RESEARCH PROPOSAL

ESL TEACHERS’ PERCEPTIONS ABOUT PERSONAL AND

CONTEXTUAL FACTORS LIMITING THE JOINT PRACTICE

OF INSTRUCTIONAL AND EMOTIONAL SCAFFOLDING

Submitted By: Mamoor Tariq

MPhil English Linguistics

Department of English
Kohat University of Science and Technology, Kohat-26000
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan
 1. Introduction
1.1 Background of the research
There is no denying the fact that learning English language has become indispensable in today’s world
as it does offer chances for a better education and rich employment prospects to its speaker. English is
taught to learners in Pakistani institutes from grades 1 to 12 as a compulsory subject. But regardless of
being taught in Pakistani academic institutes for such a long period of time, teaching English as a
foreign language still remains an “arduous task” at different academic levels. (Dar , Faruqui, & Asad,
2019).
The teacher’s role, in a language classroom, is significant in terms of providing sufficient instructional
scaffolding. (Arlinda, 2019). Scaffolding refers to the “temporary but essential “interactional support
through which learners are assisted by experts. This expert support could be provided from teachers,
parents or peers which may lead to developing “new skills, concepts or higher level of understanding”
(Danli, 2011). According to Wood et al. (1976), the tutorial process or “scaffolding functions” is
something through which an adult or "expert" helps/ supports/ scaffolds somebody who is “less adult
or less expert (Wood, S, Bruner, & Ross, 1976).
Language learning is not merely limited to comprehending some abstract content of ideas/ experiences.
Language learning, indeed, is an emotional affair, too. (Rosiek, 2003). In this connection, emotional
Scaffolding can be understood as “temporary but reliable teacher-initiated interactions”. These
interactions may “sustain and enhance students’ understanding, motivation, collaboration,
participation, and emotional wellbeing” (MEYER & TURNER, 2007). Emotional scaffolding helps
engaging the students' imagination via “using metaphor, visual representations, or narratives of content
- in an effort to foster a particular emotional response to academic subject matter” (Rosiek, 2009).
Based on the perceptions of English language teachers, the current study will make an attempt to
explore factors (Personal & Contextual) responsible for limiting the joint practice of instructional and
emotional scaffolding.

1.2 Rationale of the research

There are so many reasons for conducting this study in Pakistani ESL classrooms. Firstly, as an
English language teacher at university level for more than twelve years, I noticed that despite using
different instructional scaffolding techniques in ESL classrooms at university level our ESL learners
usually do not reach the desired English proficiency level. Language teaching and language learning,
like all other forms of teaching and learning, is a complex phenomenon. We are well aware of the fact
that education system has undergone a phenomenal paradigm shift, in modern times, in terms of
experiencing a substantial departure from objectivist teacher-centered instructional methodology to a
more “collaborative, interactive, customized, meta cognitive and constructivist pedagogical
approaches” (Karim, 2012).Second language learning research, in the modern world, is highly
influenced by this changing perspective. Being a teacher, I observed that teachers usually prefer
employing instructional scaffolding in ESL classrooms whereas scant attention is paid to the emotional
association of students to the subject matter via innovative techniques. The current study aims to
explore the factors behind this dissociation of emotions from language instruction. Rosiek (2003)
points out that the task to systematically associate language learner’s emotions with the subject matter
has usually been ignored by English language teachers and this lack of attention to students’ emotions
often results in unsuccessful teaching. The current study will explore how do English language
teachers perceive this compartmentalization of language instruction and language learners’ emotions?
Therefore, Rosiek (2003) suggests that “student’s emotions, the sociocultural context of teaching and
subject matter” are needed to be integrated in the teaching process. Over here I would like to refer to
Park (2016) who also considers language learning to be an emotional affair. While investigating
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Emotional Scaffolding as a Strategy to Support Children's Engagement in Instruction, Park (2016)

