We are pleased to announce the publication of the January–June 2026 biannual issue of ELT Choutari. This collection synthesizes reflective narratives, empirical action research, and scholarly critical reviews contributed by educators, researchers, and practitioners. The articles presented herein offer diverse pedagogical perspectives on English language teaching (ELT) and linguistic research within the specific sociocultural landscape of Nepal. By documenting authentic classroom experiences and refining pedagogical methodologies, ELT Choutari serves as a vital platform for bridging the divide between theoretical frameworks and practical classroom application.
The subsequent section offers a detailed introduction to our esteemed contributors, accompanied by concise summaries of their scholarly reflections and action research insights. We trust that these experiential narratives and pedagogical anecdotes will serve as a significant resource for our readers, providing actionable strategies and theoretical depth applicable to diverse educational settings. By meticulously documenting these voices, we aim to facilitate a broader understanding of the challenges and triumphs inherent in contemporary language instruction.
Mr. Arjun Jung Rayamajhi, in this article, replicates a deeply personal and moving story about the power of education. The author, who grew up in a small village in the countryside, far from amenities, has risen from a young student to earning a doctorate at a top-ten university in Nepal, and chronicles the harsh socio-economic constraints that stand in the way of rural students. It emphasizes that students can overcome the systemic challenges and continue to engage in their lifelong journey of learning through determination, early teacher encouragement, and academic resilience.
Likewise, Mr. Tirtha Raj Ranabhat, in his article, applies the method of narrative inquiry to understand the reasons for undergraduates’ reluctance to speak English fluently in a multicultural, multilingual classroom in Aadikavi Bhanubhat Campus, Tanahun. His research with students from different backgrounds sheds light on why this is the case: the influence of the mother tongue, cultural home environments, and a lack of targeted motivation for learning a language, as well as an educational bias towards written skills over oral fluency. He believes in using flexible and interactive teaching approaches which are inclusive and encourage learner autonomy and reduce language anxiety.
In his thought-provoking article, Mr. Dasarath Rai has raised the question: Does Punctuation Matter? and here is why: He makes an analogy between musical notation and structural grammar, and asserts that punctuation has a life beyond the literal and regulates pauses, emphasis, human emotion, and ideological authority. He condemns the lack of attention to the instruction of punctuation in the English classrooms of Nepalese schools and colleges, and says that without attention to such nuances, students are not equipped to become truly global, empathic communicators.
In his book review titled Teaching English as an International Language,Mr. Nar Bahadur Bist provides a comprehensive evaluation of the eponymous text authored by Ali Fuad Selvi and Nicola Galloway. The reviewer methodically deconstructs the core themes of the work, specifically addressing the historical expansion of global English, the strategic design of an EIL (English as an International Language) curriculum, and the necessary transition in assessment practices away from traditional native-speaker norms. By critically engaging with these elements, the review underscores the significance of the book as an interdisciplinary resource tailored for teacher educators, scholars, and policymakers alike.
Here is the list of blogs for you to navigate in this issue::
Lastly, we extend heartfelt gratitude to all our editors and reviewers – Dr. Nani Babu Ghimire, Dr. Mohan Singh Saud, Dr. Jnanu Raj Poudel, Jeevan Karki, Sagar Poudel, Karuna Nepal, Puskar Chaudhary, and Dasharath Rai- for their dedicated efforts in bringing this issue to completion.
ELT Chautari remains a welcoming space for researchers, scholars, educators, and practitioners to share insights, practices, and narratives from classrooms and communities alike. We warmly invite you to contribute to our upcoming issue by submitting your articles and reflections to 2elt.choutari@gmail.com.
Language is the main means of communication, and the goal of English language instruction is to provide pupils with the ability to understand and use the language orally and in writing. It also bridges the ideas and emotions of communicators. This study focuses on the difficulties Bachelor Level students at the Aadikavi Bhanubhakta Campus, Damauli, Tanahun encounter when learning English as a foreign language (EFL) in the classroom, with a particular emphasis on their reluctance to speak the language fluently. The study investigates the causes of this reluctance, including the impact of mother tongue and culture, deficiency of motivation, conventional teaching methods, and an unbalanced emphasis on particular language abilities. In-depth interviews with four bachelor-level students from various language and cultural backgrounds are conducted as part of the research’s qualitative design. The results show that the student’s reluctance to talk in English is caused by various factors, including the prevalence of their mother tongue, cultural norms at home, a lack of drive, and conventional teaching approaches that place a higher value on written than oral fluency. The participants offer strategies to deal with these issues, highlighting the necessity of peer group discussions, interactive and communicative teaching methods, and activities encouraging student autonomy. They support an adaptable method that lets students from multicultural and multilingual backgrounds express themselves freely without worrying about making grammatical or pronunciation mistakes. The study highlights how crucial it is to establish a welcoming and inclusive learning atmosphere to improve.
Language helps to exchange information, news, feelings and many more between or among conservationists. It also helps share fears, tears and cheers among speakers and listeners.Nepal is a country of cultural, religious and linguistic diversity. After the implementation of the Interim constitution in 2007 AD, the dawn of multilingualism and multiculturalism was heralded in Nepal. It states that Nepal is a secular, multilingual and multicultural country.
The constitution has stated that receiving a basic education in one’s mother tongue is a fundamental right. Subsequently, the Ministry of Education (MOE) in its 2007 National Curriculum Framework for School Education stated the need for acknowledging local knowledge, cultures, and languages in schools. According to the current Constitution, Nepal is a secular, inclusive, democratic, socialism-oriented state where we can perceive that “All the Nepalese people, with multiethnic, multilingual, multireligious, multicultural characteristics” (Part 1, Article 4). “Every Nepalese community residing in Nepal shall have the right to get education in its mother tongue and, for that purpose, to open and operate schools and educational institutes, by law.” (Article 31).
The purpose of English language education is to provide students with the capabilities to understand the language appropriately and to have good ability in written and oral (Richard, 2008). Since English is an international and global language, it works as a passport for the conversation. It bridges between or among interlocutors. Listening, speaking, reading and writing are four language skills which are divided into two skills receptive and productive. Listening and reading fall under the category of receptive skills and speaking and writing are productive skills (Saraswathi, 2004). Speaking is the primary means of communication. Speaking skills are a must at any place at any time. It enables conversational partners to express inner feelings. It also fosters the analytical, interpretive, synthetic, evaluative, creative, and critical power of the speakers and listeners. In addition, it generates, articulates, fosters, convinces, persuades and sometimes distracts the conversational partners too. In the context of Nepal, it has been geographically and administratively or politically divided into different factors. Geographically or naturally, it has been divided into the Himalayan region, the Mountainous region and the Tarai region. The majority of people from Thakali, Tamang, Lama, Gurung etc live in the Himalayan religion, Magar, Gurung, Brahmin, Chhetri and other castes live here. In addition, Danuwaar, Rai, Limbu, Lepchaa, Waaiabaa, Shah etc live in the Tarai region. They have their typical language and culture. National Education Policy 2019 states “management of multilingual education based on mother tongue, Nepali and English as a medium of instruction in addition to the mother tongue according to the linguistic diversity of Nepal, children’s interests and needs.” (Policy 10.8).
As a faculty member in the English Department, at the same aforementioned college, i.e. Aadikavi Bhnubhakta Campus , Quality Assurance and Accreditation (QAA) -certified affiliated college of Tribhuvan University, I have been teaching English to undergraduate students mainly from the Humanities and Social Science Faculty, Management and Education Faculty for 5 years. Nestled in the western part of Nepal, the campus has been the intellectual hub of English education for mainly the students of Tanahun, Lamjung, Gorkha, Nawalpur and other adjoining districts. English has been a charming subject for many aspiring students mainly female, ethnic, indigenous, Dalit and many more who are planning to go abroad and who long to be English teachers. One interesting point is they are from different linguistic, cultural and socio-economic backgrounds and abilities and have their own peculiar speaking English experience. An individual owns his/her language and culture. (Chand, 2020) stated, “Our community is mixed up with people from these diverse cultures.” So are in the classroom. Previously, i.e. before conducting this research, I guessed that there was variety and prosperity in speaking English in such a multilingual and multicultural class but it was beyond my expectations when I talked with them so I had a keen desire to research it.
However, most of them belong to lower socio-economic families and they do not have good skills in English because of their origin, i.e. the influence of mother tongue, lack of confidence, practice interaction, home environment, community school background, lack of exposure, fear, lack of motivation and feedback, teachers’ interference, fear of making mistake and poor English background. When it comes to speaking skills in English in different contexts such as delivering a speech, participating in speech contests, individual presentations and interaction, I particularly found students from bachelor-level students even who are majoring in English at the campus are unable to properly speak English fluently, and unhesitatingly communicate in different contexts. Students even majoring in English who hesitate to communicate properly in English without hesitation seem to be challenging not only for students but also for me as long as I have been teaching English over the last twenty years from the grassroots level to the Bachelors’ level in different public and private schools and colleges of Nepal.
Purpose of the Study
This research paper, ‘Learners Hesitation in Speaking English in the English Classroom in Multicultural and Multilingual Context ‘ aims to diagnose critically the scenario of English language skills mainly speaking skills from different perspectives in the aforesaid campus. The chief purpose of this research was to find out the main components that have obstructed Bachelor Level students of the aforementioned college in English EFL classrooms. The main target of this research paper was to investigate the main causes of hesitation and suitable alternatives to solve them.
In addition, it aims to explore why the students are lagging in nurturing their speaking power and how this problem can be sorted out with specific strategies or solutions with the interconnection of existing policies of multilingualism and multiculturalism. The final motto of this research is to enable students to separate whether nurture or nature is more important in speaking English. Eventually, it targets to chase perfection and pleasure in speech. If not, they are received, they are likely to bring excellence and hope. This results in a win-win situation.
Research Questions
The undivided purpose of this research is to find out the situations, components and appropriate solutions hesitation of students while communicating in an EFL classroom and outside its periphery. I designed research questions clinging or sticking to my objectives. My research purpose bound me to design my main question in the given ways:
How is the speaking scenario of their college and how do they feel while teaching or learning to speak English in multicultural and multilingual contexts?
To ease, lead, further my research and reach the knowledge construction level with step by step-by-step procedure, I designed the auxiliary questions which are listed below:
What are the problems they are facing in such a context?
How can we solve these problems?
Theories Implied
Nepal cherishes the diversity of its languages, cultures, and religions. Nepal’s Constitution has acknowledged the value of multilingualism and multiculturalism in the nation. Every Nepalese community living in Nepal is also guaranteed by the Constitution the right to receive an education in their mother tongue and the right to establish and run schools and other educational facilities for that purpose.
For pupils to have effective written and spoken communication skills, as well as proper language comprehension, English language instruction, is essential. The two categories of language skills—receptive and productive—are speaking, listening, reading, and writing. Speaking is the most important form of communication and is necessary everywhere, at all times.
In this research, I have used Constructivist and Communicative constructivism theory. Constructivist theory is a post-structuralist theory of evolution and development that deals with knowledge construction and learning. It explains how structures, language activity, and meaning are developed. According to Burleson (2007), constructivism is a general theory of communication skills that examines skilled behaviour concerning three major communication processes: social perception, message production, and message reception. The author describes some of the background factors that lead some people to emerge as highly skilful communicators and others as less skilled.
Communicative constructivism elaborates on social constructivism and links it to Habermas’ theory of communicative action. It considers knowledge, body, performance, and objects as part of communicative action. The CLT approach allows both teachers and students to transfer their traditional teaching and learning beliefs into an innovative teaching and learning approach. For example, a well-known educator (Dos Santos, 2019a; Dos Santos, 2019b) in language learning advocated that today’s students like to use technological-assisted materials and tools for language learning, such as social media platforms and internet chat groups. To meet the needs of these students, such visual and interpersonal communicative tools must be created and employed.
Methodology
I chose an interpretive research paradigm for the study. This is a qualitative research design study. Narrative inquiry is a qualitative methodology of studying the experiences of participants through a recollection and spontaneous narrative of lived stories and events. (Clandinin and Huber,2010). For this purpose, four bachelor-level students of the aforenamed campus from different language and cultural backgrounds were interviewed and information was collected. Among them, one of them was from the Muslim community, next from the Magar community, another from the Gurung community and the final one was the student who was reared in India with a different culture where Panjaabi was used as the main language. The selection of the students itself was diverse and inclusive by nature so I expected unique output or results too. For that purpose, I interviewed them in depth and collected the data. Next, I used a mobile phone and recorded the audio interview. Being an interviewer and researcher, I filtered, evaluated and analyzed the transcription. Finally, I drew out the conclusion. Besides, different sources, I visited and surfed various research sites, blogs, and websites as secondary sources for this research.
Every individual has the right to secrecy. Even the constitution of Nepal has such provision for the right to privacy. Article 28 of the Constitution of Nepal, 2072 BS, explicitly outlines the right to privacy. It stipulates that the privacy of an individual’s life, residence, property, documents, statistics, correspondence, and character-related matters shall be inviolable, except when constrained by the law. Confidentiality and ethical issues are utmost in any research. For that motto, the names of the participants are changed into pseudo-names to preserve anonymity. Among them, the first participant is named Mr A, the second one is Ms B, the third participant is Ms C and the fourth or final one is Ms D. Likewise, the original words of the participants are written to maintain the trust and originality of the research.
Discussion and Findings
Speaking skill is the buzzword and popularly demanded practical skill in today’s world. However, it has been just like a fishbone stung in the throat to those who are studying English as a second, third or fourth language in multilingual and multicultural contexts. There are reasons behind it though it needs one and all. Hesitation has been a chief hindrance to sharing inner feelings because of which the voice that is supposed to be expressed or heard always remains in a vacuum. For that, they express their problems being hesitated and have come up with specific measurements too which work as a catalyst to boost their speaking skill. With the in-depth interview of four bachelor-level students, the interpretations are made here.
Theme 1 : Influence of Mother Tongue and Culture
Home is the first school of the child because either civilized or educated culture and language or barbarous or know-nothing culture begins from home. The child learns the first language at home. The ability to communicate effectively in English exemplifies the correctness of pronunciation and intonation and directly affects the appropriate communication in conversation (Zhang & Yin, 2009). Mr A, Ms B and C belonged to Muslim, Magar and Gurung communities respectively. According to them, they were highly influenced and dominated by their mother – tongue, culture from home and dominance of teachers. Mr. A said, “I could not speak English unhesitatingly because of the influence of culture. I had to recite Quaran and Namaz instead of reading and speaking English. Not only that, they spoke Arabic, and Urdu at home instead of Nepali. When I joined in school it was too difficult to learn Nepali and English simultaneously so I was lagging in English because they were his third and fourth languages instead. Further, he added his anecdote when he was in school. He said, ” My school used to call every student one by one to deliver the speech in the class in English period but I was almost hopeless and my mind went blank. The teachers were nitpickers and only criticised grammatical errors, pronunciation, and tone. I was almost paralysed and could not express my view in the way that I expected and speak nothing due to the interference of my mother tongue and culture.” But what he now opines is that he is a little bit improving due to peer talk at college and school since he is a teacher too. He also added that the memories of those days sometimes haunt his college, and professional life.
Similarly, Ms B and C were dominated more than Mr A due to the excessive use of their mother tongue at home and even at school. Ms B said, ” I was reared in a monolingual and monocultural society where all the neighbours belong to the Magar community who only use their mother tongue and culture. When she went to school too, she found almost the same environment because more than 90 % of students and personnel of the school belonged to her community. When I was called to speak last year in the class, I was almost dumb and could speak nothing due to hesitation that was because of the interference of my mother tongue. The reason behind it was that we hardly practised English so I felt hesitant while speaking in college and public. Now I had a little bit of improvement in speaking when I started interacting with my teachers and began working as an English teacher in a private school in my locality.” The story of Ms C was also interesting who belonged to the Gurung community. She said, “Our English teacher learnt the Gurung language and taught us to translate in that language when we did not understand English. How could we speak English in school when we could not understand and speak Nepali either? It has hindered me in my college too. Now I have started teaching in public schools where English is used as the medium of instruction so I should say there is a green signal of change in my speaking ability. ” Likewise, the fourth one Ms D said,” I was reared in India. Though people thought I had good English speaking power it was not in the past and is not at present either due to the influence of Hindi and Punjabi. Our neighbors and schools focused on those languages, nevertheless English. I hesitated due to distinct accent, tone, and pronunciation in my college since Punjabi and Hindi have dominated my English”
Theme 2: Lack of Motivation
Motivation is a state of cognitive arousal or internal drive that pushes someone to do things to do something. It is the heart of learning. It reduces tension, energizes and activates the students. But the participants are far-flung which is one of the core causes of hesitation of motivation. It is mentioned in the literature that motivation is a key to students’ learning success (Chinmoy, 2007). In this sense, motivation is a key consideration in determining the preparedness of learners to communicate. Zua (2008) further adds that motivation is an inner energy. She says that no matter what kinds of motivation the learners possess it will enhance their study interest. However, I have found distinct data in this research. This is the case with one of the participants Mr. A expressed that his orthodox and strict father never allowed him to read loudly nor speak English at home, though he was too willing to learn, talk, and lead ahead. He added, ‘My family environment discouraged, demoted, and hesitated me to speak and improve my English.’ Another participant Ms B had a different version in this case. She said, “My family, school, and surroundings had hegemony of the Magar language and culture. I should say my luck was fifty-fifty and I enjoyed listening to English speaking mainly during festivals and holidays when my neighboring brothers and sisters who came to the village from the town had gone for study purposes and foreign countries for studies and jobs and conversed in English with their fellow friends. Sometimes I used to add ‘yes or no in the middle. That was that .”
Similarly, another participant, Ms C responded that teachers always used dogmatic and authoritarian styles since her school education till this date. She responded, “We were always criticized, ignored, and harassed while speaking English by our colleagues and teachers. The teachers only focused on grammar and pronunciation rather than fluency and content.” Similarly, the next participant Ms. D expressed that they never got an opportunity to share their inner feelings and opined that speaking English was a far cry from what she along with her colleagues had expected because the teachers used only teacher-centered lecture methods while teaching and they were never motivated to speak and use their feelings without hesitation. This shows that too much correction and interruption by the teacher discouraged learners and hesitation reigned over them.
