Effective Method of Teaching English
Munshi Shirajul Haque
English is rightly addressed as an international
language for its dynamic influence over the countries of the world. In the
perspective of Globalization, the importance of English is much more than the
previous period. English has achieved the status of a global language as it is
the first language of many countries of the world and simultaneously the second
language of most other countries. In order to communicate with the people of
the outer world, English is mostly used as the number one language. Most
educated people of the world, whose first language is not English, learn it as
the second language with a view to using it practically when necessary. In
theory, English is also treated as a second language of our country but most
people here are not capable of using it effectively. In true sense of the term,
a foreign language cannot be called as a second language if it cannot be used.
In the existing syllabus and curriculum, English is included as a compulsory
subject with two papers up to HSC level but after the completion of twelve year
education, most students do not achieve the ability to communicate in English
and for this reason remain unfit in the international job markets. The erotic
evaluation system in the public exams is contributing a lot for the
backwardness of the students in learning English for effective communication.
The evaluation system is not devised to justify the achievement of the students
in terms of four skills-listening, reading, writing and speaking. Rather the
students are encouraged to memorize everything to overcome the hurdles of the
exams. The teaching environment and methodology inside the classroom are not
inspiring students to use English properly.
In this perspective, it is high time to think about
some effective steps by which a teacher or a resource person can teach his
students or learners in such a way that they can use English as a communicative
language. It is the duty of an English teacher to adopt a right methodology to
teach his subject as a language. A teacher initially should try to discover the
reasons why his students fail to learn this language. He/she should try to
enrich themselves with a sound method of two way communication for good
interaction. Classroom should be conducted as the centre of English learning
and accordingly tasks and practices should be selected suitable for developing
the four skills of the students. The tendency of a student of rote learning
should be discouraged and his ability of using English in different
circumstances should be exposed. Lesson plan should be prepared with the aim of
involving all students in communication among themselves with group and pair
works. Some teachers complain that the huge class size does not allow them to
conduct these student oriented tasks and practices. It cannot be denied that
the proportion of the teacher and student of a classroom in our country is not
conductive for effective language teaching. Nevertheless, a teacher should act
positively with all limitations and so may arrange group work or pair work in
alternative days re-ordering the students with the scope of participation
alternatively. In fact, in order to teach English effectively as a second
language, some attempts should preferably be taken in the following way.
Treating
English as a skill based subject:
English is treated as a content based subject in our
country like Political Science or History. It is true that English can also be
considered as a content based
subject in the Honors’ or Masters Level
but it is definitely a skill based subject up to HSC level and so a teacher
should not be satisfied with teaching some contents which are incorporated only
for developing four skills. A student should be motivated to listen to English
speaking attentively, to read English with the understanding of meaning, to
write English correctly and intelligibly, and to speak English for effective
communication with others.
Transforming
English from foreign to second language:
English is believed to be a second language for many
countries of the world of which it is not the first language but very
unfortunately it is absolutely a foreign language for most of the people in our
country and that is why, it has not been so usual in practice in our daily
conversation .It is true that students of our country read English only as
second language next to our mother tongue but they are not habituated in using
it. Therefore the classroom management should have to be conducted in such a
way that the students will be inspired to use English practically as a second
language.
Establishing
two way communications in the classroom:
One of the reasons for which our students cannot
develop the practice of using English in different situations is the tradition
of one way communication in the classroom. As the teacher is always busy in
using English and so the students do not have neither time nor interest in
taking initiative in speaking English with the teacher or the fellow students.
Following lecture method in language class should be discarded for inspiring
students to be active in language learning. If a student remains passive in the
class, it is not possible to use a language effectively. For this reason, a
teacher should create an environment of two way communications by adopting
demonstrating method, question-answer method, and audio-lingual method,
task-based method etc.
Using
teaching aids for the intelligibility of the learners:
It is true that there is limited scope of using
teaching aids in the classroom as the most of the institutions in our country
are not financially sound. The authority cannot always supply required aids in
the classroom for the inadequacy of funds. But it must be accepted that without
using teaching aids the classroom teaching is definitely incomplete. In this
situation, a teacher should be innovative to manage some aids available such as
audio cassettes, magazines, journals, and articles etc for the practical
learning of the students.
Teaching
grammar in contextualized method:
English grammar should not be totally discarded in
communicative teaching approach as some teachers are reluctant to teach grammar
with this view in mind that it is not conductive to teaching a language. But a
student should have some basic ideas of grammar otherwise his language will not
be strong in expression. But in our country it is a prevalent tradition to
teach grammar in discreet manner based on definition. In this case, a student
does not get the idea of application of this grammar. So, it is strongly
suggested that a teacher should teach grammar in a contextualized method taking
the concept of grammar from the text and showing its application.
Teaching the
method of asking question and giving answer:
Many of the students do not have any knowledge of the
methods of asking question and giving answer. But in a language a large portion
of expression depends on question- answer activities. If a student knows
effectively the method of asking question and giving answer, he/she will
overcome the hesitation of speaking in English. That is why, a teacher must be careful
in making the students able in using the structure of auxiliary verb and WH
word in making question. At the same time, the system of giving reply of an
indefinite question with auxiliary verb and definite question with WH word
should be practically be imparted.
Teaching
some conversational English:
A student should be taught some conversational English
for daily usage. a teacher should be very specific in teaching some common
language such as how to make request, give order, show apology, seek permission,
give proposal, express thanks or gratefulness, have good wishes etc. It is not
very difficult to acclimatize a student with this conversational English if a
teacher earnestly desires. Suppose, if a teacher teaches a student that in
order to make a question, the following structure, “Please + present form of
main verb+ object/extension” can be used. Then it becomes easier for a student
to make a request. In this way conversational English helps a student use
English in different situation.
In
the end, it can be said that language teacher should not teach a language like
a content based subject. He/she should fix up some terminal competencies of the
learners and the effort should be to achieve that level with innovative methods
of teaching. The success of a teacher depends on the students’ ability of using
English in different circumstances.
[Assistant Professor of English,
Govt.
Haraganga College, Munshiganj]
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