Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Teaching of English
Teaching of English
Pakistani English or Paklish is the group of English language varieties spoken and
written in Pakistan. It was first so recognized and designated in the 1970s and
1980s. Pakistani English (PE) is slightly different in respect to vocabulary, syntax,
accent, spellings of some words and other features. Less than 8% of the Pakistani
population can speak English as a first language. However, over 49% can speak it
as a second language, making it home to the third-largest number of English
speakers in the world.
History:
Although British rule in India lasted for almost two hundred years, the areas
which lie in what is now Pakistan were amongst the last to be annexed: Sindh in
1843, Punjab (which initially included the North-West Frontier Province) in 1849,
and parts of Baluchistan, including Quetta and the outer regions in 1879, while
the rest of the Baluchistan region became a princely state within the British Indian
Empire. As a result, English had less time to become part of local culture though it
did become part of elite culture as it was used in elite schools and in higher
education, as in the rest of British India.[4] The colonial policies which made
English a marker of elite status and the language of power—being used in such
domains of power as the civil service, the officer corps of the armed forces, the
higher judiciary, universities, prestigious newspapers, radio and entertainment—
was due to British policies and the continuation of these policies by Pakistani
governments. In 1947 upon Pakistan's establishment, English became the de
facto official language, a position which was formalized in the Constitution of
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Pakistan of 1973. Together with Urdu, the two languages are concurrently the
official languages of the country. English language continues as the language of
power and is also the language with the maximum cultural capital of any language
used in Pakistan. It remains much in demand in higher education in Pakistan.
Pakistani English (PE) shares many similarities with Indian English, but since
the independence of Pakistan, there have been some very obvious differences.
Rahman argues that PE is an interference variety of English created by the use of
the features of Urdu, Punjabi, Pashto, Sindhi and other languages spoken in
Pakistan. He further divides PE into Anglicized English, which is very similar to the
speech and writing of the speakers of British Standard English (BSE), acrolith PE,
which is used by Pakistanis educated in English-medium schools, mesolectal PE,
which is used by ordinary, Urdu-educated Pakistanis and basilect PE, which is used
by people of little formal education, such as guides and waiters.
Use in Pakistan
Urdu and English are Pakistan's official languages. But all government documents,
street signs, many shop signs, business contracts and other activities use English.
The language of the courts is also English.
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English is taught to all school-level Pakistani students, and in many cases the
medium of instruction is also in English. Although there are also many Pakistani
medium local schools, either with an emphasis of English as a second language or
bilingually medium Pakistani Urdu which are all taught in both Pakistani Urdu and
English on across all subjects and courses especially in standardised tests.[13] At
college and university level, all instructions are in English and also bilingual as
well.
Pakistan boasts a large English language press and (more recently) media. All of
Pakistan's major dailies are published in or have an edition in English,
while DAWN News was a major English Language News Channel, before 15 May
2010 when it switched to its language to Urdu, Express 24/7 was another
important English news channel, now defunct. Code-switching (the concurrent
use of more than one language, or language variety, in conversation) is common
in Pakistan and almost all conversations in whatever language have a significant
English component. The language of pleading in all courts of Pakistan is also
English. The tutorial language in all universities is English and also bilingually (both
Urdu and English together and sometimes both of medium of instructions are
mixed and combined due to the importance of bilingualism )
Literature Grammar
The role of English within the complex multilingual society of Pakistan is far from
straightforward: it is used across the country by speakers with various degrees of
proficiency; the grammar and phraseology may mimic that of the speaker's first
language. While Pakistani speakers of English use idioms peculiar to their
homeland (often literal translations of words and phrases from their native
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languages), this is far less common in proficient speakers, and grammar tends to
be quite close to that of Standard English but exhibiting some features
of American English.
Phonology
Pakistani English phonology follows that of British English. It may be rhotic or non-
rhotic. Rahman provides a broad introduction to the phonology of Pakistani
English.
Influences
The type of English taught (and preferred) is British English. The heavy influence
and penetration of American culture through television, films and other media
has brought in great influences of American English.
Pakistani English contains many unique terms, as well as terms which are utilised
somewhat differently in Pakistan. For instance, "chips" is used for potato chips as
well as for French fries and "lemon" is used for both lime and lemon.[8]:69–71
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There are three taxonomies. Which of the three to use for a given measurable
student outcome depends upon the original goal to which the measurable
student outcome is connected. There are knowledge-based goals, skills-based
goals, and affective goals (affective: values, attitudes, and interests); accordingly,
there is a taxonomy for each. Within each taxonomy, levels of expertise are listed
in order of increasing complexity. Measurable student outcomes that require the
higher levels of expertise will require more sophisticated classroom assessment
techniques.