Theme 3: Use of Traditional Teaching style
Teaching is an art which is to be updated according to time and situation. While doing research, I found that students hesitate to speak English because of the outdated monotonous teaching style. Mostly pedagogy is based on grammar translation and outdated theories and methods in remote areas to date. One of the participants Mr A said, “Our teachers rarely use interactive and communicative approach or true learning style to teach where students never shared their opinions because they only used chalk and talk principle though the projectors, smart TVs and multimedia devices availed in the college. It would add a cherry on the cake and we would be encouraged to express our inner desires and feelings with their proper use.” Though it is said that students are not empty pots waiting to be poured knowledge delivered by the teachers nor passive listeners rather they are to participate in the teaching and learning activities of the classroom, the teachers are still using deductive and teacher-centred lecture methods in the classroom where students can act nothing except yawning, moving limbs nonetheless uttering any English words in the forty-five-minute classroom. What can be more than this for the hesitation among students? Poorman (2002) observes that ” true learning cannot take place when students are passive observers of the process”. In addition, another participant Ms.D responded that our teachers only wrote notes on the whiteboard, which we copied and they used the grammar-translation method to make us understand but never asked us to discuss, analyse, comment, evaluate and interact on it which made us lag on speaking. This shows that students are presented as silent dummies or empty pots waiting to be filled by teacherly knowledge who do not act anything rather than considered bright sparks waiting to be ignited.
Theme 4: Biased Use of Language Skills
A vivid and effective communicative class is supposed to be the integration of the four language skills training, in which the teacher needs to establish a positive atmosphere, plan appropriate activities, encourage learners and deal with problems sensitively (Davies & Pearse, 2000; Jing, 2006). Although all four language skills, i.e. listening, speaking, reading and writing are equivalent. After researching, I found the reality a bit different. Participant Mr. A reported, “We faced hesitation to speak English because the teachers only focused on writing and reading skills nevertheless speaking and listening. We were rarely allowed to participate in peer group discussion, interaction, demonstration, speeching, even drilling, presentation, elocution, extempore, or group work which would comfort, ease, confide, explore, enrich, and ultimately enable us to express our feelings.”
Similarly, the next participant Ms. D stated, “Our exam system also has weakened and made us hesitate to speak English because it is based only on written skill. Even practical marks are often given according to written exams or class performance. The teachers also never let us involved in oral practical skills like speaking, listening, interacting and other works. To a great surprise even though all the language skills are intertwined and function like connecting the dots or chain of a bicycle, we practiced little reading. We buried our feelings deep in our hearts but never thought as potential seeds which are likely to germinate and quickly waited for the time when we could speak and express ideas but those days did not occur according to our expectations. We were instructed to write and reading as ivory tower and speaking as step- mother or sisters. We sometimes watched English movies or speaking videos on TV, YouTube etc in the classroom which was not adequate. ” This speaks that speaking classroom should never be under the teacher’s strict control where s/he uses chauvinistic dogmatism. S/he is to be dependent on what learners act or do, what they say or opine and what they realize or feel. The students deconstruct, reconstruct, reflect, experience, learn, unlearn and relearn more than tutored by the teacher.
Theme 5: Irrelevant Evaluation of Speaking Skill
Though speaking skills are the primary and productive skill of learning a language, participants B and C responded that it is illogical, irregular and irrelevant in their context. It is managed either before the annual exam once or practical marks are mostly given on a random basis where the halo effect and horn effect are likely to be practised. This sort of practice sometimes resorts to inviting dubious to find who are the goodies and who are the baddies in language skills. National Curriculum of English (2007) clearly states that all four language skills should be tested in the SLC exam. The school should conduct listening and speaking tests internally regularly, keep the records and send them to the concerned authority but it is not strictly practised from the grassroots, tertiary and upper,i.e. college or university level so that students can develop proficiency and confidence in language learning mainly speaking. Students require proper and regular feedback so they are to be given it from time to time. In a more recent study, Akter (2010) proved that giving feedback to the learner on their performance was an important aspect of effective teaching. To fulfil this purpose, a continuous speaking and listening evaluation system along with immediate and essential feedback is a must.
Solutions of Hesitation
There are no problems sans solutions. Every problem has its solutions and hesitation in speaking is no exception. Participant Mr A asserted, “Students with multilingual and multicultural knowledge should be motivated to use English easily where the language teachers are to be flexible, liberal in the class and outside.” In addition, it adds a few more stones to the foundation of speaking skills when teachers and guardians adopt a laissez-faire approach to practising English speaking because motivation triggers and inspires speakers to imagine and explore their creativity and imaginary power and speak since speaking is a production if they have nothing too in the minds. When interactive and communicative approaches based on discussion, interaction, debate, peer review, group work, speech, open free talks, elocution, and extemporisation are organised, they are bound to solve the hesitation problem of speaking English in class. Group or teamwork dramatically increases the number of talking opportunities for individual students. It is effective and achievement is more when they work together. In teamwork, the students can decentralize their work and can share views which is very interesting and full of curiosity about what will come after that. It develops the ability of patience, both hearing and sharing culture along with deep reverence for the co-conversationalist because every neighbour has a good story to tell, share, write or hear.
It also promotes learners’ autonomy by allowing students to make their own decisions in the group without being told what to do by the teacher (Harmer, 2007, P.166) His solution is when the teachers use these kinds of interactive modes, students slowly foster their speaking skills. Similarly, another participant Ms. C said, “Students from multilingual and multicultural backgrounds should be motivated to use English by applying flexible policy by the teacher rather than pointing and complaining about the small grammatical and pronunciation errors.” The unheard and untold contents, subject matters or stories from the students come on the floor if students feel comfortable and give an unhesitating ‘yes’ when they are told to speak or when they get an opportunity. Other suggestions to increase students’ motivation are shared by Liu and Huang (2010). They say that to overcome students’ lack of motivation, teachers can do activities like promoting students’ awareness of the importance of English, enhancing students’ interest in English, and developing their self-confidence They should be allowed to express the content unhesitatingly, nonetheless they are to be hurt. If so, they continue to suffer and deteriorate their speaking skill.
This shows that students feel at ease and enthused over speaking when they are free from personal, collegial, teacherly and public criticism and they have peace, energy and impulse in their minds and hearts when everybody appreciates them and their speech. As a result, students always feel completely at ease and are eager to throw their hearts and souls into the ocean of speech, speak and share ideas eventually.
Conclusions
In-depth interviews with four bachelor-level students from various language and cultural backgrounds are conducted as part of the research’s qualitative design. The results show that the student’s reluctance to talk in English is caused by a variety of factors, including the prevalence of their mother tongue, cultural norms at home, a lack of drive, conventional teaching approaches, irrelevant examination systems that place a higher value on written than oral fluency.
The participants provide solutions to these problems by emphasizing the value of peer-group conversations, communicative and interactive teaching techniques, and activities that promote student autonomy. They advocate for a flexible approach that allows kids from multiracial and multilingual backgrounds to freely express themselves without being constrained by concerns about spelling or grammar. The study emphasizes how important it is to create a friendly and inclusive learning environment to advance. The topics that arose from in-depth interviews with students are examined in the discussion section, with particular attention paid to the imbalance in language skill focus, the demotivating impacts of some educational philosophies, and the pervasive influence of mother tongue and culture. The investigation concludes with recommendations for resolving the issues that were discovered. The participants argue for a change in teaching techniques by highlighting interactive and communicative teaching approaches, stimulating peer group discussions, and fostering a flexible environment. To improve students’ speaking abilities and reduce reluctance, the need to establish a welcoming and inclusive learning atmosphere is emphasized. This adds to a thorough comprehension of the obstacles preventing pupils from speaking English successfully.
The study suggests a shift in teaching techniques, emphasizing interactive methods, peer group discussions, and a flexible environment. It emphasizes the importance of a welcoming, inclusive learning atmosphere to improve students’ speaking abilities and reduce reluctance to English language education. For that, teachers are the epitome and real leaders who are to know the route, show the route and go the route. The reason behind it is that one who always falls probably fails to tell others how to rise permanently. It strives its best to bring complete happiness and perfection. If not, it is, conversely bound to be hopeful and excellent in speaking.
Author’s Bio: Tirtha Raj Ranabhat is an MA/B.Ed. graduate from Tribhuvan University and is an M.Phil. thesis running learner in ELE at Kathmandu University. He is a life member of the Nepal English Language Teachers’ Association (NELTA) and also an assistant secretary of NELTA, Tanahun chapter. He has a wide experience of teaching English, from grassroots level to college level. Currently, he is working as an assistant lecturer at Aadikavi Bhanubhakta Campus Damauli, Tanahun which is a two-time QAA certified campus granted by UGC Nepal . He is also working as an assistant headmaster at Aadikavi Bhanubhakta Secondary School , Damauli, Tanahun , a sister institution of Aadikavi Bhanubhakta Campus Damauli, Tanahun.
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We are pleased to announce the release of the Issue of ELT Choutari (October-December 2025). This issue presents a collection of reflective accounts from English language teachers and practitioners, offering diverse perspectives on teaching, learning, and research.
Since it is a generic issue, it includes articles from diverse fields of English language teaching in the context of Nepal. ELT Choutari is a platform to share the English language teachers’ experiences regarding their practices and experiences. This issue is the result of the same. For this, we are grateful to all the contributors. We encourage English language teachers and practitioners to contribute in the future issues as this can share and document our reflective practices.
The following section includes the contributors with the gist of their reflections. We hope their experiences and anecdotes will benefit our esteemed readers.
Mr. Dev Ram Joshi, in his article, explores the engagement of learners in English language learning through project-based learning integrated as internal assessment in the secondary level curriculum. His technical action research reflects that his students increased the time to study English subject, developed their writing skill including handwriting and composition skills and presentation skills such as pronunciation, clarity, and confidence. Meanwhile, they started to learn English by studying other reference materials as well.
Likewise, Mr. Dammar Singh Saud in his article drawing on personal experience and educational theories, argues for reflective, context-sensitive, collaborative, and well-resourced Teacher Professional Development. He advocated that, learning from countries like Finland and Singapore, Nepal must prioritise teacher agency, mentorship, digital readiness, and long-term systemic reform.
Similarly, Mr. Khem Raj Rauteda, in his article, reflects his experience implementing translanguaging pedagogy to enhance learner engagement in a multilingual secondary classroom in Nepal. Through reflecting on his role as a facilitator and co-learner, he found that translanguaging nurtured culturally responsive pedagogy, strengthened relationships, and empowered students, providing valuable insights for inclusive English language teaching in multilingual contexts.
Similarly, Mr. Janak Sigdel, in his article, explores the ongoing challenges of implementing Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in rural community schools in Nepal. His reflection highlights key barriers, including inadequate infrastructure, lack of electricity, limited internet access, and low digital literacy among teachers. His article underscores the growing digital divide between urban and rural schools, advocating for policy interventions and capacity-building programmes to promote more equitable and sustainable ICT integration in education.
Likewise, Mr. Nar Bahadur Bist, in his article, deals with the complicated and changing nature of English as a Medium of Instruction (EMI) in language planning and policy in Nepal. He discusses how English has established a dominant presence in the education system, as well as a larger presence in society, despite Nepal’s non-colonial relationship with Britain, shaping ideologies, creating inequalities, and affecting cultural identity.
Moreover, Mr.Arjun Jung Rayamajhi, in his article, discusses the integration of ChatGPT in English language teaching in Nepalese community schools with its opportunities and challenges. He argues that ChatGPT offers the possibility to experience a personalized learning process and support engagement growth in the underprivileged setting. However, it also emphasizes the significance of the human factor, critical thinking, and ethical competence.
For your convenience, here are the hyperlinks to the blog posts:
Lastly, we extend heartfelt gratitude to all our editors and reviewers — Ganesh Kumar Bastola, Jeevan Karki, Dr. Nani Babu Ghimire, Dr. Jnanu Raj Poudel, Sagar Poudel, Binod Duwadi, Puskar Chaudhary, Dr. Yadu Prasad Gnawali, and Dasharath Rai—for their dedicated efforts in bringing this issue to completion.
ELT Choutari is a platform for researchers, scholars, educators, and practitioners to share insights, practices, and narratives from classrooms and communities. We invite you to contribute to our upcoming issue by submitting your articles and reflections to 2elt.choutari@gmail.com.
English as a Medium of Instruction (EMI) is the educational approach in which English is used to teach all subjects. The use of EMI involves teaching subjects from the academic curriculum, for example, Science, Maths, and History in English, where English is neither the native nor the dominant language in school, college, or university. Consequently, English becomes the medium through which a student learns, instead of being taught as a subject itself. I focus on English as a medium of teaching in language policy and planning. When I look back at the history of Nepal, the English have no colonial past. However, it has maintained a major ideological influence since the Rana dictatorship. When Rana Prime Minister Jung Bahadur Rana first visited Britain, he was drawn to the use of the English language. He brought two Englishmen, Mr. Ross and Canning, to teach English to his children. Since then, English has become widely used and popular in Nepal. It has caused societal division by reinforcing inequalities in education, opportunity, and cultural identity. At the time, Rana Prime Minister, including Jung Bahadur Rana, created a schism among his family members when he stated that he would forsake everything and teach his children English. Nepal cannot remain unaffected by the global growth of the English language. It is included as one of the languages spoken in Nepal in the Constitution of Nepal 2015. In Nepal, English is taught as both a topic and a medium of education. Since their inception, most private schools have used English as their primary medium of instruction. Community schools are primarily Nepali medium schools, although EMI is now considered a need in many schools as well. EMI is causing friction between private and community schools in Nepal. There is a common notion that private schools celebrate good results because of EMI. However, their success is due to a variety of circumstances. As we all know, Nepal is celebrating its diverse language, religion, ethnicity, and race. Despite its modest size, the country is rich in language and culture. The documents include the Nepalese Constitution 2072, the National Curriculum Framework 2076, the Education Act 2028, the School Sector Development Plan, and the School Sector Reform Plan 2072. Multilingual education initiatives focus on mother tongue-based multilingual education, particularly at the primary level. However, these documents, notably the Basic Level Curriculum 2076 (Grade 1-3), expressly state that English can be used as the medium of instruction for subjects like as Science and Mathematics. So, these materials are confusing educators.
Institutionalization and Socio-economic Impact of English
Institutionalization and Socio-economic Impact of English, the introduction of English into Nepal’s Schools has drastically shifted the educational and social landscape of the country. Initially introduced in Nepal during the Rana regime as a sign of elite status and modernity, today, the English language is a powerful form of social mobility and academic status (Bhattarai & Basnet, 2020; Pennycook, 2018; Saud, 2020). English is now being taught and is increasingly being used as the medium of instruction in private schools, and for teaching in public schools. This shift shows the belief that knowledge of English brings quality education, global prospects (Adhikari, 2021; Sharma & Thapa, 2022). English is a language linked with power and a similar form of status in society. Even less advantaged families like to send their children to private schools as a result of EMI opportunities. The spread of EMI in private schools happened very quickly, and now private schools are popping up everywhere. Even at the local government level, they are encouraging EMI in Dipayal, Silgadhi Municipality and Doti by making EMI compulsory at the local government level. Such efforts surely show their enthusiasm for English. The establishment of English in the institutional context of Nepal has profoundly changed the educational space and society in Nepal. English, which was introduced into the country during the Rana regime as a marker of elite status and modernity, has evolved into a powerful vehicle for social mobility and academic prestige. English is now taught and is also frequently used as the medium of instruction in private schools, and increasingly in public schools. This shift reflects an underlying belief that proficiency in English brings quality education, global opportunity, and upward social mobility. It is connected with power and distinguished status in society. Even low-income families prefer to send their children to private schools due to EMI. It has spread quickly, and private schools are mushrooming. Even the local government is encouraging the English language in Dipayal, Silgadhi Municipality and Doti, and they have made EMI compulsory at the local level. This kind of exercise certainly demonstrates a love of the English language.
Social Justice through EMI
The use of EMI in Nepal’s education system affects the potential for social justice. It creates unequal access to the quality of teaching provided by EMI. Students from urban, high backgrounds admitted in present-day private schools receive a rich education, while students from rural, i.e. low-income backgrounds have limited access to and practice with English, especially in community schools. Students from urban, high-income backgrounds who are admitted to private schools. Recently, they received a wealth of educational resources, while students from rural, low-income backgrounds have little access to and practice of English, particularly in community schools (Bhattarai & Basnet, 2020; Timsina & Rai, 2019). This is not just an academic disadvantage for community school students, but a social reproduction disadvantage. English is a vital and crucial part of employment and the upper social class (Sharma & Thapa, 2022). Likewise, EMI is associated with colonialism, Western culture. This is the disadvantage of community school students in terms of not simply academic outcomes, but also social reproduction. English is a major and essential part of employment and higher social standing. Similarly, EMI is linked with colonial influence and Western culture. Hence, EMI develops the disintegration of multiple indigenous languages and cultures, with destruction, linguistic inequality and cultural detachment of Nepalese students. Language and culture are interrelated with each other when language enters the nation; it inherently brings its culture. Not all students have the same access to English. Children from rich or urban families often go to private schools where they learn English. But many poor or rural students go to local schools where English is not taught well, or not at all. This creates a big gap in learning. I have mentioned subtopics about social injustice below.
Access and Variation in Education
Ethnic and linguistic minority students’ experiences show that the separation between private and public education in Nepal deepened by the introduction of EMI. Private schools as one of the most well-resourced and culturally competent educational forms in the country, which offer high-quality EMI programmes for wealthy and prosperous families. Community schools, in contrast, work with families representing rural, low-income people. The inequalities linked with education lead to collected effects on the lives of oppressed families and students who cannot afford private schools and are unable to get quality education.
Neglecting people and Cultural perception
The practice of English-only instruction in education and public life results in the social disuse of languages like Doteli, Maithili, Tamang, Newari, and others. As parents work to give their children better opportunities, they encourage their children to speak English, and younger generations are abandoning their languages altogether. These parents are unknowingly sending messages of cultural disconnection and eventually loss of language. The emphasis on individual economic advancement negates Nepal’s multilingual identity and values. The present generation is taught English, leaving their mother tongues.
Socioeconomic Stratification and Symbolic Power
In Nepal, the ability to speak English is becoming a social marker for intelligence, achievement, and social status. Students with fluent English abilities will command a greater amount of respect and access to higher education, government work, and business opportunities in society. The symbolic power of English establishes class boundaries, because only individuals who are recognized can afford EMI-based education. Thus, another protector of advantage is language, namely, the exclusion of individuals who cannot engage.
In Nepal, the importance of English has led to the marginalization of other native languages. Marginalization means the inconsequence associated with what is not major, not central, and not powerful. In Nepal, English is preferred in every sector, including education, banking, hospitals, and so on. Private schools teach in English, and students who speak good English are often given more respect and better opportunities. Because of this, many parents want their children to learn English instead of their own mother tongue. As a result, local languages like Doteli, Newari, Maithili, Tamang, Tharu and many others are being used less, especially by young people.
In higher education, government jobs and business English are often liked. This makes it harder for people who speak only Nepali to compete. When one language becomes more powerful, others slowly lose their importance. This is how English, even without meaning to, is pushing local languages aside. The government even mandates English as a subject in the early grades. It has been made a compulsory subject from grade 1 to the bachelor’s level. It has secret power in Nepalese society. In the context of Nepal, many parents prefer to send their children to private schools. English is synonymous with high-quality education in Nepal. Privatization in education is widespread in Nepal. Private schools are proliferating and offer English-medium teaching. Such private schools reflect English culture, including Halloween. English has had a significantly greater influence on the local language, culture, and identity.