believes emotional scaffolding to be an indispensable pedagogical tool that could help teachers
construct and implement developmentally appropriate practices for early childhood education. The
researcher emphasizes over connecting the emotional domain with the cognitive domain and argue that
students’ emotions may not be neglected in language learning so as to prepare them for better
academic performance. Therefore, it is essential for language teachers to help students manage,
regulate, and control their emotions and feelings in language classrooms. (pishghadam, Zobetipour, &
Aminzadeh , 2016). These two obligations upon a language teacher i.e., instructional and emotional
scaffolding have been mostly analyzed separately by different researchers. In this regard, emotional
scaffolding, as a concept, encourages researchers and teachers to go beyond merely describing the
effects of language learners’ emotions, such as anxiety or confidence in language learning, and instead
scaffold emotional needs to bring about more positive social interactions (Song & Park, 2021).
Numerous researchers have conducted studies on instructional scaffolding in Pakistani ESL context
e.g., (Qayyum & Hussain, 2019) (Haider & Yasmin, 2015) (Channa, Nordin, & Abbasi, 2018). This
study could be of great significance in Pakistan since there is lack of research investigating the factors
limiting the joint use of instructional and emotional scaffolding in Pakistani ESL context.

1.3 Research Questions:

1. What are the personal and contextual factors limiting the joint practice of instructional and emotional
scaffolding in ESL classrooms?
2. What are ESL teachers’ perceptions of the personal and contextual factors limiting the joint use of
instructional and emotional scaffolding in ESL classrooms?
1.4 Objectives of the research:
 To explore and identify the personal and contextual factors that may limit the joint practice of
instructional and emotional scaffolding in ESL classrooms at undergraduate level.
 To know about ESL teachers’ perceptions regarding personal and contextual factors limiting the joint
practice of instructional and emotional scaffolding in ESL classrooms.
1.5. Significance of the possible outcomes
There are clear theoretical, pedagogical and research implications to be drawn from this study. A
teacher needs to adopt such teaching strategies and teaching attitudes that can result in creating a
cooperative environment in which students develop a framework for language learning under the
guidance of an expert. Here, the language teacher’s role is central, as it is the teacher who provides a
supportive environment for students to learn as they become involved in the performance of different
language tasks deemed necessary for learning. (Behroozizad, Nambiar , & Amir, 2014).Therefore, it is
significant to conduct studies on the exploration and identification of such factors that may become the
potential cause of dissociating emotional scaffolding from instructional scaffolding which may lead to
unsuccessful language teaching.
These factors limiting the practice of instructional and emotional scaffolding may differ from culture
to culture and context to context. As a result of being influenced by these obstructing factors, ELT
teachers might face the challenge of not being able to associate learners’ emotional responses to the
subject matter while providing instructional scaffolding to learners in ESL classrooms. Hence, it may
contribute to the already available literature and may identify novel ways for further investigation.
The current study would make an effort to explore the interconnected and interdependent nature of
instructional and emotional scaffolding for improving the quality of ESL classrooms.
2. Research Methodology
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This study will utilize qualitative methodology. Keeping into account the nature of the research
questions, qualitative methodology may offer a reliable approach to investigate it. Qualitative research
is a form of interpretive inquiry in which researchers make an interpretation of what they see, hear, and
understand. Their interpretations cannot be separated from their own backgrounds, history, contexts,
and prior understandings (CRESSWELL, 2009).
2.1 Delimitation of the Study
This proposed study will be conducted in a major public sector university in the Southern region of
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa i.e., Kohat University of Science & Technology.
2.2 Population/ Sample Collection
ESL teachers of KUST constitute the study population of the research. The researcher will
purposefully select the experienced ESL University teachers at Kohat University as samples who will
best help the researcher understand the problem and the research question.

2.3 Data Collection Tools

Data will be collected through interviews and classroom observations. The researcher will conduct five
(05) face-to-face interviews with participants. These interviews will be audio taped and will follow
semi-structured pattern with open-ended questions.
The researcher will also make a record of qualitative observations on the behavior and activities of
ESL teachers and learners in their classrooms. Through these observations, the researcher will record,
in a semi structured way (using some prior questions that the inquirer wants to know), activities in ESL
classrooms. The researcher will seek prior permission to observe and record the classroom activities of
teachers after purposefully selecting them for interviews.
2.4 Data Analysis
The audio taped interviews will be transcribed and, later, codified for exploratory content analysis.
Likewise, the data obtained through classroom observations will be analyzed, too, for further
interpretation.

2.5 Ethical Considerations

Before the collection of data, participants of the study will be assured of their anonymity and
confidentiality of their data. They will be assured that their data will be used only for the purpose of
research.

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