EXAMPLE OF
LEVEL OF
DESCRIPTION OF LEVEL MEASURABLE
EXPERTISE
STUDENT OUTCOME
Uses sensory cues to guide Some of the colored samples you see will need
actions dilution before you take their spectra. Using
PERCEPTION
only observation, how will you decide which
solutions might need to be diluted?
EXAMPLE OF
LEVEL OF EXPERTISE DESCRIPTION OF LEVEL MEASURABLE
STUDENT OUTCOME
EXAMPLE OF
LEVEL OF EXPERTISE DESCRIPTION OF LEVEL MEASURABLE
STUDENT OUTCOME
COMPLEX predictable" the places I learned about in
my class.
To determine the level of expertise required for each measurable student
outcome, first decide which of these three broad categories (knowledge-based,
skills-based, and affective) the corresponding course goal belongs to. Then, using
the appropriate Bloom's Taxonomy, look over the descriptions of the various
levels of expertise. Determine which description most closely matches that
measurable student outcome. As can be seen from the examples given in the
three Tables, there are different ways of representing measurable student
outcomes, e.g., as statements about students (Figure 2), as questions to be asked
of students (Tables 1 and 2), or as statements from the student's perspective
(Table 3). You may find additional ways of representing measurable student
outcomes; those listed in Figure 2 and in Tables 1-3 are just examples.
1), this type of assessment often falls short when we want to assess our students
knowledge at the higher levels of synthesis and evaluation (levels 5 and 6).4
The first and foremost difference between the Direct Method and The Grammar
Translation method is the goals of the teachers using them. In Grammar
translation Method, the teachers’ fundamental purpose is to help the students
read and appreciate literature written in the target language. To be able to do this
students have to learn a lot about the grammar rules and vocabularies. On the
contrary, the teachers who use the Direct Method intend that the students learn
how to communicate in the target language.
It is very important that the students are believed to think in the target language.
In addition, due to the different teaching goals, there is a great disparity in
teaching and learning process of the Grammar Translation Method and the Direct
Method. In a typical Grammar Translation Method class, students are taught to
translate from one language to another. They are also asked to memorize the
native language equivalents for the target language vocabulary words. In contrast,
the native language should not be used in the classroom.
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The students need to associate the meaning and the target language directly. To
help the students to do this, the teacher demonstrates the meanings through
pictures, realia, or pantomime. In other words, translation is never used in this
type of class. Another obvious difference between the two methods is the dealing
with grammar. Whereas grammar is taught deductively in the Grammar
Translation Method, the Direct method uses an inductively way so the students
are given examples and they figure out the rules or generalization from those
examples.
It might happen that the explicit grammar rule is never given. In Grammar
Translation method, grammar rules are presented with examples. The students
are asked to memorize those rules and then apply to other examples and
exercises. To conclude, I can rightly say that both methods have advantages and
disadvantages. It’s up to the teachers to choose or combine the methods
according to their teaching situation so that their students will get the most
benefit.
In my own teaching context, I use the principles of the Direct Method more due
to the needs of my students. I am teaching a class of international students who
come from different countries and their native languages are different from mine.
Therefore, translation is impossible. To make the meaning clear, I usually use
pictures, realia, or pantomime. The target language is the mean of every
communication taking place in the classroom. I believe that this very good
environment for their language learning.
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Effective language instructors show students how they can adjust their listening
behavior to deal with a variety of situations, types of input, and listening
purposes. They help students develop a set of listening strategies and match
appropriate strategies to each listening situation.
Listening Strategies
Top-down strategies are listener based; the listener taps into background
knowledge of the topic, the situation or context, the type of text, and the
language. This background knowledge activates a set of expectations that help
the listener to interpret what is heard and anticipate what will come next.
Bottom-up strategies are text based; the listener relies on the language in the
message, that is, the combination of sounds, words, and grammar that creates
meaning. Bottom-up strategies include
To extract meaning from a listening text, students need to follow four basic
steps:
1) Figure out the purpose for listening. Activate background knowledge of the
listening strategies.