Conclusion
Overall, the article analyses the essentialist celebration of English as a neutral instrument of development. It advocates for a more critical and socially just approach to language planning that recognizes English’s potential for global utility while also protecting linguistic rights, cultural heritage, and equitable access to education. Stunning, this balance is essential in supporting Nepal as it negotiates its multifaceted identity and aspirations in a globalized landscape. In Nepal, many local schools are switching mediums of instruction from local languages to English as the medium of instruction. While Nepal is a UN state that has a language in education policy, which was developed upon recommendations to educate children in their mother tongue and promote bilingualism for better long-term learning, the policy is hardly followed in practice. The official approach, as mother tongue-based multilingual education is encoded, has been replaced with EMI, which runs counter to its intentions. The transition to EMI was fast-tracked after Nepal adopted a federal system of government in 2015, where local governments had power over local language policy. Although this national plan (2016-2023) sought to endorse local languages, almost all local governments, especially in urban areas, have chosen EMI.
References
Adhikari, R. (2021). The impact of English as a medium of instruction on indigenous languages in Nepal. Language Policy and Society, 7(3), 210–225.
Bhattarai, M., & Basnet, J. (2020). English Language Teaching and Social Stratification in Nepal. Nepalese Journal of Educational Research, 11(4), 78–95.
Kafle, N. P. (2023). Language policy and practice in Nepal: English as a medium of instruction. Journal of Language and Education, 9(1), 45–62.
Pennycook, A. (2018). The cultural Politics of English as an international language. Routledge.
Saud, M.S. (2020). English medium public schools in Nepal: A new linguistic market in education. LLT Journal: A Journal on Language and Language,23(2), 319-333.
Sharma, S., & Thapa, D. (2022). English-Medium education and social inequality in Nepal: A critical overview. International Journal of Multilingual Education, 14(2), 102–118.
Timsina, L., & Rai, P. (2019). Multilingual education and policy challenges in Nepal. Asian Journal of Applied Linguistics, 6(1), 33–47.
Author’s Bio: Mr. Nar Bahadur Bist is an ELT practitioner from Doti, Nepal. He is currently pursuing an MPhil in ELT from Kathmandu University, School of Education. He is an English instructor at Seti Technical School, Rajpur, and a secondary-level teacher at Martyrs Memorial Residential Secondary School, Doti. His areas of interest include English language teaching, linguistic study, EMI and ELT study of language, and teacher professional development. He can be reached at narbist22@gmail.com.
Project-based language learning is a procedural approach of language learning activities through the planning, exploring, analyzing, and synthesizing, in which the learners present their findings in the class either orally or in written form (Beckett, 1999). Dhungana (2025) believes that the project-based learning (PBL) model encourages students to learn actively by using different strategies to develop their language skills and improve achievement. He further supported this model as an opportunity and a transformative method to develop the 21st-century skills in the learners to maintain international standards. Furthermore, PBL creates a productive environment for learning, but the projects are to be selected rigorously, students are to be guided in each step, and there should be proper assessment of the students to encourage all of them for meaningful learning and cosy presentation in the class (Fleming, 2000). PBL can be taken as an innovative and inquiry-based learning method that fosters learners’ active engagement in language learning through continuous guidance of teachers and exploration of students. This framework of learning develops not only the language skills but also the soft skills during the process of conducting and completing the project works (Ecuador, 2019; Maulina, 2024; Nasir & Dermawan, 2021).
The concept of PBL was developed by stepping on the project method (Kilpatrick, 1918), experiential learning and teaching (Dewey, 1938), and sociocultural theory (Vygotsky, 1978). Similarly, the historical steps for this approach began after the 1980s, when a task-based approach to language learning took place in ELT (Beckett & Slater, 2005; Wang, 2020). In the context of Nepal, this method gained value in the Nepalese education system when the national curriculum framework (2076 B.S.) envisioned life skill-based and competency-based subject-wise curricula. Then, the English curricula and textbooks, including other subjects, incorporated project works after each chapter of the textbooks from grades six to twelve. Additionally, the curriculum development centre has designed an internal evaluation guideline (2080 B.S.), which provides rubrics to evaluate students’ project works and other academic activities objectively and reliably.
Regarding empirical studies on project-based learning (PBL), the existing literature focuses on the effectiveness, challenges, and possibilities of PBL in the EFL classroom (Dhungana, 2025; Sanchez, 2019; Maulina, 2024; Devkota et al., 2017; Guslyakova et al., 2021; Aldabbus, 2018). Likewise, other studies have focused on how PBL fosters learner active participation and confidence of students in EFL classrooms (Aubrey, 2021; Giri, 2016; Nasir & Dermawan, 2022). Furthermore, Bastola (2021) examined how PBL can guide students to solve problems while learning English. Acharya (2023) analyzed the perceptions, practices, and challenges while applying PBL in health education. Gibbes and Carson (2014) scrutinized PBL from learners’ perspectives, Yuliani (2017) studied how PBL can enhance learner autonomy, and Somani and Rizvi (2018) compared PBL and traditional approaches of language teaching under a quasi-experimental design. However, I could not find the studies on PBL that investigated it to promote English language learner investment and integration of internal assessment with it.
I found my students avoiding investing in English language learning, which led them to low performance in all skills and aspects of language activities. Then, I asked them how much time they invest in English, and they replied that they only spent five to twenty minutes on English, and they again added that they usually do not pay much attention to the English subject, as they can pass it. I thought that if they depend only on classroom teaching and do not put in extra efforts outside the class, they might not perform what the are capable of. Similarly, overconfidence and exam-focused preparation in any subject is not good for knowledge and personal development. Therefore, this study aims to enhance learner investment through PBL incorporated with internal assessment techniques in secondary level students of Nepalese public schools by using the following research questions.
How does PBL, integrated with internal assessment, enhance learner investment in learning English?
What are the challenges and possibilities while implementing PBL in the EFL classroom?
Methods
As a practitioner teacher, I improve my professional practices with the help of action research by following the steps: planning, acting, observing, and reflecting (PAOR) (Burns, 2010). In this research, I have employed a project-based language learning approach integrated with an internal assessment system as the interventional technique to increase the time, effort, and dedication of my secondary level students in English language learning under the framework of technical action research by following the PAOR structure (Kemmis et al., 2014). The students of grade nine and ten (e.g. English medium sections of 9A and 10A), who numbered thirty and fifty students respectively, were the participants. I got my students to complete the projects mentioned in the textbook in regular teaching. Here I have presented projects: reading, writing, observing, and giving a speech project and peer/classroom teaching as the integrated project works, which I had provided during two long vacations, and I supported them to present their projects in the class. I observed how they have prepared and what resources they have studied, I collected their reports and looked at them closely, and I observed their classroom presentation by following the rubrics. Similarly, I had surveyed the status of students about their time, efforts, and dedication that they have about English language learning by asking open-ended questions. Finally, I analyzed the reflections that occurred in the class based on thematic analysis, followed by research questions and themes generated from classroom performance of students (Burns, 2010; Kemmis, McTaggart, & Nixon, 2014; Mertler, 2019).
Results and Discussion
Reading, Writing, Observing, and Giving Speech Project
As I had assigned the task of preparing a long essay, most of the students had prepared the essay as per the instructions, and a few students expressed the reasons for not completing the project work. And I provided them a few days to complete the task. Meanwhile, I provided feedback on their essays and guided them to make a final draft of the essay to record them in the file of project work. To make a clear understanding of the topic, we discussed the topic, and most of the students took part in the conversation actively. After the reading, writing, and observing (i.e., watching and listening) activities, students were taken towards preparing a draft of a speech to present in the class and one day, public speaking training was conducted by using multimedia and teaching the techniques of giving a speech. Students presented their speeches one by one every day. I evaluated their speech based on the modified criteria of internal assessment (e.g., report preparation-5, accuracy and clarity-5, confidence and style-5, content coverage-5, Timing-5), and I converted 25 marks into 16 marks to match the criteria of the internal assessment guideline, as there is a provision of testing listening and speaking for 16 marks. Thus, this project work contributed to the development of not only all language skills and aspects but also collaboration, confidence, creative, and interpretive skills as the students got help from peers, teachers, and other references during the process.
There was a girl who was unable to buy a copy for making notes, but she bought a grammar book and practice book, being encouraged to learn English after I conducted public speaking training for a week. I asked her, “Why and how did you manage the money for all these things?” She happily answered that she went to work on the farm as a labourer for five days and earned twenty five hundred rupees, which was enough for her. After such a long preparation, huge efforts, and investment of time, effort, and dedication, she was able to give such a nice performance. The integrated and task-based activities encourage students to be involved in learning activities for a long time (Joshi, 2024). He further claimed that the writing proficiency gaps could be maintained through continuous support to the students and involving them in publishing booklets of their project works. Similarly, Joshi (2025) claimed that the empathetic communication and supportive environment in the class help students to cope with stress during the preparation and presentation of academic activities. Furthermore, active participation and confidence of students can be enhanced through balanced project work in EFL classrooms (Aubrey, 2021; Giri, 2016). To sum up, it is certain that the PBL enhances the learner investment if the project works are designed carefully and if the students are supported in each step, not only in the classroom but also through technology and library resources.
Classroom/Peer Teaching Project
My English medium students were good at reading and average at speaking and writing skills. Therefore, I guided them to select any reading text and prepare for teaching to develop all their language skills integratively. Therefore, I provided this project work during the long holiday of Dashain and Tihar. When the classes began, I checked my students’ project works and provided feedback on their word meanings, answers to the comprehension questions, and other tasks that they had worked on. Before getting them to present their lessons, I explained and clarified their confusion related to the texts. I guided my co-teachers (students) to present their lessons at the beginning of the class within the timeframe of ten to twenty minutes, but some students requested the whole period of 45 minutes, and then I checked their preparation first and allowed them to take the whole class, ensuring detailed preparation. Meanwhile, I facilitated and judged them during their presentations. Some of the students presented excellent, and some did average. However, the hopeful point was that they maximized their time, efforts, and devotion in English language learning activities.
There was a boy in grade ten who used to stay passive in the class, but he used to ask questions related to English, not related to the current topic. When I provided him a chance to teach, he taught in such a way that students exclaimed with delight that his performance was perfect. After the presentation, I asked him how much time he had spent preparing for the lesson, and he replied with pride that he had spent a week for the preparation; consulting extra books, watching YouTube videos, and discussing with Chat GPT to prepare the lesson. Similarly, there was a girl in grade nine who was assumed to be fussy as she used to remain passive but talkative with her friends. She was average in subject matter, quiet, and not interested in communicative activities in English. However, when she got a chance to present her lesson, she used a clear, confident, commanding voice while teaching and used English most of the time. I asked her the same question, and she replied that she had worked two weeks to prepare a lesson. Rusli et al. (2021) accepted that peer teaching is significant to enhance the academic achievement of students as it creates an environment that develops confidence and motivation. Yuliani (2017) also supported this and claimed that PBL promotes learner autonomy.
Integration of Internal Evaluation with PBL
National Curriculum Framework (2076), Secondary Level Curriculum (2078), and Internal evaluation criteria (2080) recommend the incorporation of internal evaluation of English from nine to twelve with regular learning facilitation process through creative tasks and project works. Similarly, there are listening and speaking skills to be tested separately for 16 marks. However, the curriculum’s intention is for integrated language learning activities. Therefore, I decided to test language skills integratively through project works that I discussed earlier. I tested listening and speaking skills as per the curriculum during the classroom teaching. Saud et al. (2024) also emphasized the modification of internal assessment rubrics to contribute to learning language with a holistic approach rather than just evaluating students’ achievement.
Challenges and Possibilities of PBL in EFL Classrooms
Besides the unlimited benefits of project-based learning, due to more closures of schools and frequent holidays, not all of the students got a chance to present their projects by taking the sufficient time they wanted. Additionally, the lack of time challenged me as well because I could not conduct learning activities by covering all the projects mentioned in the textbook. Although the students were motivated to engage in project work, a few students got frustrated due to the lack of resources that they required to prepare for the projects. Some students have neither access to additional materials nor the library (e.g., physical or digital), in the initial stage, they did not accept these PBL techniques as it was new and had never been presented in class before as a regular part of learning, so the lack of confidence prevented them from smooth learning. Similarly, the students with a poor language base tried to avoid the project works, but they did so after the huge support and encouragement.
Despite the challenges, the project-based language-learning model creates space for an open, context-specific, and active learning environment if we can manage the challenges mentioned earlier. Similarly, the effective implementation of internal evaluation incorporated with regular teaching and PBL techniques can ensure the required investment and engagement of all learners and support for proficiency gaps as well. The internal evaluation criteria are used for providing marks to prepare results, but these have not been incorporated effectively with classroom teaching and internal evaluation in many schools, due to students feeling threatened in project works without a support system (Saud et al., 2024). Therefore, only after creating supportive mechanisms and effective implementation of internal evaluation can learning opportunities be provided (Joshi, 2025). Devkota et al. (2017) explored the challenges and opportunities, and their findings are also similar to my study, as they mentioned that the time and school environment play vital roles in making PBL more fruitful in EFL classrooms.
Conclusion
As the purpose of the study, the investment in students for the English subject increased at a satisfactory level. I wanted my students to spend at least an hour every day. However, some of them provided up to two to three hours, two weeks, and most of them gave an hour happily, although they used to give only five to twenty minutes. Similarly, they increased their efforts and invested money not only in reference materials but also invested time to consult the library. As a result, they performed better in the class, their handwriting improved, clarity and confidence increased, and they learnt collaborative skills to give and take help in the learning process. Although the project work was new and unique, and the previous trend was just a repetition of the course content in vacations, my students accepted the plan for project work easily after they observed some project works in videos. Not only during the project work but also in regular teaching, the technique (e.g., encouraging students to share their learning in the class as a task or a project) made students alert and prepared. This study will be helpful and a reference for those English language teachers who want to implement PBL in EFL classrooms to enhance learners’ active participation, and for language policy designers to revise the internal assessment guideline in the coming days. This study only presented the reflections of two project works, just for internal assessment and fostering learner investment, and further investigations can be conducted to integrate soft skills in the language learning process through project-based learning.
References
Acharya, S. (2023). Perceptions, practices, and challenges of applying project-based learning in health education.Journal of Education and Practice, 14(2), 112–121.
Aldabbus, S. (2018). Project-based learning: Possibilities and challenges in primary classrooms.International Journal of Education and Research, 6(4), 75–88.
Aubrey, S. (2021). Enhancing English language learner engagement through project-based learning.TESOL Quarterly, 55(3), 780–804.
Bastola, B. (2021). Project-based learning to develop problem-solving skills in English language classrooms.Journal of NELTA, 26(1–2), 45–58.
Beckett, G. H. (1999). Project-based instruction in a Canadian secondary school’s ESL classes: Goals and evaluations [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. University of British Columbia, Canada.
Burns, A. (2009). Doing action research in English language teaching: A guide for practitioners. Routledge.
Curriculum Development Centre. (2019). National curriculum framework for school education. Government of Nepal, Ministry of Education, Science and Technology.
Curriculum Development Centre. (2021). Secondary level (Grades 9–10) English curriculum. Government of Nepal, Ministry of Education, Science and Technology.
Curriculum Development Centre. (2023). Internal evaluation guideline for school education. Government of Nepal, Ministry of Education, Science and Technology.
Darvin, R., & Norton, B. (2023). Investment and motivation in language learning: What’s the difference?. Language Teaching, 56(1), 29-40.
Devkota, B., Karki, R., & Shrestha, S. (2017). Challenges and possibilities of implementing project-based learning in EFL classrooms in Nepal.Journal of Education and Research, 7(1), 32–49.
Dhungana, A. (2025). Investigating the effectiveness and implementation challenges of project-based learning: A case study of public school teachers in Chitwan, Nepal. Journal of Balkumari College, 14(1), 89-96.
Dhungana, K. (2025). Effectiveness and implementation challenges of project-based learning in English language teaching.Nepal Journal of Language Education, 10(1), 15–28.
Gibbes, M., & Carson, L. (2014). Project-based language learning: Learners’ perspectives.Innovation in Language Learning and Teaching, 8(2), 171–189.
Ginting, D. (2021). Student engagement and factors affecting active learning in English language teaching. Voices of English Language Education Society, 5(2), 215-228.
Giri, R. A. (2016). Project-based learning as a 21st-century approach in English language teaching.NELTA Journal, 21(1–2), 12–25.
Guslyakova, L., Kuznetsova, N., & Ivanova, E. (2021). Problems of implementing project-based learning in EFL classrooms.European Journal of Education Studies, 8(10), 34–46.
Joshi, D. R. (2024). Teachers’ experiential strategies for bridging writing proficiency gaps among secondary level students. Far Western Review, 2(2), 91-105.
Joshi, D. R. (2025). Exploring counselling-based pedagogy in EFL classrooms: Perceived values of English language teachers in Nepal. Far Western Journal of Education, 2, 57-73.
Karki, S. (2018). Effectiveness of project work in developing students’ speaking skills. Journal of NELTA, 23(1–2), 101–113.
Kemmis, S., McTaggart, R., & Nixon, R. (2014). The action research planner: Doing critical participatory action research. Springer.
Maulina, M. (2024). Empowering English language learners through project-based learning for language proficiency.Indonesian Journal of Applied Linguistics, 14(1), 66–78.
Mertler, C. A. (2019). Action research: Improving schools and empowering educators (6th ed.). Sage Publications.
Nasir, M., & Dermawan, A. (2022). Enhancing learners’ participation and confidence through project-based learning in EFL contexts.Asian EFL Journal, 24(5), 90–104.
Rusli, M., Degeng, N. S., Setyosari, P., & Sulton. (2021). Peer teaching: Students teaching students to increase academic performance. Teaching Theology & Religion, 24(1), 17-27.
Sanchez, R. (2019). Effectiveness of project-based learning to improve students’ speaking skills.English Language Teaching Journal, 12(6), 123–134.
Saud, M.S., Aryal, S., & Sapkota, J.L. (2024). Student assessment in formal education: Nepali community school teachers’ perspectives. Prithvi Academic Journal, 7, 67-77.
Somani, R., & Rizvi, M. (2018). A comparative study of project-based and traditional approaches in English language teaching: A quasi-experimental design.International Journal of Instruction, 11(3), 15–30.
Yuliani, S. (2017). Promoting learner autonomy through project-based learning in EFL classrooms.Advances in Language and Literary Studies, 8(2), 68–77.
