class size also varies from state to state, but the average size of class in secondary schools is between 40 and 60 (Prabhu 1987). It does not seem probable that any uniform pattern for teaching of English will be adopted across the country, not at least in the near future

Objective

The main objective of the research study is to analyze and interpret the relationship between different areas (rural or urban area) as regards to the undergraduate learners’ attitudes towards the English language.

Hypothesis

Null Hypothesis was used to measure the respondents’ attitudes towards the English language.

Ho  There is no significant difference between the learners from urban area and those from rural area in relation to their attitudes towards the English language.

Definition of Terms

(a)              Attitudes:

Language is a means of communication among members of a particular culture and “the most visible and available expression of that culture” (Brown 1987). SLA researchers have consistently emphasized that language does not consist merely of forms, patterns and rules but also carries social habits, attitudes, and cultural characteristics of its speakers. Second language learning is, therefore, different from learning other subjects in curriculum.

The term “attitudes” have been defined in SLA literature by different researchers. But for the purpose of measuring attitudes of the undergraduate students in Arts colleges in the Gujarat University the investigator has preferred to follow Gardeners (1980) who defines attitudes as: the sum total of a man’s instinctions and feelings, prejudice or bias, preconceived notions, fears, threats and convictions about any specified topic.

b) Rural and Urban Areas:

The phrase ‘Rural and Urban Areas’ is used here to refer to the location of arts colleges affiliated to the Gujarat University, the largest university in the state of Gujarat. The head quarters of the university are located in the city of Ahmedabad but a good number of colleges affiliated to it are in rural areas. For the purpose of the present study, the arts colleges in the city of Ahmedabad are taken as colleges in urban area and the colleges in small towns like Viramgam, Dhandhuka, Dholka, Bhadran, Sadhli, Devgarh Baria, and Mahudha are considered as colleges in rural areas.

Target Population and Sample

The present study aims at analyzing the learners’ attitudes towards the English language at the Undergraduate level in the Arts colleges in urban as well as rural areas, affiliated to the Gujarat University in the state of Gujarat. English is taught as a compulsory language paper in arts, commerce, and science streams at undergraduate level in the Gujarat University. But the research focuses on the undergraduate learners of English in Arts colleges – including all learners who may or may not have offered English Literature as their special subject. Undergraduate level means the ‘tertiary stage’ of education. Like many other states in India, the Gujarat State has opted for the 10+2+3 pattern of higher education. The study covers students from diverse educational and socio-economic backgrounds. Both male and female learners are represented in this study. Most research in the Social Sciences and Education involves the collection of data from human beings. The term sample can be defined as a subset of individuals or cases from within a population (Nunan, David 1989).

The sample for the present study was drawn from the Arts colleges, affiliated to the Gujarat University, situated in urban as well as rural areas. The learners at undergraduate level were selected for the study as they have reached a certain level of psychological maturity as compared to the school going students and also that their learning objectives at this age are directly related to their future career. A random sampling was adopted to elicit the data. A total of 86 Arts colleges are affiliated to the Gujarat University, out of which 32 colleges are located in urban area and 54 colleges are located in rural area. The researcher approached a total of 16 Arts colleges, affiliated to the Gujarat University, located in urban and rural areas.

Tools and Data Collection

The researcher collected primary data from the undergraduate learners from Arts colleges, situated in urban and rural areas, affiliated to the Gujarat University. He administered the research tool (questionnaire) to the respondents and collected their responses. The questionnaire includes two sections (Agreement scale and Frequency scale) having 26 close-ended questions. The questionnaire also contains the respondents’ personal information for the research purpose.

ANOVA and ‘t’ test were used to measure the significant difference between or among the groups of learners understudy by using SPSS (Statistical Packages for Social Sciences) software. Hypothesis was tested, analyzed and interpreted considering the p-value on the basis of independent variable like Area to measure the learners’ attitudes towards the English language.