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2) Attend to the parts of the listening input that are relevant to the identified
purpose and ignore the rest. This selectivity enables students to focus on
specific items in the input and reduces the amount of information they
4) Check comprehension while listening and when the listening task is over.
crayons and now it's pens, pencils, and cursive with all those swooping, swirling
letters. Some kids love handwriting and others hate when it's time to put pencil to
paper. Why?
Maybe a parent or teacher has complained about your handwriting: "Be neater!"
"Too messy!" "I can't read this!" Oh, dear, that's no fun. You're trying to get it
The good news is that just about everyone can improve their handwriting. But
first, let's take a moment to think about just how complicated writing really is. It's
not like sneezing or breathing, which your body does for you without you even
With handwriting, your body and mind need to do many different things all
together and in the right order. Your shoulder needs to stay steady while your
wrist and elbow move in just the right way. Did we mention your eyes have to
follow what your hand is doing? And that's not all. You need the brainpower to
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know how words and letters are supposed to look and make decisions about what
So with all that going on, you can imagine that different kids have different
reason that kids struggle with writing. For example, kids who have attention
deficit disorder (ADD or ADHD)find it hard to sit still and focus on what they need
to do. They might write too fast or start answering a question and forget to finish
it. Kids who have trouble with their muscles, like those with Down syndrome or
But lots of other kids have writing woes, too. Are you one of them? Or maybe you
would just like to make your already-OK handwriting a little bit better.
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In this method the teaching is done entirely in the target language. The learner is
not allowed to use his or her mother tongue. Grammar rules are avoided and
there is emphasis on good pronunciation.
2) Grammar-translation
Learning is largely by translation to and from the target language. Grammar rules
are to be memorized and long lists of vocabulary learned by heart. There is little
or no emphasis placed on developing oral ability.
3) Audio-lingual
The theory behind this method is that learning a language means acquiring habits.
There is much practice of dialogues of every situations. New language is first
heard and extensively drilled before being seen in its written form.
5) Suggestopedia
The theory underlying this method is that a language can be acquired only when
the learner is receptive and has no mental blocks. By various methods it is
suggested to the student that the language is easy - and in this way the mental
blocks to learning are removed. [More]
TPR works by having the learner respond to simple commands such as "Stand up",
"Close your book", "Go to the window and open it." The method stresses the
importance of aural comprehension. [More]
The focus of this method is to enable the learner to communicate effectively and
appropriately in the various situations she would be likely to find herself in. The
content of CLT courses are functions such as inviting, suggesting, complaining or
notions such as the expression of time, quantity, location. [More]
This is so called because the aim of the teacher is to say as little as possible in
order that the learner can be in control of what he wants to say. No use is made
of the mother tongue. [More]
In this method attempts are made to build strong personal links between the
teacher and student so that there are no blocks to learning. There is much talk in
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the mother tongue which is translated by the teacher for repetition by the
student. [More]
10) Immersion
This corresponds to a great extent to the situation we have at our school. ESL
students are immersed in the English language for the whole of the school day
and expected to learn math, science, humanities etc. through the medium of the
target language, English.
People learn in different ways. You can talk all day and some students simply won’t
understand. But show them a picture or a video, and then suddenly it clicks! In fact,
most learners would be considered visual learners.
Another example is trying to explain to a student what a shark is. You can talk about the
fins, the sharp teeth, the long body, that it swims in the ocean, etc. or you can show
them a picture of a shark. Remember, more often than not, students have the
knowledge in their own language, it’s just a matter of unlocking that knowledge and
translating into English.
Audio visual ads are really so effective in teaching English. When taught the English to
any small children then shown him a picture about that word. It is very panacea way to
learn about any thing. Audio is an effective thing. Audios are recognized in every field.
Audio songs are very fabulous example of audios. We hear the songs without see them.
We enjoy them very much. So is a very unique step in Songs field. We can record any
type of interactions in audio file. We can hear the voice very clearly by audios of any
person or persons. So audio is very effective step of science. Many types of audio about
mythology, study and for that subject which is very useful for you. Radio is also very
good example of audio. We can hear the radio but not can see because radio is not able
to see. We hear the songs, aids of many companies and many public interest related
things. So audio is also very helpful technique. When we go at any place for travel then
we play the songs in the car on the way. So audio is also very important source for
entertainment. If you are buff of songs then many website are available on the Internet
by which you can download the many melodious songs in very easy way and in short
time.