Author’s Bio: Dev Ram Joshi is an English language teacher at Mahunyal Secondary School, Bhajani-1, Kailali and the MPhil scholar at Far Western University, Nepal. He has been teaching English at the secondary level for over ten years. His areas of research interest include language proficiency gaps, psycholinguistics, motivation, transformative pedagogy, learner empowerment, self-directed learning and professional development, ecosystem in language education, and ELT material development. He can be reached at teacherdrjoshi@gmail.com.
The integration of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has transformed educational practices worldwide, fostering innovative teaching and learning experiences (UNESCO, 2018). In developing countries like Nepal, however, ICT implementation remains uneven, particularly in rural community schools. Despite the government’s efforts to promote ICT in education through policies such as the School Sector Development Plan (SSDP, 2016–2023), the challenges in rural contexts continue to hinder its effective use. This study reflects on my personal and professional journey as both a learner and a teacher in Nepal’s community schools, focusing on the challenges of ICT implementation and the realities of the digital divide between rural and urban educational settings. I was born and raised in a rural village in Tanahun District, Nepal. My early education took place in a community school that lacked basic ICT infrastructure, including computers, projectors, and even electricity. Like many rural students, I completed my schooling without ever having seen or used a computer. My only exposure to ICT was through conversations among teachers, which made computers sound like distant, mysterious tools.
The lack of digital exposure during my schooling reflected a broader issue: Nepal’s rural-urban educational disparity, especially in access to technology. Several studies align with my own personal experience, whether as a student or a teacher in various schools. For example, a study by Joshi and Ayer (2024) found that most rural schools in Nepal still lack the infrastructure and training needed for ICT integration. Similarly, Phunyal (2024) reported that many community schools have computers but lack consistent electricity and internet facilities, making their use infrequent and symbolic rather than transformative. Similar challenges are echoed in Lomo et al. (2024) when they reported that insufficient funding, weak stakeholder support, training challenges, poor electricity and internet access, and high maintenance costs constrained head teachers’ efforts to support ICT integration in teaching and learning. It has been reported that teachers have poor ICT skills, schools have poor internet connectivity, and a lack of computers, which creates a significant challenge in its implications (Lamsal, 2022). This report aligns with my personal experience in using ICT in teaching and learning.
Transition to Higher Education and Exposure to ICT
After completing my School Leaving Certificate (SLC), I moved to Pokhara for higher education. I passed intermediate without seeing computer use in the teaching and learning process. However, this transition marked a turning point in my educational journey. While pursuing my Bachelor’s degree, I joined a computer institute and completed a basic computer course. I also began teaching in a private school, where I observed the effective use of ICT in classrooms. Students were taken to the computer lab for a computer class, as well as being taught the contents through ICT tools.
Teachers used projectors, digital content, and multimedia presentations, and I noticed how students were more engaged and motivated. Their enthusiasm contrasted sharply with my own schooling experience. This observation deepened my understanding of the digital divide, a term referring to the unequal access to technology across social, geographical, and economic boundaries (Van Dijk, J., 2020). However, even in higher education, the integration of ICT was limited. Most lecturers relied on traditional lecture methods, highlighting a systemic gap in technology adoption even at the tertiary level.
ICT in Higher Education: A Source of Inspiration
During my master’s degree at Tribhuvan University, I experienced technology-enhanced learning environments for the first time. Professors used laptops, projectors, and digital resources to teach English, which significantly enhanced classroom engagement. They utilised ICT tools in preparing teaching materials and presentation slides, and employed these tools to involve students in group work. The most exciting thing I experienced was that they provided project work that required students to use computers in reporting the work. The ICT use really brightened up the classroom, ended boredom, enhanced students’ participation, and allowed students to explore the world of knowledge using technology. These experiences reinforced my belief that ICT could revolutionise teaching and learning if properly implemented. It inspired me to become an ICT-oriented teacher who could bring innovation into classroom instruction.
Research supports this realisation. According to Pun (2013), the use of ICT in teaching English promotes learner autonomy, motivation, and language exposure beyond textbooks. Similarly, Adhikari (2022) emphasises that teachers’ attitudes and digital competence play crucial roles in the success of ICT integration. Furthermore, Paudel (2021) argued that teacher professional development programs must include digital literacy and pedagogical training to ensure the sustainable use of ICT in schools.
Encountering Realities as a Teacher in Rural Community Schools
My enthusiasm for using ICT faced harsh realities when I began teaching in a rural community school in Tanahun. The school lacked not only computers but also electricity. There was no internet connection, either. I had to depend on mobile data to connect to the internet. The mobile data was also poor. I was disappointed with the realities I confronted there at that time. I was just puzzled about how to integrate ICT in my real teaching without ICT tools at school. The classroom size was large. I had the responsibility of dealing with tech-savvy learners who were more interested in using technology in learning a language. I wanted to be a scuba diver, but the circumstances forced me to be helpless. There was also poor support from the administration in utilising ICT in teaching and learning. I talked to the head teacher and the SMC chairperson. They spoke of the financial challenges the school was facing. My colleagues were discussing the lack of opportunities for ICT training, despite their wishes. Only a few teachers are well-trained in ICT. I desperately wished for an appropriate policy at the local level to address the challenges of ICT implementation in the community school. My knowledge and training in ICT felt irrelevant in that context. Similarly, Rana (2018) and Paudel (2022) identify financial constraints, inadequate training, and the absence of institutional commitment as core barriers.
After four years, I was transferred to a secondary school at Bhimad, where the situation was slightly better; there were computers and projectors, but no internet connectivity and unreliable electricity. Moreover, most teachers were digitally illiterate. Even computer teachers conducted classes theoretically without hands-on practice. These challenges align with findings from Sharma (2020), who observed that many rural schools in Nepal possess ICT tools but lack effective usage due to insufficient training, irregular power supply, and a lack of maintenance support.
Current Teaching Experience and Continuing Challenges
Currently, I teach English at a community school in Tanahun. Despite my persistent efforts to integrate ICT tools into lessons, barriers remain. Limited resources, poor connectivity, and a lack of institutional support continue to restrict meaningful ICT use. I have maximised available tools, using personal mobile phones, recorded videos, and downloaded materials, but systematic integration remains out of reach.
This situation aligns with broader national findings that rural teachers face “second-order barriers”—attitudinal, skill-based, and policy-related constraints that prevent effective ICT use (Ertmer, 1999; Paudel, 2021). Dong, C. (2025) reported that teachers faced major obstacles in integrating ICT into their teaching, primarily because they lacked adequate ICT training and professional development Rana and Rana (2020) in the Malaysian Online Journal of Educational Technology observe that the implementation of ICT in rural Nepal is highly context-dependent, constrained by geography, socio-economic status, and policy support. The persistence of these issues reveals the urgent need for localised training, infrastructure investment, and policy follow-up. Their findings reinforce the idea that rural ICT integration requires systemic rather than individual-level solutions.
Reflections and Implications
My journey from a student deprived of ICT to a teacher striving for ICT integration reflects the systemic inequities in Nepal’s education system. The journey helped me come up with the idea of the challenges of ICT implementation and its corresponding measures. The lack of sufficient ICT resources, inadequate ICT-based training for teachers, inconsistent electricity supply, poor internet access, a lack of alternative sources of electricity, insufficient administrative support, and a lack of ICT skills are identified as the major challenges to the effective implementation of ICT in rural community schools in Nepal. It underscores that ICT implementation is not merely a technological challenge but a socio-economic and policy issue.
These various experiences helped me to develop the insights to minimise the challenges. Conducting regular ICT training for teachers, promoting digital literacy among students and teachers alike, and community and local government participation in ICT initiatives. Schools must search for financial resources, and stakeholders need to provide administrative and technical support to mitigate the challenges that emerge with the effort to integrate ICT in teaching and learning, particularly in rural community schools. The findings also triggered changes in the policy-making and implementation aspects to seek a solution to the challenges observed. The majority of teachers who have not had the opportunity to learn ICT skills need to be provided with training for proper implementation of ICT in the language classroom, and ultimately to transform the traditional way of teaching to the recent ICT-integrated teaching.
Therefore, policymakers and educational leaders must consider various factors, such as strengthening infrastructure (including electricity and internet access) in rural schools, conducting regular ICT training for teachers, promoting digital literacy among both students and teachers, and encouraging community and local government participation in ICT initiatives. Furthermore, the SMC chairperson and head teachers should share equal responsibility for adopting technology in classroom teaching and learning. The teachers also need to be aware that the use of technology enhances the learning outcome, meeting the goal of quality education. Additionally, various tiers of government need to collaborate to address the challenges of implementing ICT in education. These governments need to formulate an appropriate IT policy and equally emphasise the implementation part. Moreover, these governments need to allocate a budget for infrastructural development and the management of ICT tools in schools. As UNESCO (2023) notes, equitable access to ICT is a key driver of inclusive and quality education. Without addressing the underlying barriers, the digital divide will continue to widen.
Conclusion
This reflective account highlights that ICT integration in rural community schools of Nepal remains a significant challenge despite policy intentions and teachers’ enthusiasm. The author’s experiences mirror those of many rural educators who aspire to innovate but are constrained by contextual limitations. Bridging this gap requires more than distributing devices; it demands sustained commitment to infrastructure development, teacher professional development, and community engagement. Only then can ICT truly transform education in rural Nepal.
References
Acharya, C. P. (2014). Use of ICT/Web tools in ELT in Nepal. Journal of NELTA, 19(1–2), 1–13.
Dong, C., Ji, H., Yang, T., Wu, H., Liu, C., Xie, X., … & Zhang, X. (2025). Janus Adsorption of Polar Ion Hubs for Simultaneous Regulation of Zinc Deposition Kinetics and Interfacial Stability in Long‐Cycle Aqueous Zinc‐Ion Batteries. Advanced Functional Materials, e13529. https://doi.org/10.1002/adfm.202513529
Ertmer, P. A. (1999). Addressing first-and second-order barriers to change: Strategies for technology integration. Educational Technology Research and Development, 47(4), 47-61. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF02299597
Joshi, K. R., & Ayer, R. (2024). Teachers’ experiences and challenges of integrating ICTs in English language classrooms in rural schools of Nepal. Journal of NELTA Gandaki, 7(1–2).
Lamsal, H. L. (2022). Exploring challenges and opportunities of remote teaching at Nepalese community secondary schools during the COVID-19 pandemic. Utamax: Journal of Ultimate Research and Trends in Education, 4(1), 29-38.
Lomo, D. A., Abonyi, U. K., & Ahwireng, D. (2024). Headteachers’ support and challenges toward ICT integration into teaching and learning in Ghanaian Basic schools. Leadership and Policy in Schools, 24(2), 330–345.
Maski Rana, K. (2018). ICT in rural primary schools in Nepal: Context and teachers’ experiences. (Doctoral dissertation, University of Canterbury).
Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology (2019). Education in Figures 2019. Government of Nepal.
Paudel, P. (2021). ICT integration in community schools of Nepal: Opportunities and barriers. Journal of Education and Social Studies, 4(1), 56–67.
Pun, M. (2013). The use of multimedia technology in English language teaching: A global perspective. Crossing the Border. International Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies, 1(1), 29–38.
Rana, K., & Rana, K. (2020). ICT in rural primary schools in Nepal: Context and teachers’ experiences. Malaysian Online Journal of Educational Technology, 8(1), 36–53.
Tondeur, J., Van Braak, J., Ertmer, P., & Ottenbreit-Leftwich, A. (2017). Understanding the relationship between teachers’ pedagogical beliefs and technology use in education: A systematic review. Educational Technology Research and Development, 65(3), 555–575.
UNESCO. (2018). ICT Competency Framework for Teachers (Version 3).
UNESCO. (2023). Global Education Monitoring Report 2023: Technology in Education. Paris: UNESCO.
Van Dijk, J. (2020). The digital divide. John Wiley & Sons.
Author’ Bio: Mr. Janak Sigdel is an English teacher at Chandra Jyoti Secondary School, Ghirhing, Tanahun. He is the Roster Trainer of the Education Training Centre, Gandaki Province. Currently, he is pursuing an MPhil from Nepal Open University. He can be reached at schoolchandrajyoti31@gmail.com.
Teacher professional development (TPD) in English language teaching plays a vital role in enhancing instructional quality, equipping educators to navigate pedagogical shifts shaped by globalisation, technological change, and diverse learner needs. In Nepal, however, TPD is often approached as a formality rather than a transformative process. Reflecting on my own journey as an ELT professional in Nepal, I have observed how many initiatives fail to address the practical challenges teachers face, particularly in rural, multilingual, and under-resourced settings. Workshops tend to be centralised, top-down, and theory-heavy, lacking follow-up mechanisms, teacher agency, or contextual sensitivity. Moreover, many educators participate passively, with limited motivation or incentives to translate PD programmes into meaningful classroom practices. These experiences have led me to question the prevailing assumptions about professional development and the disconnect between policy rhetoric and actual teacher empowerment.
Critically analysing this situation through the lenses of Self-Determination Theory and Vygotsky’s Social Interaction Theory, it becomes clear that sustainable TPD must foster autonomy, competence, and collaborative growth. Teachers thrive when they are seen as active agents of change rather than passive recipients of PD programmes (Vygotsky, 1978; Ryan & Deci, 2017). Looking at successful models from countries like Finland and Singapore, one finds strong institutional support, continuous mentorship, and an ingrained culture of reflective practice, all of which are largely absent in Nepal (Paudel, 2019). These countries prioritise teacher voice, build trust, and tailor PD programmes to school contexts, contrasting sharply with Nepal’s fragmented and compliance-oriented system. Therefore, for Nepal to strengthen its ELT landscape, it must rethink its approach to TPD, grounding it in teachers’ lived realities, engaging stakeholders at all levels, and investing in long-term structures that value teacher learning as a continuous, context-driven, and collaborative process.
The Lived Experience of a Language Educator in Nepal
My professional journey in English Language Teaching, which began in 2009 at Darchula Multiple Campus in Far Western Nepal, has been marked by moments of hesitation, discovery, and continuous growth. Initially uncertain about teaching, I gradually developed a deep passion for the field, fueled by positive student engagement, satisfaction and appreciation. As I advanced through B.Ed., M.Ed., MPhil and PhD programmes in English Language Education, I began to view teaching not just as content delivery, but also as a reflective and learner-centred process. These academic pursuits expanded my understanding of critical pedagogy, curriculum design, and classroom dynamics, encouraging me to question traditional practices and embrace innovation in teaching. Reflective practice, in particular, became central to my pedagogical identity, prompting me to consistently analyse and refine my methods based on learner feedback, context, and theoretical grounding.
Critically reflecting on my participation in various teacher professional development programmes, I recognise how certain experiences significantly shaped my professional outlook. A workshop at Far Western University on reflective practice and professional ethics, for instance, challenged me to reconsider my assumptions about teacher identity and responsibility. An online course from Arizona State University introduced me to curriculum evaluation frameworks and the concept of communities of practice (Wenger, 1998), emphasising collaboration and shared learning among educators. These initiatives illustrated the power of contextually relevant, participatory TPD. The COVID-19 pandemic brought another critical learning opportunity: when I led a Microsoft Teams training for faculty, it became apparent that many colleagues lacked digital competencies. This revealed a broader institutional gap in ICT readiness and highlighted the urgent need for systemic support in digital literacy. Such experiences not only broadened my understanding of ELT in Nepal but also sharpened my belief that effective TPD must be reflective, responsive, and rooted in the real challenges teachers face.
Critical Reflection and Theoretical Evaluation
The persistent underdevelopment of teacher professional development in Nepal reveals deeply entrenched structural challenges that continue to hinder quality education, particularly in English Language Teaching. Most TPD programmes in Nepal are designed and delivered through a top-down, standardised approach that disregards the diverse and context-specific realities of teachers, especially those in rural and marginalised regions (Borg, 2015). In my own teaching context, institutional limitations such as a lack of high-speed internet access, digital tools, and sufficient ICT infrastructure severely constrain innovative practices and hinder access to professional learning resources. Moreover, TPD initiatives are often conducted as one-off workshops, functioning more as bureaucratic formalities than transformative learning experiences. This tokenistic approach has prevented TPD from becoming a sustained, reflective, and embedded part of the teaching culture. Without long-term follow-up, mentorship, or collaborative platforms, teachers are left isolated in their pursuit of pedagogical improvement.
Reflecting on my own professional experiences, I find strong resonance with Schön’s (1983) concept of the reflective practitioner, which underscores the importance of learning through reflection-in-action and reflection-on-action. My practice of writing reflective journals after classes has evolved into a key professional habit, helping me to self-evaluate and adjust instructional strategies based on student responses and emerging challenges. Brookfield’s four lenses of critical reflection, such as autobiographical experiences, students’ perspectives, peer observations, and theoretical knowledge, have guided me in adopting a more holistic, evidence-informed approach to teaching. In the absence of robust institutional support, I relied heavily on self-directed learning through YouTube, MOOCs, webinars, and online communities, which served as vital metacognitive tools in my growth. Drawing on Deci and Ryan’s Self-Determination Theory, I recognise that my sustained motivation stemmed from a sense of autonomy, growing competence, and meaningful connections with like-minded educators. These experiences highlight not only the gaps in Nepal’s TPD ecosystem but also the power of teacher agency and intrinsic motivation in driving professional transformation.
Socio-Educational Relevance in Nepal’s Current Context
Nepal’s educational system, particularly in its rural and remote regions, remains heavily burdened by systemic challenges such as teacher isolation, lack of mentorship, and limited access to current academic resources. These issues are compounded by the digital divide, financial constraints, and bureaucratic red tape, which collectively stifle innovation and professional growth (Saud, 2023). In my own teaching experience, I have observed that even the most motivated and competent teachers often become disillusioned due to inadequate institutional support and rigid administrative structures. For example, teachers eager to integrate technology or apply new pedagogies frequently encounter logistical obstacles such as insufficient budgets, unreliable internet, or delayed bureaucratic approvals. This reinforces a cycle of stagnation, where meaningful reform is constantly deferred.
Despite these challenges, the enthusiasm among educators to engage in professional development remains palpable. During a Microsoft Teams training session I facilitated, I witnessed firsthand the eagerness of colleagues to enhance their digital literacy and pedagogical skills, an experience that underscored the untapped potential that exists when support structures are made accessible. This calls for the urgent design of responsive, contextually grounded TPD programmes that incorporate blended learning, modular flexibility, and collaborative learning communities such as peer-led reflective practice groups. Additionally, Nepal’s shift to a federal governance structure presents a valuable opportunity to decentralise TPD initiatives. If provincial governments, universities, and local education commissions can collaborate to tailor TPD efforts to local needs, while integrating global best practices and honouring indigenous knowledge systems and multilingual realities, then the quality and relevance of ELT in Nepal can be significantly enhanced.