The study has been worthwhile in terms of the results that have emerged from the analysis of the respondents’ attitudes towards the English language. Some of the major findings from the study are discussed as under:

Statistical Measures and Computer Analysis

The investigator adopted such statistical measures as were suitable for the kind of data that were to be analyzed. A total 604 questionnaires, excluding the rejected ones, were considered for the final analysis of the data. The data were provided by the respondents, in form of the choice from the five alternatives to each of the statements measuring their attitudes towards the English language. The responses were converted into quantitative form for the application of appropriate statistical measures for analysis of the data.

ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF THE DATA

A detailed analysis and interpretation of the data elicited through the Attitude Questionnaire prepared to measure attitudes of the undergraduate learners of English in urban and rural areas’ Arts colleges affiliated to the Gujarat University.

Tabular Analysis

This section presents the data in tabulated form, examining the Mean, SD values and p- value for the variable to be considered in this study.

Ho₁        There is no significant difference between the groups of learners from urban area and those from rural area as regards to their attitudes towards the English language.

Table

Mean and Standard Deviation for Area-wise Attitudes

 

The above table shows N, the Mean, S.D. and p value of the learners’ attitudes towards the English language, from urban and rural areas. The Mean score of the respondents from urban area is 82.60 as against the Mean score of 82.76 of those from rural area. The S.D. score of respondents from urban area is 7.855 as against the S.D. score of 8.610 of those from rural area.

As the p value is not less than 0.05, there is no significant difference between the groups of respondents from urban and rural areas in terms of their attitudes towards the English Language.

As per the scoring pattern of the tools, higher score shows higher attitudes and lower score shows lower attitudes. Therefore, it is concluded that the learners from both urban and rural areas possess the similar attitudes towards the English Language. Therefore Ho₁ is accepted.

Interpretation, Major Findings and Implications

A broad interpretation of the available data on the learners’ attitudes towards the English language as regards to their area is as follows:

The Arts undergraduate learners from colleges in rural area displayed more positive attitudes towards the English language than their counterparts from colleges in urban area. English Language Teaching (ELT) can be an instrument of rural development if it is properly planned and practised. At present, students in rural area are at disadvantage in comparison with their counterparts in urban area. The university authorities and administrators must provide greater opportunities to learners in rural areas for learning English. Even in rural areas, the learners should be instrumentally motivated so as to help them perform better in state and national level competitive examinations. A good knowledge of English is a key to success in job and life. Imparting English language skills to learners in rural area for employment and career development will help in the long run to bridge the gap between urban and rural areas.

Suggestions for further research

Further research may be taken up considering the learners’ attitudes towards the instructional materials in English, the teachers of English etc. The researchers may concentrate on variables like the personality traits, motivation etc for further study in the field.

 References:

Sood, S. C. New Directions in English Language and Literature Teaching in India.  Delhi: Ajanta Publications, 1988. Print.

Krishnaswamy, N. S. K. Verma, and Nagarajan M. Modern Applied Linguistics: An Introduction.  Madras: Macmillan India Ltd., 1992. Print.

Prabhu, N. S. Second Language Pedagogy.  Oxford: Oxford U P, 1987.     Print.

Jadeja, Rajendra P. Developing Techniques for the Teaching and Testing of Language Use With a Specific Focus on Oral Communication At the Secondary School Level in Gujarat.  Thesis. Sardar Patel U, Vallabh Vidyanagar (Gujarat, India), 1988. Print.

Brown, H. Douglas. Principles of Language Learning and Teaching. 2^nd ed. NJ: Prentice Hall, 1987. Print.

Gardner, Robert C. “Language Attitudes and Language Learning.” Attitudes Towards Language Variation. Ed.  Ellen Bouchard Ryan and Howard Giles.  London: Edward Arnold, 1982. Print.

Nunan, David. Understanding Language Classrooms A Guide for Teacher Initiated Action.  London:  Prentice Hall International, 1989. Print.