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How can beginner teachers best prepare themselves for the complex task of
planning? Is planning in the language classroom different from that in other
classrooms? What might be different? In this section we will discuss the
importance of planning and explore some strategies that can be used when lesson
planning.
So many things to think about! In this tip I aim to answer these questions and give
you some ideas for making the planning of the lesson as simple and painless as
possible. Remember that as you start teaching not everything will go to plan. In
fact, using your lesson plan in a flexible way is part of the skill involved in giving a
good lesson. If a task is going well and students are engaged in it and making good
use of the time you should probably let it carry on for longer than planned.
Likewise, if an activity in your plan isn’t going down so well you may decide to cut
your losses and move on. So, please don’t think the plan is to be stuck to
whatever happens. React to your students and adapt on the spot whenever
possible. Consider the plan to be a tool to guide you, but always use it flexibly.
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A simple way to start is to plan your lesson in a table format. Here’s an example.
Tasks are taken from the Essential UK lesson plan on News. This plan shows how
you could use the first three tasks only.
Interaction
pattern
Activity / Task Aim (T = teacher Mins Notes
Ss =
students)
Students to share
and compare ideas
4) Pair up the pairs to in groups. Monitor carefully and listen
Ss – Ss 10
make groups of 4. Students explain out for common errors.
their ideas to
another pair.
5) Group feedback.
Get one of the Ss to write
Compare answers and find Share Ss’ ideas
T - Ss 10 some advantages and
areas of common and round up task.
disadvantages on the board.
agreement
This is just one example of how you could write out a lesson plan. There are many
ways to do it.
How do you choose a topic?
You may be asked to cover certain topics in which case you won’t have to think
about the topics. If you have free choice think about what you and your students
are interested in. If you don’t know your students very well yet, ask them what
they would like to talk about in your classes. You could give them a questionnaire
or just ask them informally. If you are going to use the Essential UK lesson plans as
a starting point then you could pick ten or twenty topics you think they may like
and hold a class vote to get the top three or four for the next few months.
Which order do you do the tasks in?
First of all, select the tasks you can use with your class. Then think about any extra
activities you would like to add. You may want to add some visual materials and
find some photos on the internet which you could use to enhance the
presentation part, or you may be able to localise the topic by finding newspaper
articles from your country. Once you have selected all the tasks think about how
they can work together. Start with the easiest tasks and the ones that work on the
vocabulary for the topic. This will give them the lexical resources they need to
follow the class. Then build up the lesson plan by slotting in the other tasks.
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and other fruit, "swell the gourd," fill up the hazel shells, and set budding more
and more flowers. Autumn may be seen sitting on a threshing floor, sound asleep
in a grain field filled with poppies, carrying a load of grain across a brook, or
watching the juice oozing from a cider press. The sounds of autumn are the
wailing of gnats, the bleating of lambs, the singing of hedge crickets, the whistling
Analysis
"To Autumn" is one of the last poems written by Keats. His method of developing
the poem is to heap up imagery typical of autumn. His autumn is early autumn,
when all the products of nature have reached a state of perfect maturity. Autumn
friendly conspirator working with the sun to bring fruits to a state of perfect
granary floor, a reaper asleep in a grain field, a gleaner crossing a brook, and,
lastly, a cider maker. In the final stanza, autumn is seen as a musician, and the
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music which autumn produces is as pleasant as the music of spring — the sounds
In the first stanza, Keats concentrates on the sights of autumn, ripening grapes
and apples, swelling gourds and hazel nuts, and blooming flowers. In the second
reaping, gleaning, and cider making. In the concluding stanza, the poet puts the
The ending of the poem is artistically made to correspond with the ending of a
day: "And gathering swallows twitter in the skies." In the evening, swallows
"To Autumn" is sometimes called an ode, but Keats does not call it one. However,
its structure and rhyme scheme are similar to those of his odes of the spring of
1819, and, like those odes, it is remarkable for its richness of imagery. It is a feast
The author of The Alleys of Marrakesh (see August 1, 1953 Bulletin, p. 516) who
scene of his wanderings. The home of the Pakhtun tribes- since partition- is
ruled only by their own laws. Visiting Peshawar, Karachi, traveling to Kabul, the
author met old friends and heard how they had fared with the British withdrawn;
he became embroiled in a blood feud and involved with a political fanatic who
clever infusion of history and private knowledge of the people, the Mahsud, the
Wazir, etc. While less shaped and finished than the earlier book, this too is
(THE END)