Comparative Insights: Learning from Developed Countries
Countries like Finland and Singapore offer powerful counterpoints to Nepal’s underdeveloped TPD landscape, each providing distinct yet transferable lessons. Finland’s model emphasises deep professional trust, autonomy, and research-based practice. Teachers are required to hold a master’s degree, and professional development is seamlessly integrated into their weekly workload through collaborative inquiry and action research. This system nurtures a culture of intrinsic motivation, critical reflection, and lifelong learning, values that resonate with my own evolving understanding of professional development as a reflective and context-driven process. The Finnish model demonstrates that when teachers are viewed as intellectuals and collaborators rather than mere implementers of top-down directives, sustainable educational transformation becomes possible.
In contrast, Singapore exemplifies a highly structured, systematised, and well-funded approach to teacher professional development. Its centralised body, the Academy of Singapore Teachers, ensures coherence, quality control, and equitable access to TPD opportunities. Regular teacher appraisals, clear career progression pathways, and targeted ICT training reflect a deliberate alignment between policy, infrastructure, and pedagogy. Although Nepal cannot replicate either model wholesale due to differing socio-economic and political realities, strategic adaptations are feasible. Encouraging teacher-led inquiry projects, akin to Finland’s reflective autonomy, could empower local educators within their own contexts. Similarly, establishing a national TPD coordination body under Nepal’s Ministry of Education, inspired by Singapore, could ensure consistent funding, monitoring, and support. Finally, both models underscore the necessity of investing in localised digital infrastructure and content, steps Nepal must prioritise to bridge the rural-urban divide and foster equitable teacher growth across the country.
Recommendations for Key Stakeholders
Reflecting critically on Nepal’s current educational challenges, it is clear that the government and policymakers must take a proactive and sustained role in transforming teacher professional development. Allocating at least 5% of the education budget specifically for TPD, including investments in digital tools and training, would signify a much-needed commitment to educators’ growth. Context-sensitive and continuous PD programs, with annual evaluations, are essential to ensure relevance and effectiveness rather than one-off workshops. Establishing regional TPD centres with training-of-trainers models can decentralise professional learning and tailor it to local needs, especially in rural areas. Moreover, providing travel grants and funding for teachers to attend national and international forums will foster exposure to global best practices and motivate educators to innovate. Without such systemic support, TPD risks remaining fragmented and ineffective.
At the institutional and community levels, educational leaders and teachers must embed reflective practice into daily routines through learning journals, peer reviews, and action research. These strategies cultivate a culture of self-awareness, collaboration, and continuous improvement. Teacher mentorship and co-teaching initiatives can further strengthen professional support networks, while promoting ICT literacy as a core competency is vital in today’s digitally driven world. Developing signature pedagogies like post-class reflection writing not only enhances teacher effectiveness but models lifelong learning for students. Parents and students also play a critical role; their recognition of teachers’ efforts and active collaboration in assessing learning needs can build stronger school communities. Encouraging students to engage in reflective learning, research, and publication under mentorship nurtures a culture of inquiry from early stages. Finally, the broader citizenry, including civil society and media, must advocate for teacher rights and celebrate educational excellence publicly. Partnerships with national and international institutions and cooperatives can provide practical support to school and university infrastructure and TPD programs, ensuring that education reform is a shared societal endeavour rather than a solitary institutional responsibility.
Reimagining TPD for Stronger Nepal
Teacher professional development extends far beyond conventional training sessions; it embodies a profound moral, social, and intellectual commitment to fostering educational equity and excellence. Reflecting on my own journey, shaped by relentless self-directed learning, engagement with institutional initiatives, and the inspiration drawn from students, I have come to appreciate the transformative potential of continuous, reflective development. However, the path is fraught with significant challenges: scarce resources, fragmented policies, and a lack of systemic coordination often undermine the effectiveness of TPD efforts. These obstacles, though daunting, highlight the critical need for a more coherent, well-supported approach that recognises teachers not merely as implementers but as key agents of educational change and innovation.
Nepal’s current educational landscape reveals that the nation stands at a pivotal crossroads. By thoughtfully integrating local aspirations with global best practices and by prioritising teacher agency, collaboration, and contextual relevance, Nepal has the opportunity to fundamentally reimagine and revitalise its TPD framework. A strong national commitment to teacher growth, one that genuinely honours educators’ contributions and equips them with essential 21st-century skills, is urgently needed. Such an approach would not only enhance English language teaching but also catalyse broader educational transformation, positioning education as a driving force for social and economic development. Only through sustained investment in teacher empowerment can Nepal unlock the full potential of its learners and foster equitable progress across all regions of the country.
References
Acharya, B. (2025). Teachers’ perceptions toward teaching-learning pedagogy and professional development: Insights from Nepal. Acta Educationis Generalis, 15(1).
Borg, S. (2015). Overview-Beyond the workshop: CPD for English language teachers. Professional development for English language teachers: Perspectives from higher education in Turkey. British Council.
Paudel, P. (2019). Learning strategies employed in the English language: Perceptions and practices. Journal of NELTA Gandaki, 1, 87–99.
Ryan, R.M., & Deci, E.L. (2017). Self-determination theory: Basic psychological needs in motivation, development, and wellness. The Guilford Press.
Saud, D.S. (2023). English language teacher professional development: Teacher educators’ perceptions and experiences. Bodhi: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 114-135.
Schön, D. (1983). The reflective practitioner: How professionals think in action. Basic Books.
Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes. Harvard University Press.
Wenger, E. (1998). Communities of practice: Learning, meaning, and identity. Cambridge University Press.
Author’s Bio: Mr. Dammar Singh Saud is an Assistant Professor of English Language Education at Far Western University. He holds an MA, MEd, and MPhil in ELT and is now pursuing a PhD in TESOL. His research focuses on ELT pedagogy, ICT integration, teacher professional development, and translanguaging practices. An active scholar, he has reviewed articles for peer-reviewed journals and serves as the editor of Exploration and IELTA Nepal’s online magazine. Saud has presented papers at international conferences, contributing to global discussions on English language teaching and fostering innovation in the field. His academic work reflects a dedication to advancing research and practice in ELT. He can be reached at dammarsaud68@gmail.com.
We are delighted to announce the release of the Third quarterly edition of ELT Choutari (October-December 2024), dedicated as a special issue focusing on “Mother Tongue Based Multilingual Education Policies Practices and Research Nepal.”
Mother Tongue-Based Multilingual Education (MTB-MLE) in Nepal is grounded in the belief that students learn best in their native language, which enhances cognitive development and academic success. Introduced after Nepal’s democratic transition in 1990, MTB-MLE aims to preserve linguistic diversity while improving educational outcomes for children from various ethnic and language backgrounds. Despite strong policy frameworks supporting MTB-MLE, its implementation has faced challenges, including limited resources, teacher training, and community resistance. The policy’s success hinges on developing contextually appropriate teaching models and addressing the complex multilingual needs of Nepal’s classrooms, particularly in rural and marginalized areas.
This edition presents an exclusive interview with two renowned scholars—Professor Dr. Yogendra Prasad Yadava and Professor Dr. Ram Ashish Giri—as they explore the complexities of MTB-MLE (Mother Tongue-Based Multilingual Education) policies, practices, and research in Nepal. Delving into its multifaceted challenges and opportunities, their discussion illuminates the cultural, educational, and sociopolitical dynamics shaping language-in-education reforms in the region.
Professor Yadava highlights Nepal’s policy-practice disconnect in implementing Mother Tongue-Based Multilingual Education (MTB MLE). Despite constitutional guarantees for mother-tongue education, contradictory laws impede implementation. He identifies systemic challenges: underdeveloped policies, scarce resources, and lack of localized materials. Effective execution requires teacher training, community language awareness, and rigorous research to evaluate and refine programs. Yadava stresses collaborative partnerships with academic and civil institutions to align practical strategies with evidence-based research, ensuring policy coherence.
Professor Ram Ashish Giri discusses the cognitive, pedagogical, and linguistic challenges of Mother Tongue-Based Multilingual Education (MTB-MLE) in Nepal. He emphasizes the importance of designing policies that reflect the country’s multilingual reality and align with local aspirations, advocating for the inclusion of English alongside native languages. Giri critiques the gaps between policy intentions and practical implementation, citing inadequate resources, teacher training, and community support.
Additionally, the issue includes three scholarly papers by devoted researchers from Australia and Nepal :
Naomi Fillmore’s paper explores the challenges and successes of incorporating Indigenous and minority languages into education systems globally. She examines initiatives in Nepal, Australia, the Philippines, and New Zealand, highlighting the importance of mother tongue-based multilingual education (MTB-MLE). While these countries face similar issues like resource development and teacher training, each context offers unique approaches. Fillmore emphasizes the crucial role of community involvement, policy support, and culturally appropriate educational content.
Dr. Uma Nath Sharma discusses the integration of students’ mother tongues (MT) in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) education in Nepal, highlighting both the theoretical benefits and practical challenges. He emphasizes how MT enhances comprehension, cognitive development, and cultural identity, supported by theories like Cummins’ interdependence hypothesis. Despite these advantages, societal biases, teacher reluctance, and institutional pressures favoring English create obstacles. Sharma advocates for the use of translanguaging as a transformative pedagogical approach, allowing students to use their MT alongside English.
Dr. Bishnu Khadka presents the tension between Mother-Tongue-Based Multilingual Education (MTB-MLE) policies and English Medium Education (EME) practices in Nepal, focusing on equity and inclusion. Analyzing policy documents, reports, and field studies, Khadka identifies challenges such as inadequate resources, insufficient teacher training, and sociocultural biases favoring dominant languages. The study highlights the gap between policy intentions and grassroots realities, which limits marginalized communities’ access to quality education.
For your convenience, here are the hyperlinks to the articles:
We would like to express our sincere gratitude to our co-editor, Dr. Nani Babu Ghimire, along with all our editors and reviewers—Jeevan Karki, Ganesh Kumar Bastola, Mohan Singh Saud, Sagar Poudel, Binod Duwadi, Puskar Chaudhary, Yadu Gnawali, and Dasharath Rai—for their unwavering dedication and invaluable contributions in bringing this issue to the readers.
ELT Choutari is a platform for researchers, scholars, educators, and practitioners to share insights, practices, and narratives from classrooms and communities. We invite you to contribute to our upcoming anniversary issue (January-March 2025) by submitting your articles and blogs to 2elt.choutari@gmail.com.
If you find value in the interviews, articles, and reflective pieces, please share them within your circles and feel free to leave your comments below each piece.
I attended a public secondary school in Dhading, which was five kilometres walking distance away from my home. I had to do all the morning chores, prepare meals, eat and run to school as my parents had to go to work on the farm every day. As the classroom was overcrowded with up to seventy students, it was difficult to get a spot in the front row. I had to adjust with six students on a bench at the back of the class, which would make it hard to listen to my teachers. It was challenging to find a cosy place to read, write and listen to the teacher’s lectures. When I recall now, it was tough to get through all this and complete my school education.
Despite the teachers trying to engage us in learning, most of my classmates were inattentive to the teachers’ instructions. The teachers used to crack jokes or share some new things but the students hardly paid attention to their studies. As a result, the teachers were less motivated to teach us and ignored what my classmates were doing in the classroom.
My classmates were from different ethnic communities: Brahmin, Kshetri, Newar, Gurung, Tamang, Gharti, Dalits etc. As they were from diverse groups, they had different beliefs and ways of doing activities. They were basically from working-class families. Yet, some of them belonged to semi-educated families and they were less interested in their study. Nevertheless, I was very excited about my studies.
On a chilly day
It was a cold winter morning. I was teaching ‘The Ant and Grasshopper’ in class ten. I asked my students to write some new words in their exercise book individually. There was some noise, so I tried to control their side talking by cracking a joke. Some of the students who were sitting on the first and second benches were listening to me passionately, whereas the students who were sitting at the back were busy with their personal talk. Again, I told them not to make noise, but their side-talking was ongoing. I further inquired and knew that they were not listening to me clearly. Again, I advised the other side students to have patience and it took around 15 minutes to make them silent.
Moreover, I just had 30 minutes to go. Hence, I revised the previous lesson and made them ready to participate in my large class. Then, I taught my lesson before the lunch bell rang. When I came out of the classroom and I went to the canteen for lunch, I shared my problem with my close friend, who had also been teaching English at a lower secondary level. He listened to me very carefully and agreed with my problem. When I finished the trouble of the classroom. Interestingly, he narrated a story of his classroom that he was also suffering from a similar kind of trouble in large classes. After school, I went back home in the evening and started thinking about my trouble alone.
I realized large class teaching is a complex task and large classes are pretty challenging for the teachers to conduct effective instruction. In such classes, the student number is very high, more than 50, which causes difficult teaching circumstances (Hess, 2006). It is tough for teachers to focus on every student equally. It is considered that students’ engagement and active participation are diminished in large classes, and the frequency and quality of student-faculty interactions are reduced (Cash (2017). Furthermore, Marshall (2004) considers small classes to be very friendly and easy to handle but large classes are highly risky and challenging. Marshall (2004) further highlighted that the analysis of contexts, institutional change in resource allocation and teaching in multidimensional contexts is very thought-provoking.
I conceptualized that teaching in large and under-resourced classes is very tough and tedious throughout my teaching career. In the past, I was a student of a large class where physical infrastructure was not adequate, though we had a blackboard inside the classroom covered with dry grass roof of the building. We didn’t have sufficient classrooms. I still remember when I was a class three grader, and our class was divided into two different classes within a single classroom. It was pretty noisy and hard for the teachers as well. I experienced teaching in an under-resourced context is not an easy job.
Furthermore, I equally reconceptualized that large classes need much personal attention and encouragement to make progress. The students in their learning potential vary considerably due to their language and literacy skills. Thus, we say teaching in large classes is very much like teaching in all other situations; however, handling large classes is more complicated, exhausting, and infinitely more demanding, and challenging.
I explored the reality of large classes through the experience of my research participants who have been teaching a class comprising more than 60 students. I investigated challenges for instance, disruptive students, crises of discipline, and unwanted noise and explored strategies like group work, pair work, and collaborative project works to cope with the large classes with an in-depth study.
I realised that no students get a chance to learn new things in crowded classrooms. They lack the opportunity to grow holistically. Consequently, the prior investment of parents, teachers, schools, and students goes in vain. Based on my experiences as an EFL practitioner in a large classroom, I noted that offering group work and pair work was an effective tool in large-class teaching. The ability to handle large classes provided me an insight through which I germinated useful tips for large class teaching. I reconceptualized the concept of post-method pedagogy by Kumaravedivelu (2006) who persistently claimed that a meaningful pedagogy cannot be constructed without a holistic interpretation of particular situations and that cannot be enhanced without an essential improvement of those particular situations as a theoretical foundation to scaffold his ‘parameter of particularity’. Thus, it is noted that post-method pedagogy prioritises much on creativity, patience, teamwork and leadership.
Major Strategies I Employed in My Large Classroom:
A comprehensible teaching-learning process that ensures efficiency and effectiveness involves the design and implementation of creative and innovative teaching strategies, capable of responding to the individual needs of students and ensuring their academic success, (Jucan,2020). Without level-appropriate activities and contextual strategies, the teaching-learning activities are not making success, (Kumaravadivelu, 2003). Learning style, the learner’s preferred mode of dealing with new information, includes a construct known as cognitive style, (Oxford,1990). In my experience, large-class students have various ways of learning strategies, so I have applied various ways to make them learn. Some of them are as follows.
Engaging students in different project work:
Group work is believed to be allowing students to share ideas, perspectives, and skills among their pair and group. Students learn skills of collaboration and team building in which they develop communication, cooperation and the ability to work effectively with others. It also promotes higher-order thinking, creativity, and problem-solving, as students have to analyze, synthesize, and evaluate information collaboratively, (McCormick et al, 2015) So, I designed some activities to attract the student’s attention in his large class every day. I often engage students in different activities. I ask to design a Calander for a group, a Code of Conduct for the classroom for another group and a Wall Magazine for the other groups. Likewise, I instructed them to share their ideas with their friends through their diverse perspectives. Moreover, they started taking feedback from each other. I involved students in some small groups. In doing so, I selected discussion topics that could be of interest to my students. Sometimes I provided them with topics in groups or individually, they searched on the internet and through some reading materials. I knew that all the time group did not work, so to keep every student involved in the group work, sometimes students were provided answers for each of the questions individually first.
Motivating students in pair work:
Working in pairs allows students to give and receive constructive feedback. Pairwork helps in the development of various skills such as teamwork, leadership and interpersonal skills. It is well known that motivation is a force that drives people to work towards a particular outcome (Maslow, 1943). I equally motivated students in pair works where they actively participated and developed a sense of competitiveness in and between other pairs in the classroom. I often motivated them to work on different tasks such as conversation practice, role-playing, problem-solving, debate, collaborative art, etc. Thus, I particularly engaged students in story-writing activities, case study analysis and general problem-solving. Moreover, students would appreciate their tasks in pairs and they learn their commonalities and differences.
Encouraging students to ask questions:
Teaching with questions to my students provided me direct connection with them (Filiz,2009). There is a great role for asking good questions in effective teaching and learning. Hence, I encouraged students to ask questions in my class because this task helps them build critical thinking skills. In this, they asked content-wise questions as it helped them to work together and make sense of the particular subject as mentioned by Kumaravadivelu (2003). Moreover, I motivated my students to raise questions based on their curiosity about the content. Developing questioning abilities indicates students enhance creativity and critical thinking skills. Moreover, questioning habits helped students feel relaxed and learn easily the complex subject matter. It encouraged my students to be active, independent and creative in the large classroom. Besides this, I encouraged my students to speculate on certain incidents, for example, I showed a picture and told them to imagine and connect with the picture. I wrote a sentence, “ If I were in this situation…..”. I let students think, develop their hypotheses, and arrive at a conclusion. This pattern scaffolded students through their positive mindset that they learn interestingly in the large class classroom.
Involving students Think-pair-share procedure:
Think-pair-share (TPS) is a cooperative learning strategy that encourages active participation and engagement among learners. In this think-pair-share technique, students are given a question, and students first think about themselves prior to being instructed to discuss their response with a person sitting near them. Finally, the group shared what they discussed with their colleagues to the whole class and their discourse kept on going (Rowe,1972). Hence, I used the TPS strategy to cope with a large class context. I began my class by asking a specific question about the text. For example; What are the various uses of Artificial Intelligence in education and list them based on your experience. (from one of the chapters of grade 10). Then, my students started thinking about what they knew or had learned about my query. Then, I engaged them to work in pairs with their partner in a small group discussion. Finally, they share what they have collected so far. Thus, the post-method pedagogy entails that students develop coordinating skills, increasing active participation and enhancing their innovative sharing skills.
Major Takeaways:
We teachers struggle in our large classes due to a lack of level-appropriate instructional tools. We often think of managing a large classroom since it needs tactfulness and a lot of experience. Teachers’ ability to explore and develop approaches to observe, analyze and evaluate their teaching for the purpose of accomplishing desired changes. It is an eye-opener and a gateway to make teachers, who are reluctant to bring innovations to their teaching, change their minds and redirect their teaching toward a more contextualized implementation of the strategies suggested to assist them in enhancing their teaching and their students’ learning. Engaging students in various project work, motivating students in group and pair work, encouraging students to ask questions, making level-appropriate fun as well as engagement, and evolving them into TPS strategies are major roadways to creating a learning environment in large classes.
References:
Cash, C. B., Letarago, J, Graether, S. P., & Jacobs, S. R. (2017). An analysis of the perceptions and resources of large classes university. Life Sciences Education, 16(2).
Cash & Marshall, (2007). Between deep and surface: Procedural approaches to learning in
engineering education contexts. Studies in Higher Education,29:5, 605-615, DOI: 10.
1080/0307507042000261571
Gibbs G. (1996). Using assessment to support student learning. The University of East Anglia.
Filiz, S. (2009). Questions and answer method to ask questions and technical information on the effects of teacher education. Social Sciences Journal of Caucasus University.2.
Jucan, D.A., (2020). Efficient didactic strategies used in students’ teaching practice. Social and Behavioural Sciences.
Kumaravadivelu, B. (2003). Beyond methods: Macro strategies for language teaching. Sage.
Hess, N. (2006). Teaching large multilevel classes. Cambridge University Press.
Hess, N. (2007). Teaching large multilevel classes. Cambridge University Press.
McCormick, N. J. and et al, (2015). Engaging Students in Critical Thinking and Problem Solving: A Brief Review of the Literature. Journal of Studies in Education. 5(4).
Oxford, R.L. (1990). Language learning strategies: What every teacher should know. Newbury House/Harper &Row.
Rowe, M. (1972). Wait time and rewards as instructional variables: their influence on language, logic and fate control. ERIC No Edo61103.
About Author: Binod Duwadi has earned an MPhil in English language education from Kathmandu University, School of Education. Mr. Buwadi has been a faculty of English at KUSOM and KUSOED. His research interests include ELT in under-resourced contexts, ELT with ICT integration and Multiliteracy pedagogy.
In this article, I explore the influence of locally and culturally accessible instructional materials in teacher education programs, emphasizing my reflections on their utilization by educators. This investigation stems from my research conducted during the completion of my M.Phil. Degree at Kathmandu University. The primary objective of my study was to examine the use, efficacy, and overall impact of integrating local and culturally available materials in teacher education programs across various universities. This research holds significance as it adds to the discourse on the globalization of education and underscores the importance of culturally sensitive pedagogical approaches.
Locally and Culturally Available Instructional Materials
In the Nepalese context, the availability of locally accessible resources has reshaped the landscape of EFL (English as a Foreign Language) educational materials. Various items, including folktales, traditional melodies, cultural artefacts, and local literature, prove effective in contextualizing subjects related to global language learning in an EFL classroom. Additionally, materials present in the campus library, such as newspapers, magazines, journals, and photos, can be utilized. Official documents released by institutions, such as notices, letters, brochures, and pamphlets, also serve as locally available materials. Teachers can collect photos and short video clips of local working people, and display them in the classroom through multimedia. Items like restaurant menus, stamps, and other local artefacts can further contribute to contextualizing classroom content. These instructional materials provide educators with a significant opportunity to create a vibrant and engaging learning environment
Use and Impact of Instructional Materials
Observing how effectively teachers integrated these materials into the university-prescribed subjects during my research was inspiring. There was a noticeable enhancement in both teacher and student engagement. Teachers reported a stronger connection to the material, enabling them to deliver courses more effectively. The resonance of these materials with their own experiences improved students’ motivation and enthusiasm for studying English in teacher education programs. Not only did locally and culturally relevant teaching materials prove to be valuable assets for language learning, but they also instilled a sense of pride in students for their culture and local environment. Incorporating these resources made the learning process more meaningful by bridging the gap between the local cultural context and the global language of English.
Teachers’ Viewpoints
During interviews with EFL teachers actively utilizing local resources, I observed a strong sense of empowerment and ownership. Recognizing their cultural heritage as a valuable asset in education, these teachers displayed a renewed passion for their work. Many teachers mentioned that incorporating locally relevant resources enhanced their teaching methods and broadened their understanding. They also noted an improvement in their students’ understanding and engagement in teaching-learning activities. Students not only learned English but also gained an understanding of the cultural contexts essential to the language, highlighting the interplay between language and culture. Teachers believed that a strong relationship between language and culture could bring about positive changes in teaching and learning tailored to the needs of the local context.
Relevancy of Locally and Culturally Available Instructional Materials
It is crucial not to overstate the significance of locally and culturally appropriate teaching resources in the Nepalese EFL environment. An increasing number of teachers recognize the importance of preserving and celebrating local cultures in the classroom as education becomes more globalized. The use of native or local resources establishes a connection between the need to preserve local identity and the global demand for English language proficiency. Participant teachers also emphasized the importance of using materials that contextualize global content in local contexts, facilitating effective student learning. Integrating local materials is not just an essential educational strategy but a necessity in a country like Nepal, given its diversity and richness in linguistic and cultural aspects.
My thoughts on Locally and Culturally Materials
The research I conducted serves as a stepping stone to further understanding the importance and relevance of using locally and culturally available assets in teaching-learning activities. My experience as a researcher has been thoughtful and intimate. Witnessing the positive and transformational effects of such instructional resources emphasizes the need for a paradigm shift in educational methods. This has strengthened my belief that learning should be a lively and contextual process, tailored to each student’s specific needs and surroundings. Beyond target language literature, materials from native languages, folklore, cultural heritages, traditions, and locally available resources like newspapers, magazines, journals, brochures, pamphlets, photos, and audio-video clips of local culture and settings have proven to be valuable instructional materials. The universality of cultural significance and contextualization encourages the exploration of similar approaches in various educational conditions worldwide.
However, it’s crucial to acknowledge the challenges that arise when conducting research in the local native context of different communities. Curriculum designers and policymakers should prioritize the incorporation of local and cultural materials in teacher education programs, as teachers are the primary change agents in society. When teachers possess knowledge and pride in local and cultural materials, they are more likely to integrate these resources into the classroom. This, in turn, encourages students to engage in learning as they see their local and cultural context reflected in their studies. Therefore, addressing the need for effective teacher education programs, establishing uniform curriculum guidelines, and constructing a supportive policy framework focused on the use of local and cultural instructional materials is essential.
Finally, a promising avenue for transformative education lies in the use of locally and culturally appropriate instructional materials in EFL teacher education programs in Nepal, as explored in my research. The benefits to educators, learners, and the broader educational landscape underscore how this approach can enhance language learning outcomes and foster cultural pride. I hope that my study contributes to the growing body of knowledge that envisions education as a dynamic, socially conscious enterprise. It serves as a call to action for researchers, educators, and policymakers to collaborate in the ongoing discourse on the direction of language education. The diverse blend of innovation and tradition in the Nepalese context offers inspiration for educators worldwide seeking to create inclusive and culturally relevant learning environments.
About the Author: Sagar Paudel earned an MPhil in English Language Education (ELE), from Kathmandu University, Nepal. Mr. Poudel is an associate professor at Adhikabi Bhanubhakta Campus (TU), Damauli, Nepal. Mr Poudel currently serves as the Head of the Department cum Assistant Campus chief at the Campus.
Aristotle urges us to be a master of metaphors to grasp a living reality of a thing. Following the footsteps of Aristotle, George Lakoff and M. Johnson introduce a perspective on metaphor—a perspective that takes metaphor as imaginative rationality. Admittedly, I am inspired by these two theorists. My inspiration is that I could not help using a simile to share my modest success in getting some of my responses to Call for Conference Proposals (CFP) accepted: Writing changes: remaking rhetoric in times of uncertainty organized by Corridors 2022 at Virginia Tech University, and Geographies of the Fantastic and the Quotidian organized by Pacific Ancient and Modern Language Association (PAMLA) 2022 at University of Los Angeles California. For Corridors, I developed a paper entitled “Pedagogical Emasculation in the Wake of AI’s Growing Applications”, and for PAMLA, I submitted an abstract with the title “Backsliding New Materialism and a Resurgence of Interest in Virtue Ethics and Anthropomorphism”.
While responding to these two CFPs successfully, I came to know that responding to a CFP is almost similar to being a gentleman caller. Forgive my wild rush to John Dryden called ‘yoking heterogeneous ideas by violence’. More technically, responding to CFP and being a gentleman caller are distinctly disparate realms of activities. Just as forwarding a love/marriage proposal without paying sufficient courtship to a lady for a quite bit of time may backfire and probably end in rejection, so is answering to CFP without doing an extensive inquiry and without having background information on the topic. Any rush to reply to the CFP may backfire on the responder, often ending in outright rejection, which might weaken confidence and concentration. It is this point of commonality that pushed me to choose this figural trope. The fate of being a jilted lover is a bitter pill to swallow for any obsessed lover, in much the same way as it is for a responder to cope with the rejection of the abstract submission to CFP. With this figural gesture, I would like to reflect on my experience of responding to a host of CFPs.
We have seen many calls for proposals (CFP): CFP for conferences; CFP for book chapters and journal articles; CFP for intermezzo and review essays; CFP for web texts and digital projects; CFP for a success story and cross-border narrative; CFP for blogs and reflective writings, CFP for cases of advocacy, activism, and intervention; and to name just a few. Scholars, researchers, and instructors alike tend to respond to different CFPs they come across. Every responder to CFP deploys a nuanced approach. In spite of each scholar’s unique response style to CFP, there should be a few widely practised formularies to deal with CFP. Based on a few instances of my success in responding to CFP, I would like to craft a short account of responding to CFP.
In trying to emerge as a conference hopper, I kept exploring many other venues that organize national and international conferences such as the New Berry Library Conference (NBLC), Popular Culture Association (PCA), Modern Language Association (MLA) Pedagogical Training and Workshop, Northeast Modern Language Association (NEMLA), Conference on College Composition and Communication (CCCC), Rhetoric Society of Europe (RSE), Rhetoric Society of America (RSA) and the list goes on. Actually, these venues release CFPs that tend to address any aspect of burgeoning issues, ranging from colonial reckoning, the rhetoric of precarity and the rise of authoritarianism to social justice, the linguistic justice, power and precarity attendant to AI’s growing application in learning and teaching space. Being well informed of all these burgeoning issues and of relevant proposals to address the issue constitute a core competency on each CFP responder’s part. Based on these two and various other successive experiences of responding to CFP, I would like to talk about some tips and strategies with which I succeeded in getting my conference proposals approved. I presented at a conference scheduled to take place at the University of Virginia Tech. Similarly, another conference proposal of mine was also accepted. In the second week of November 2022, I presented at a conference at the University of California, Los Angeles.
First, getting to the heart of an issue that takes centre stage in the CFP description is essential if we are to touch all the bases of CFP. While describing an issue/topic for CFP, the CFP issuer tends to be specific in producing an outline of the issue; at the same time, they often write, ‘the CFP moves around this topic, but not limited to…’, to allow for a somewhat flexible space to explore and probe the proposed issue.
Previously, while formulating an excellent abstract draft for a conference call, I used to take a general approach without homing in on a specific aspect of the CFP. After multiple rounds of rejection, I learned that people want to listen to specific things. Though the conference offers a smorgasbord of various potential topics, it would be in our best interest to dwell on the specificity of the issue. As soon as I shirked off this tendency to drift away from the axis of specificity, I realized that it wouldn’t be challenging to hit the target with the single most focused thrust to the specificity. To this end, it appears that any temptation toward delving deep into the topic in a manner most lithe and supple because exploring any issue by being specific is crucial to the acceptance success of a response to CFP. As to some heuristics and nuances with which the exploration of an issue would lead to a reliable unfolding of the issue, I have come to propose here: Test the efficacy of the issue in different cultural contexts, check on its limit, be aware of its fallibility, assess if its relevance is rooted in time and occasion, reflect on its impact on our normative practice and pragmatic life, and finally stretch your imaginative faculty to probe the issue under consideration with a detached mindset. The simultaneous shifts in my mindset led me to come across an acceptable topic for the CFP I was managing to respond to.
Second, though the power of forming a fresh, attention-grabbing, and shift-stimulating perspective of any responder to CFP is highly valued, the ability to introduce this perspective tactfully and without a lag matters the most. To translate this realization into action, I reflected on my expectations about how CFP evaluators take my abstract submission and what metric they would apply to assess the submitted abstract. I also pondered if their metrics and criteria remain consistent or if they apply abstract-specific metrics. I did my best to align the core thrust of my conference abstract with the CFP evaluators’ submission-specific yardstick of judgment. At the top of my talent, I aimed at ‘striking the right chord’; with the right chord being struck precisely, the net outcome is an acceptance call.
Third, the responder to CFP should not come to terms with the issue on the first go. Instead, the responder should let the proposed issue come to terms with a cumulative effort to develop a fresh perspective. For this, curious and consistent immersion in the latent and the manifest dimensions of the issue is required of those who play what Peter Elbow calls the Believing and Doubting Game. The fourth point is the assertion that with the idea of responding to CFP comes the responsibility to CFP. CFP wishes to garner a wide range of ideas, thoughts, propositions, perspectives, comments, questions, critiques, and curiosities. Most CFPs expect a concrete contribution of ideas to the platform the CFP is creating. Thus, every responder to CFP needs to internalize that to respond to CFP is to contribute something new, a fresh perspective, a nuanced approach to dealing with the proposed issue anew, a distinct approach indeed!
The fifth point that guided my approach to responding to CFPs is being aware that often CFPs asks for a fresh take on burgeoning issue/problem. Any response to CFP should look like a solution. Adopting a down-to-earth overture is a curtain-raiser to grappling with CFP head-on. The sixth tip comes in the guise of tonality. Maintaining an insistent tone serves two-pronged purposes: one is to bracket off any interference from digressive and deluding thoughts, and the other is to help the proposed perspective gain purchase. The use of an insistent tone wards off any trace of opaqueness that might arise while homing in on the target expectation of CFP. A response to CFP needs to be formed in keeping with the persistent presumption that whether others accept a proposal or not hinges on the same tone underpinning the proposal’s substratum.
The seventh clue to conveying a response to CFP is tricky. Throughout career-building in the academic field, students, scholars, and instructors respond to different types of CFP. Their responses often vary from acceptance and partial acceptance to outright rejection. In the case of outright rejection, it might be tough to bear the brunt of rejection, which might sap the spirit and entelechy one has been cultivating since the beginning of one’s academic footprint. In this condition of being in a low spirit due to sporadic rejection, one must groom oneself with a philosophical maxim, dictum, or conviction. In the wake of angst and anxiety consequent upon the rejection of any response to CFP, it would be tactful if one with the experience of rejection switches instantly from the erstwhile mental frame of lapsing into frustration and lamentation to a new mindset informed by the conviction that having been rejected means being hurled on the rose bed of renewal.
The last trick that may prove pivotal is catching a glimpse of and acting following the zeitgeist of contemporaneity that by and now diffuses across the world of CFPs. The spirit and entelechy of inclusion have penetrated every stroke of knowledge-making. Any linguistic shred and fragment are redolent of an alienating, exclusionary, and unjust practice, triggering a domino effect that ultimately spoils the inherent acceptability of the proposed perspective, no matter how full the proposal would be. All these strategic clues ultimately come down to a praxis that justice-fostering, dignity-ennobling, and identity-acknowledging rather than a collocational, standardized, and stereotypes-filled language pave the way for enriching the acceptability of proposed response to CFP.
Graduate students preparing to enter the job market are always hard-pressed to devote their whole time to completing their dissertation research. Nevertheless, they must invest more time in responding to CFPs for conferences, book reviews, review essays, success narratives, cross-border narratives, writing about their observation, and reflective writing. Since responding to the CFPs for a book chapter, journal articles, and intermezzo requires both intensive and extensive efforts, involvement, and time, it is relevant to conclude that trying to catch low-hanging fruit is an appropriate option for them. However, in no way should it not be understood as an underestimation of the potency and potentiality of graduate students inching closer to a threshold of the job market because there is quite an incredible number of graduate students who have already adorned their CVs with gems of their productive scholarship. However, speaking from a practical perspective and arguing in consideration of the pressure of time, including plenty of both teaching and administrative responsibility on the part of graduate students, there is every reason to advise that trying to catch low-hanging fruit still sounds like a lucrative and economical alternative for graduate students. In connection with this, responding to the CFPs for a conference, book review, review essay, essay on graduate student’s observation, and reflective writing such as cross-border narrative would be inviting and enticing for Ph.D. candidates on the verge of graduation who have built up a professional mindset of plunging into the job market soon.
At last, I would like to opine my thoughts on a type of stereotype that recurs in most of the announcements of CFP. On seeing sentences—such as ‘for book reviews and review essays, graduate students are encouraged and welcomed to contribute’—I felt irreparably stung by a scorpion of inferiority and of being pigeonholed. A query flashed across my mind instantly. There anyone, including me, could not but ask a question—why cannot graduate students, especially PhD candidates, respond to higher CFPs? The answer is obvious. In a general sense, responding to the higher CFPs demands time, resources and involvement. Graduate students are busy people who have a lot of work to do. I too was not an exception to this condition. Therefore, I was occasionally pained to see this sentence, but now I have mastered such a normal thought. With this unpleasant stream of thought, I would like to cut a long story short by saying that trying to catch low-hanging fruit—CFPs for conferences, book reviews, review essays, and reflective and observational writings—is a wise approach to redressing the harsh rhetoric of publish or perish. For clarity’s sake, I have presented below some pointers that could be helpful for any responder responding to a CFP:
Read and understand the CFP: It is in our best interest to go through the CFP document to understand the theme, topic, and requirements. Supportive here is the idea of paying attention to guidelines, word limits, formatting instructions, and submission deadlines.
Choose the right topic: Selecting a topic that aligns well with the theme of the conference or event is of enormous importance. Responders ought to make sure their research is relevant and innovative. Being mindful of the contributions the responder’s abstract makes is worth pondering.
Prepare an abstract: Of all the pointers pivotal to making a success of responding to CFP, crafting a compelling abstract that summarizes our paper or presentation is instrumental. So, the responder needs to clearly state the problem they are addressing, their methodological choice, and critical ideas and insights. It is good to ensure that the abstract is concise and engaging. The most crucial thing is the need to capture the attention of the reviewers.
Follow the submission guidelines: Successful responders to CFP ought to adhere to the submission guidelines provided by the organizers. They should pay close attention to formatting requirements, citation styles, and any specific file formats they may request.
Highlight your contribution: Each scholarly and institutional venue tends to judge an individual contributor to CFP in terms of their contribution. To that end, it is essential for them to clearly articulate the unique contribution of their work. The key to mastering this hurdle is to explain how it fills a gap in the existing literature, provides novel insights, or offers a fresh perspective. The responder need not dither about emphasizing their research’s significance and potential impact.
Present your qualifications: In an age in which an assertion is evaluated vis-à-vis self, highlighting our expertise, qualifications, and relevant experience in the field we are part of is of paramount importance. To buttress our credibility as responders to CFPs, providing a brief overview of our academic or professional background is imperative to establish credibility.
Proofread and edit: Before turning in our response to CFPs, it would be a cautionary measure to carefully proofread and edit our paper or abstract. If we ensure that our abstract is well-structured, free of grammatical errors, and coherent, it will be accepted. This is the principle we all need to live by. For that purpose, we can opt for feedback on our abstract from colleagues or mentors to improve the quality of our writing.
Meet the deadline: Submitting our response without crossing the specified deadline is advantageous because late submissions are typically not accepted. Hence, being proactive and active while planning our time and allowing for ample review and revision is of utmost importance.
Tailor your response: What matters most is the customization of our response to the specific requirements of the CFP. Reviewers are interested in hearing specific things; no one likes hearing general things. Thus, it is good to keep any idea of submitting generic or recycled content at bay. Tuning our response with the particular and genuine requirement is pivotal to actualizing the chance of acceptance.
Be professional and courteous: Since being soft and gracious matters a lot, it would be beneficial if they interact with the organizers and reviewers professionally and respectfully if they respond promptly to any inquiries or requests for additional information. The secret formulary to heighten our chance of having our abstract approved is one associated with living with a growth mindset and collaborative disposition throughout the process.
Works Cited
Garver, E. (1994). Aristotle’s rhetoric: An art of character. University of Chicago Press.
Lakoff, G., & Johnson, M. (2008). Metaphors we live by. University of Chicago Press.
About the Author: Shiva Mainaly is a PhD in rhetoric and composition from the University of Louisville. Currently, at North Dakota State University (NDSU), he will become a postdoctoral research fellow from August 2023. A prolific author, he has published numerous articles in prestigious journals like the Journal of International Students, Constellation, and Composition Studies.
Growing up in a middle-class family with five siblings, my formative years were shaped by the love and care of my elders, instilling in me a sense of confidence and freedom. Among them, my father emerged as the most influential figure, guiding me with his hard work and selfless values. As I reflect on my educational journey and professional life, I realize how my father’s schooling continues to resonate, impacting my academic pursuits and shaping me into an educator who seeks to inspire and transform the lives of others.
The Enduring Legacy of My Father: Inspiring Values in My Academic Journey
Growing up in a modest family in the Baitadi district, my father’s determination, love for education, and selflessness left an indelible impact on my values, beliefs, and personal growth.
Despite their humble circumstances, my father’s family recognized the transformative power of education, impressing upon him the importance of prioritizing learning for a brighter future. Embracing this wisdom, he excelled academically and obtained top honours in the Kanchanpur district, the western part of Nepal. Working part-time to support his further studies, he completed B.Ed. in mathematics from Tribhuvan University, Nepal, and devoted over 36 years to teaching secondary-level mathematics in rural areas.
My father’s life experiences taught me the value of hard work, honesty, and unwavering determination to achieve my goals. His struggles also instilled in me a sense of gratitude for the opportunities I have today. His most profound lesson, however, was selflessness, his unwavering dedication to his family and society left an indelible impression on my character. As I pursued my academic journey, my father’s influence continued to guide me. Although my circumstances were more privileged, his lessons taught me that diligence and integrity make success possible.
His teachings not only shaped me as a good person but also as an authentic individual. I am determined to pass these invaluable lessons to my future family and students. With his enduring legacy as my compass, I seek to inspire and transform lives, just as my father has done throughout his remarkable journey.
Empowerment Through Education: A Personal Academic Journey
My academic journey commenced at home, where my family played the role of my first teachers, introducing me to alphabet belts and basic numbers. Though I began my formal education in a government school like my siblings, I had the privilege of studying in private (boarding) school (first in my family). This choice garnered public attention and prestige in our village, underscoring the value of education.
During my primary education, I excelled in memorization-based learning, securing top positions in my class. However, the system of rote learning limited my true understanding of the subjects. Shifting to government education posed initial challenges due to larger and more diverse classes, but I adapted over time, benefiting from a more flexible learning environment, albeit lacking student-centred approaches.
Upon completing my SLC, I went to Nainital India for my I.Sc., however I realized that my I.Sc. didn’t align with my interests, and faced language difficulties and homesickness. My family, understanding my predicament gave me the freedom to decide my academic path, leading me back to Mahendranagar, my hometown.
Embracing my interest in English, I pursued I.A. with English as my major subject. My academic journey continued rapidly, culminating in a B.A. with a major in English from Mahendranagar. My pursuit of higher education led me to Kathmandu, where I completed my M.A. in English literature from the central department of English in Kirtipur, achieving a first division. During my master’s studies, I harboured aspirations of becoming a police officer, inspired by the bold heroes of Hindi movies. However, my passion for teaching gradually surfaced, steering me away from the police force.
In this journey, education has played a pivotal role in empowering me intellectually. It provided me with knowledge, skills, and critical thinking abilities, enabling me to navigate various academic pursuits successfully. Furthermore, education has empowered me economically by opening doors to career opportunities and professional growth, allowing me to contribute meaningfully to society.
Education also fosters social empowerment, equipping me with the ability to share knowledge, mentor others, and contribute to the transformation of education in Nepal. Through my role as an educator, I have had the privilege of training teacher educators, presenting research papers at national and international conferences, and integrating innovative teaching strategies with ICT in language classrooms.
As I reflect on my academic journey, I recognize that education has been the key to my empowerment in multiple dimensions. Not only has it enriched my personal and professional life, but it has also instilled a deep sense of responsibility to empower others through the dissemination of knowledge and a commitment to transformative education.
Empowering Teaching Through Innovative Integration of ICT
As I embarked on my teaching journey at Darchula Multiple Campus, Khalanga, Darchula, Nepal in 2009 after completing my M.A. in English Literature from Tribhuvan University, I initially questioned whether teaching would become my true passion and profession. Not having an ELT background, my first experiences in university-level ELT classes left me feeling somewhat apprehensive. However, the positive responses and appreciation from both students and colleagues ignited a newfound enjoyment in teaching, leading me to realize that teaching was indeed my passion.
To improve my teaching skills and enhance my expertise in English Language Education further, I pursued a one-year B.Ed. and M.Ed. from Tribhuvan University. Determined to stay up to date with the latest pedagogy and educational technologies, I delved into integrating ICT into my ELT classrooms. The availability of ICT infrastructure, including computer labs, laptops, projectors, multimedia smart boards, and internet facilities, provided valuable tools to enrich the teaching and learning process.
The integration of ICT, though initially challenging, proved to be a motivating force in my teaching practices. Participating in various training sessions, workshops, webinars, and conferences, and learning from online resources like YouTube videos, I gradually adapted to using ICT more effectively in language classrooms. My colleagues often sought technical support from me when incorporating educational software such as MS Teams and Zoom during the transition to online classes amidst the pandemic.
Witnessing my students’ satisfaction and a keen interest in my classes further fueled my motivation to innovate in teaching by strategically incorporating ICT. A significant incident that highlights this impact occurred on 5th July 2021 when I was allowed to conduct ICT training for my colleagues at Far Western University Darchula Multiple Campus Khalanga Darchula. The training focused on using MS Team for upcoming online classes, and it became evident that many faculty members lacked familiarity with ICT in education. Their enthusiasm to learn and improve their ICT practices was inspiring. Guiding them through the basic functionalities of MS Team, such as creating class schedules, adding students as members, conducting quizzes, and facilitating group discussions, the session proved to be both engaging and fruitful, garnering appreciative comments from the participants and the dean of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences.
Despite facing challenges within the academic environment and culture, where well-performing teachers are sometimes undervalued or discriminated against based on political affiliations, I have remained steadfast in fulfilling my professional duties honestly and responsibly. The support and belief from my family, friends, and students have been instrumental in sustaining my resilience.
Through the transformative power of education and the innovative integration of ICT, my passion for teaching has flourished, empowering me intellectually and professionally. Beyond my personal growth, I aspire to be an agent of change, promoting the meaningful use of ICT in education and contributing to the advancement of the educational landscape in Nepal.
M.Phil. at Kathmandu University as a Gateway for Transformation
I decided to pursue an MPhil in English language education from Kathmandu University with the unwavering support and encouragement from my family, friends, and students. Their belief in my abilities and the significance of advancing my academic journey propelled me to seek an institution that would catalyze personal growth and transformation. In this esteemed institution, I got amazing mentors, whose mentorship equipped me with both theoretical knowledge and practical competencies, instilling in me the confidence to implement cutting-edge teaching strategies and adapt to the ever-evolving needs of my future students. Through their guidance, I deepened my understanding of English language education and acquired the necessary skills to become a proficient teacher for 21st-century learners. Engaging in teacher professional development activities, I was exposed to innovative teaching methods, educational technologies, and effective pedagogical approaches that are most relevant in today’s dynamic classroom environments.
Furthermore, the vibrant academic environment at Kathmandu University fostered a strong sense of community among fellow students. Collaborative projects, discussions, and academic events enriched my learning experience and provided me with diverse perspectives on educational practices. This supportive network of peers and colleagues further contributed to my personal and professional growth, creating a nurturing environment for exploration and intellectual development.
During my M.Phil. journey at Kathmandu University, I experienced a profound personal transformation and achieved notable professional growth. Embracing innovative teaching strategies, I contributed to the academic field through publications and disseminated knowledge to a broader audience. Additionally, my academic journey extended into teacher education and research, as I provided training and presented research papers at national and international conferences, contributing to the advancement of Nepal’s education system. This transformation has empowered me with the confidence to foster positive change and cultivate a passion for learning among future generations.
Summing up
My academic journey has been a transformative experience, catalyzed by the influence of my father’s dedication to education and selflessness. From the early years of learning at home to my pursuit of higher education at Kathmandu University, I have been intellectually and professionally empowered. By integrating innovative teaching methods and ICT in the language classroom, I have witnessed heightened student engagement and satisfaction. This journey has also enabled me to contribute actively to the field through my publications and knowledge-sharing endeavours with fellow educators. Supported by the unwavering belief of my family, friends, and students, I am determined to leverage the transformative power of education, creating a positive impact on the lives of students, and fostering progress within Nepal’s education landscape as I continue to evolve as an educator and researcher.
About the Author: Dammar Singh Saud is an assistant professor at Far Western University, Nepal. He holds an M.A. in English Literature and an M.Ed. in English Language Education. Currently pursuing an MPhil in English Language Education at Kathmandu University, his research interests include ELT Pedagogy, ICT in ELT, Teacher Professional Development, and Translanguaging.
Schools can today participate in committing linguistic genocide through their choice of the medium of formal education – and they do. (Skutnabb-Kangas, 2010, p. 212)
The above quotation by Skutnabb-Kangas (2010) ought to be self-evident. The situation in some public schools in Nepal is that they are running after English medium instruction. In Nepal, the official language is Nepali and English is taken as a foreign language. It shows that the language of instruction in schools should be Nepali as it is the formal language in Nepal. Yet English as a medium of instruction policy has been adopted by some schools especially in urban areas believing that English medium brings so-called quality. Are they bringing quality in education or committing linguistic genocide as Skutnabb-Kangas says?
The medium of instruction (MOI) policy has been a controversial issue in the context of Nepal. Nepal has adopted a neoliberal policy regarding the MOI. CDC (2019) states that the MOI at the Basic Level (Grades 1-8) will be either mother tongue or Nepali. NCF states that social studies and Nepali should not be taught in English; however, other subjects can be taught in English at the Basic Level (p. 36) at the secondary level (Grades 9-12), the MOI will be Nepali or English. The government policy mentions that children can get education in their mother tongue since it is their right; or Nepali can be the MOI as it is the lingua franca of Nepal. Neglecting the linguistic human rights (Skutnabb-Kangas, 2006) of the children to get education in their language, there has been a shift to English Medium Instruction (EMI) in some public schools in Nepal. Is it justifiable to do so or are the public schools violating the language rights of the school children? This is a debatable question to be discussed in public discourses. Considering this issue, this paper discusses whether EMI is for quality education or the destruction of minority languages in Nepal.
Discussion
It is agreed that students learn better when they understand what the teacher is saying (Brock-Utne, 2010; Klaus, 2001), and this is possible only through the learners’ mother tongues. If the children are provided education in other languages, they often remain silent or become puzzled. Let me relate this issue to the experience of one of my colleagues. When my colleague (Tamang as the mother tongue) was admitted to school, he didn’t understand anything that the teachers said or taught. There was another Tamang student who also knew the Nepali language. Then he used to ask what the teachers said. This example clarifies that students learn better in their language only. What we infer from this event is that we are destroying the knowledge of the students. Learning is for the knowledge of the subject matter. It does not mean that we can get better knowledge in English only. If this was true, Chinese, Korean and Japanese learners would be the weakest ones in the world, but it is not so. These countries are far forward in science and technology including education. Therefore, adopting EMI and compelling the learners to get education is destroying their clear-cut knowledge in content areas.
Another argument is that indigenous languages are destroyed through the adoption of EMI policy in schools. Languages get protected, survived, and promoted through their use, especially in education. Skutnabb-Kangas (2010) argues that schools can kill languages that had survived for centuries when their speakers were not exposed to formal education. This is what happened through the adoption of the EMI policy in the public schools of Nepal. Nepal is a multilingual, multicultural and multiracial country with 131 indigenous languages spoken by 125 ethnic groups (Language Commission, 2020). Since there has been a growing trend of using EMI in public schools in Nepal, learners’ mother tongues are endangered. Once when I was in the field collecting data for my research work, one Rana student (Rana language is one of the indigenous languages of Nepal) who was studying in a public school in Kailali district where EMI was implemented said, “I don’t want to learn and speak my mother tongue. If there is no use of my language in school and in the market, then why should I use it? Only my parents speak it but I use Nepali to talk to them at home.” This shows that the use of EMI is one of the causes that obstruct students to use local or other indigenous languages at home. In my neighborhood, one family belonging to the Newar community. Both the father and the mother are educated and job holders. Their children study in a private English medium school. I have never heard them speaking the Newari language even with their children. When I asked, “Why don’t you use the Newari language at home with your children?” The father replied, “Sir, what’s the use of using our language if it has no value in society? So we want our children to learn only Nepali and English.” Thus, there is linguistic genocide (Skutnabb-Kangas, 2000) or the policy that encourages language shifts in multilingual societies. EMI in education is playing a crucial role in this case. Skutnabb-Kangas (2001) argues that linguistic human rights are necessary for maintaining linguistic and cultural diversity on earth. Only the use of mother tongues in education can support the maintenance of linguistic diversity, thereby preserving and promoting indigenous languages.
English is taken as a killer language (Gutiérrez Estrada, & Schecter, 2018; Khaled, 2020; Schrijver, 2013). If so, how can EMI policy in education remain its exception? Although English is a global lingua franca, it is an agent of making other languages disappear because of people’s attraction towards the use of English in education, media, public spheres, tourism, and other sectors.
I argue after Brock-Utne (2010) that English in education is the language of destruction rather than instruction in two senses. First, the use of EMI in education is destroying and limiting the knowledge of education in the learners since they do not get a clear-cut concept of the subject matter in English. Second, the use of EMI in education is destroying the learners’ mother tongues.
Conclusion
I conclude my argument that the only way to preserve and protect the indigenous languages thereby imparting crystal clear knowledge to the learners about the subject matters is through the use of mother tongue-based education especially up to basic level (1-8) education. It is believed that the more languages the learners know; the more cognitive development they have. Following this assumption, I propose that some subjects related to local knowledge can be taught in the learners’ mother tongues, the subjects of national importance can be in Nepali, and the subjects like Maths, Science, and Computers can be taught in English. It is the responsibility of the nation to protect the indigenous languages of the country. The linguistic and cultural diversity of a country is the property and identity. Therefore, the linguistic human rights of children must be preserved. We can never imagine this through the use of EMI in education.
References
Brock-Utne, B. (2010). English as the language of instruction or destruction–how do teachers and students in Tanzania cope? In Language of instruction in Tanzania and South Africa-Highlights from a project (pp. 77-98). Brill.
Gutiérrez Estrada, M. R., & Schecter, S. R. (2018). English as a” Killer Language”? Multilingual Education in an Indigenous Primary Classroom in Northwestern Mexico. Journal of Educational Issues, 4(1), 122-147.
Khaled, D. Y. A. (2020). English as a killer language: South Africa as a Case Study. International Journal of Linguistics, Literature and Translation, 3(3), 72-79.
Klaus, D. (2001). The use of indigenous languages in Early Basic Education in Papua New Guinea: A model for elsewhere? Paper presented the Annual Conference of the Comparative and International Education Society held in Washington DC. March 17, 2001.
Language Commission (2020). Annual Report (5th). Language Commission.
CDC, (2019). National level curriculum framework for school education in Nepal. Sanothimi: Curriculum Development Center, Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, Government of Nepal.
Schrijver, P. (2013). Languages Competing for Speakers: English as a Killer Language. In Language Contact and the Origins of the Germanic Languages (pp. 20-22). Routledge.
Skutnabb-Kangas, T. (2000). Linguistic genocide in education – or worldwide diversity and human rights? Routledge.
Skutnabb-Kangas, T. (2001). The globalisation of (educational) language rights. International Review of Education, 47(3), 201-219.
Skutnabb-Kangas, T. (2006). Language policy and linguistic human rights. An introduction to language policy: Theory and method, 273-291.
Skutnabb-Kangas, T. (2010). Language rights. Handbook of pragmatic highlights. Society and Language Use, 7, 212-232.
About Author
Mohan Singh Saud is an Associate Professor of English Language Education, ELT trainer, book writer, poet, editor, and researcher from Nepal. He is the visiting faculty at Chandigarh University, Panjab, India. His areas of interests in research include grammar teaching, teachers’ professional development, medium of instruction, English medium instruction (EMI), mother tongue-based medium of instruction, teaching English as an international language, English language teachers’ training and education, linguistic diversity, and globalisation.
[To cite this: Saud. M.S., (2022, October 15). Is English in Education a Medium of Instruction or Destruction? [blog post]. Retrieved from https://eltchoutari.com/2022/10/is-english-in-education-a-medium-of-instruction-or-destruction/]
Bal Krishna Sharma (PhD) is an associate professor of applied linguistics at English Department, College of Letters, Arts and Social Sciences, University of Idaho, US. He is interested in the role of English in multilingual contexts. He studies the dynamics of teaching, learning and use of English in order to examine the topics of language ideology, intercultural communication, identity and pedagogy. He has been studying the issues of culture, representation, and the economy of language from the perspectives of tourism workers in the Nepal’s tourism industry. Likewise, he investigates what English, other international and minority languages mean for a workplace where the commodification and representation of languages and cultures is a major driving force. He is also investigating language-related ideologies and identities of non-native English speaking faculty as U.S. universities in STEM fields.
So, in this post, Jeevan Karki has facilitated a conversation with him, which unfolds the global discourse in ELT, (second) language acquisition, English language teaching in multilingual contexts, critical language teaching, English language policy and practices in Nepal.
Feel free to comment, ask questions and share the conversation to continue the discourse. Here is the YouTube video for you:
Here is the list of questions covered in the conversation:
Q1: What are you busy at currently?
Q2: The global conversation in ELT is very critical towards ‘standard English’, while the goal of English language education in non-English speaking countries is to develop proficiency in standard English (either British English, American English or so on). So, have the critiques been too idealistic about it or the practitioners not aware of this conversation?
Q3: Ofelia Garcia (2017) says that “there is no second language acquisition in the traditional sense but children are acquiring languages together/in totality.” What does this mean to the field of SLA? What are the future directions of SLA?
Q4: In the short history of English language teaching, 50 years or less, what has Nepal gained from it and what has Nepal forgotten in this race?
Q5: And what should be the role of English in multilingual contexts like Nepal?
Q6: Parents and stakeholders don’t seem much concerned about preserving and promoting their own languages as much as they are concerned about immersing their children in the English language right from pre-school. Why does this happen? What can be done about it?
Reference:
Garcia, O. (2017, June 7). Ofelia García – Translanguaging [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5l1CcrRrck0
English as a second language (ESL) first-year university students often face challenges with academic writing because of the linguistic, cultural, and instructional differences between the education system in the U.S. and their home countries (academic writing conventions in English and their first languages). This paper aims to present an ethnography of writing as a framework to familiarize the ESL first-year university students with the basics of academic writing, which directly speaks to the educational, social, and cultural contexts of U.S. higher education. The paper concludes that ESL students benefit immensely from using Grabe and Kaplan’s (1996) ethnography of writing as a framework to introduce academic writing in English to cope with their academic writing challenges.
Keywords: academic writing challenges; freshman ESL learners; ethnography of writing; U.S. higher education; linguistic, cultural, and instructional differences
My Tutoring and Teaching Academic Writing Experiences
I have gotten an opportunity to become an ESL educator for different aged students in different educational contexts. First, I have been an ESL teacher in Nepal. I have taught reading and writing to high school and undergraduate students. Second, I worked as a writing tutor at a regional level teaching university in the Midwestern region of the U.S. I tutored both domestic and ESL international undergraduate and graduate students. Third, I have been teaching reading, vocabulary, and writing courses in the Intensive English Language Program (IEP) at the Midwestern U.S. university for four years. Primarily, I follow a process-based approach (Zamel, 1983; White & Arndt, 1991) and the genre-based approach (Hyland, 2004; Swales, 1990; Tardy, 2008) to teach academic writing to my ESL students who come from diverse educational, linguistic, and cultural backgrounds. I guide my students by helping them explore resources, services, and contacts in and outside of the university. These learning resources are essential to alleviate their academic writing difficulties in the U.S. higher education context (Chauhan, 2021). Sharing experiences of ESL instructors’ academic journey, including coping strategies, is critical to improving their academic writing skills (Odena & Burgess, 2017). However, existing literature shows that academic writing in English is challenging for ESL students at both undergraduate and graduate levels (Chauhan, 2021) because they come from diverse social, linguistic, and cultural backgrounds (Duff & Anderson, 2015). The diversity of their backgrounds can also be an asset to acknowledge and utilize for enhancing their academic writing skills in English.
Nature and Scope of Academic Writing in Higher Education Context
Academic writing (AW) refers to the writing used in the college and university-level writing courses (Johnson, 2016). Additionally, AW has become the primary communication medium between scholars in academic subjects and disciplines in a higher education context (Greene & Lidinsky, 2015). AW is simple, clear, focused, and formal. It is also technical, objective, impersonal, concise, logical, and well-organized. An academic writer must meet genre-specific expectations and stylistic conventions (Ferris, 2018; Giltrow et al., 2014; Osmond, 2016; Starkey, 2015). AW is specific to context, task, purpose, and audience (Ferris, 2018; Grabe & Kaplan, 1996; Starkey, 2015). In parallel with these ideas, Gottlieb and Ernst-Slavit (2013) stated that“[t]he distinct purpose, audience, and context of communication result in clear differences in terms of language use in the selection of words, formality, sentence construction, and discourse patterns” (p. 2). AW is seen differently by scholars based on the features mentioned above. Osmond (2016) argued that AW projects writers’ in-depth knowledge, critical thinking skills, and analytical skills while studying different academic subjects within their disciplines and majors. It is also seen as an inquiry because writers can discover their values, beliefs, strengths, and areas to improve when they engage in the writing process (Starkey, 2015). Grabe and Kaplan (1996) recommended that each writer understands AW from the lens of an ethnographic approach. Echoing similar ideas, Ferris (2018) has summarized the features of successful academic writers and standards of writing used in academia.
Writers must have at least an adequate grasp of the content they are writing. They must understand the rhetorical situation, including the purpose of the writing and the knowledge and expectations of their audience of readers. They need to appreciate the constraints and boundaries accompanying genres, tasks, and text types. Further, writers need advanced control of the linguistic features (vocabulary, spelling, grammar, cohesive ties) and extra-linguistic features (punctuation, capitalization, formatting) appropriate for their text’s content, genre, and target audience. (p. 75)
Ethnography of Writing as a Framework to Introduce Academic Writing
As I mainly tutor and teach academic writing to freshmen ESL first-year university students, I am well acquainted with their writing challenges based on my teaching experience and research study. Current research study has also found that ESL undergraduate students faced many challenges with academic writing in the U.S. university context.
To illustrate, Chauhan (2021) concluded that ESL “undergraduate students experienced academic writing challenges [including] content (gathering information/ideas), organization, academic vocabulary, genre awareness, grammar and mechanics, and citing and referencing sources” (p. 148) because the standards and genre-specific expectations of AW in English are different from those of in ESL students’ L1s (Ferris, 2018; Giltrow et al., 2014; Osmond, 2016; Starkey, 2015).
To address the AW challenges of my ESL first-year university students, I employ Grabe and Kaplan’s (1996) ethnography of writing, which provides a theoretical framework to understand AW regarding its social and cultural contexts in U.S. higher education. Before creating any written text, all writers must ask this fundamental question: “who writes what to whom, for what purpose, why, when, where, and how?” (Cooper, 1979, as cited in Grabe & Kaplan, 1996, p. 203). They further stated that this framework considers academic writing as a combination of writer, reader, subject matter, and text as a writing triangle in which the writer persuades the readers in terms of logos (reason/text), pathos (values, beliefs/audience), and ethos (credibility/writer). Overall, the ethnography of writing is one of the best frameworks to introduce AW to the freshmen ESL students because this framework examines the text’s audience, the writer’s purpose, the genre required by the task, and the situation in which the wiring is used (Grabe & Kaplan, 1996).
Taxonomies of Ethnography of Writing
Grabe and Kaplan (1996) introduced eight types of taxonomies of ethnography of writing to discuss further how this framework operates in a broader academic context. Their framework is further explained together with how I employed this framework to teach writing to my ESL first-year students in a Midwestern U.S. university.
Who
Grabe and Kaplan (1996) state that the first parameter of ethnography of writing is a taxonomy of who, i.e., writers. Knowing the writer and their background is critical to understanding writing well. It is essential to understand whether the individual is a beginning writer or a mature writer and whether the writer is a student who will be evaluated by their teachers or an independent scholarly writer who writes for an academic journal. This background information of the writer influences the audience for whom the writing is produced.
Considering this parameter, I often emphasize the writer’s role in my writing class. As an L2 writing instructor, I know that my students come from different first language (L1) backgrounds. The writing system in their L1s works differently from the writing system in English. I am aware that they are beginner writers in L2 and need more explicit instruction, support, and encouragement from me. I do understand that they are at the initial phase of creating their identity in L2 writing. In the meantime, I am also aware that their authorial voice is critical. So, I orient my students to use academic language and concrete words that embody meaning in the academic context (Bailey, 2018; Brun-Mercer & Zimmerman, 2015; Johnson, 2016), which ultimately helps the writers to make their voices strong. Also, I ask my students to use active structures to strengthen their authorial voice.
Writes
The second taxonomy of ethnography of writing is writes, which focuses on the linguistic nature of writing. This taxonomy of ethnography considers the entire process of text construction, its different linguistic parts, and their organization (thesis statement, topic statements, coherence, cohesion, word choice, reference, transition words (Grabe & Kaplan, 1996), sequencing information (Atkinson, 1991), and overall rhetorical arrangement of information (Bruthiaux, 1993). Overall, in the process of text construction, the writer considers audience, purpose, context, and the genre requirement (Grabe & Kaplan, 1996), discipline-specificity, and disciplinarity (Christiene & Maton, 2011; Flowerdew & Costley, 2016). There are two approaches that I use to teach writing: a process-based approach and a genre-based approach.
First, I follow a process-based approach (White & Arndt, 1991; Zamel,1983) to teach writing in my class. For example, selecting topics (they select topics themselves which they are passionate about writing), gathering required information, creating an outline, preparing the first draft, seeking feedback from peers, writing center tutors, and teachers, addressing feedback, editing, and finally submitting the final draft to the instructor for evaluation (Johnson, 2016; White & Arndt, 1991). Each step in this writing process is equally important for them because my students need to undergo various stages of the writing process to write essays. Also, they will receive points for an outline, first draft, and final draft separately.
Another approach that I employ to teach writing to my students in my class is the genre-based approach (Hyland, 2004; Swales, 1990; Tardy, 2008) because genre-based instruction enhances L2 students’ knowledge in four main areas, which include “formal knowledge of target genres’ features and conventions, the process knowledge of the methods used to produce, distribute, and consume these genres, rhetorical knowledge of target genres’ functions, characteristics, strategies, and subject matter knowledge of disciplinary content and skills” (Tardy, 2009, p. 21). By recognising the usefulness of a genre-based approach to writing, past research studies emphasized the responsibility of L2 educators to develop L2 students’ genre knowledge (Ferris & Hedgcock, 2013; Hyland, 2004; Tardy, 2008, 2009). Highlighting the importance of genre, Hyland (2004) stated “to fail to provide learners with what we know about how language works… denies them the means of both communicating effectively in writing and analyzing text critically” (p. 42). As the L2 students are not much acquainted with different types of genres, it is imperative to teach them genre knowledge explicitly. Also, they need to know that written texts are specific to each academic discipline, program, and major (Christie & Maton, 2011; Hyland, 2017).
Therefore, I provide a sample essay to my students, and they are engaged to analyze and identify all parts of the essay. They include an introduction (hook, background information, and thesis statement), three body paragraphs beginning with topic sentences, supporting details (explanations, reasons, examples, data, experiences, observations, etc.), and a conclusion that summarizes the main points of the essay and restates the thesis statement. In doing so, my students internalize all parts of the essay, which will help them to create their essays later. Ferris and Hedgcock (2013) and Tardy (2008) also stress that it is crucial to train beginner writers with skills that enable them to participate in intertextual systems.
What
The third taxonomy of ethnography of writing is what, i.e., the content or message. Grabe and Kaplan (1996) emphasize that this writing parameter should be described in terms of content, genre, and register. So, this taxonomy of writing seeks to answer these questions: to what extent does the writer need to have background knowledge (content) to create a particular text, what type of texts does the writer produce, and in which fields they are used? The what aspect of writing “must take into account the phenomenological world (a theory of world knowledge), a theory of genre, and some specification of register” (Grabe & Kaplan, 1996, p. 205). In other words, the writer’s background knowledge (schema theory) is crucial in this taxonomy of writing because it provides the writer with the knowledge of the genre and the techniques to organize academic discourse for a specific purpose (Grabe & Kaplan, 1996; Swales, 1990). So, it is critical for ESL writing instructors to allow their students to choose their topics to write.
In my writing class, I do not assign any essay topics to my students. Instead, I provide them with the freedom to choose their topics themselves because I want to promote social justice in my writing class. I also encourage them to choose a topic based on their background knowledge because it is difficult for them to write on a topic that is entirely new to them. For example, the student majoring in Finance ended up choosing a topic from their field, such as Three Ways to Make Money Legally in the U.S. However, the student who is specializing in Sports Management wrote Three Strategies to Improve Cricket. Unlike these two students, the next student who is majoring in Nursing decided to write on Three Benefits of Homemade Breakfast. Besides that, I also provide them with a sample essay to follow because I follow a genre-based approach to teaching writing. This approach allows them to be acquainted with the framework of a text used in the academic context. In doing so, they can write their essays on their topics by following sample essays given to them.
To Whom
Another powerful taxonomy of writing is to whom, which refers to the audience. Grabe and Kaplan (1996) call it a theory of audience or readers because the audience is always at the center of creating a text. Also, the audience plays an essential role in the meaning-making of the text. The writer needs to ponder some of these questions regarding the audience. Are the readers known or unknown to the writer? If they are known, how close or distant are they? How much-shared knowledge exists between the readers and the writer in general? How much-shared knowledge exists between them on a particular topic. Grabe and Kaplan (1996) further state that the audience’s parameter influences the writer’s writing, including the number of persons who are expected to read the text, the extent to which the readers are known or unknown to the writer, the level of status (can be either higher, equal, or lower) between them, the extent of shared background knowledge between readers, and the extent of specific topical shared knowledge between readers and writers.
Building on Grabe and Kaplan’s (1996) framework, recent research studies also highlighted the role of the audience. Before the author writes any text, they need to consider their audience because the type of audience determines their writing (Swales & Feak, 2012). Similarly, Kirszner and Mandell (2015) argued that while writing any text, the audience should be kept in mind because they determine the purpose of the paper. While writing, academic writers envision a specific audience who share knowledge regarding a topic or issue they are writing about (Grabe & Kaplan, 1996; Singh & Lukkarila, 2017). Realizing the significance of to whom parameter, I often ask my students to decide their audience because it is critical for them to know who is going to read their essays. They know that two types of audience read their essays. They include their classmates and their instructor/s.
For What Purpose
As its name suggests, this taxonomy refers to the purpose of producing a text. Grabe and Kaplan (1996) state that every written text is created purposefully. They add that when the writer thinks of purpose, they need to ask these questions: to what extent is it possible to define purpose in a writing task? Are there single or multiple purposes in the task? How does purpose interact with genre and audience? As most writings are meant for audiences, they expect the purpose of the paper when they read them. Therefore, most writers mention their goal of writing to facilitate the readers to make better meaning of the text.
Before writing anything, the writer should be clear about the purpose of writing. Kirszner and Mandell (2015) argued that it is the purpose that limits the writer what to say and how to say it. According to Bailey (2015, 2018), there are three main reasons for writing: (i) to argue on a subject of common interest and give the writer’s view, (ii) to report on a piece of research study and create some type of new knowledge, and (iii) to synthesize research conducted by others on a topic. So, AW is unique because the writer shares inquiry-based knowledge to inform a particular academic community (Singh & Lukkarila, 2017). Considering this taxonomy, all writers need to know the purpose of the academic texts they are writing.
In keeping in mind this taxonomy, I mention to my students that each piece of writing has a certain purpose. My students mostly write five types of essays, and these are five-paragraph essays. For example, when they write a cause-and-effect essay, they show cause and effect relationship of a particular topic. However, when they write a descriptive essay, the purpose is to describe a place, person, object/thing, and process. Unlike these two essays, when my students write classification essays, the objective is to describe three main categories of a particular topic in an interesting way. For example, one of my students chose to write on Three Types of Roommates, whereas another student was interested to write on Three Types of Cell Phone Users.
Why
According to Grabe and Kaplan (1996), the notion of why people write refers to underlying intentions or motives that may or may not be revealed by functional purpose. However, if the writer’s motive is apparent, it helps the readers comprehend the text better. Therefore, genre-based texts overtly express the writer’s motive to facilitate schema instantiation. So, the why component of writing depends on the paper’s audience, topic, and purpose.
In order to make sure my students maintain the why component in their writing, I encourage them to engage in peer review. When they participate in the peer review process in different phases of their writing, they are provided with opportunities to read their course mates essays. In doing so, they not only write on only their topics but also get an opportunity to read and offer feedback on their classmates’ essays. First, they are provided with a checklist (based on a rubric) and asked to give feedback focusing on higher-order concerns such as content/ideas, organization, and vocabulary because they play an important role to convey the writers’ message to their readers. Then, they also give their feedback concentrating on lower-order concerns such as grammar, mechanics, and formatting.
When and Where
According to Grabe and Kaplan (1996), this parameter refers to text creation’s time and place. This taxonomy of writing plays a more minor role than the rest of the taxonomies. However, its relevance depends on the type of text. For example, in official emails and letters, the date and place they are sent may be more critical for both the writer and receiver (reader).
In my writing class, when the parameter is crucial for my students because every writing assignment has a fixed deadline to complete and submit to me. The deadline is clearly mentioned in my writing course which every student is provided with both printed and digital copies of the course syllabus on the first day of the class each semester. Also, the deadline for each writing assignment is also mentioned on D2L (an online learning platform used in most U.S. universities and colleges). My students strictly follow the deadline to submit each writing assignment. If students are unable to submit their writing assignments due to any unexpected circumstances, they inform me via email and request an extension of the deadline. In that case, I extend the deadline depending on each student’s situation. In that case, I also provide additional time for individual conferencing with that student to support their writing development.
How
Although this is the final parameter of the writing’s ethnography, this is probably the most important because it examines how the text is created. Therefore, this parameter is also called “a theory of online writing production … or a theory of writing process” (Grabe & Kaplan, 1996, p. 213). Mainly, there are two things this parameter emphasizes. First, writing is a recursive process because the writing process stages, namely planning, drafting, revising, editing, and sharing, do not come in a neat linear sequence. Instead, the writers move backwards and forward several times to create a text (Hyland, 2003; Zamel, 1983). Next, the cognitive mechanism remains at the center of this parameter because it “provides [the writers with] the means for exploring notions such as audience, content, and writer intension from a composing perspective” (Grabe & Kaplan, 1996, p. 213).
This parameter is crucial for my students. For each writing assignment, they must go through all writing stages. They also know each stage has its significance in terms of learning and assessment. For example, they are aware that they cannot create a good outline without gathering sufficient information on a topic. Similarly, no good first draft can be written without a good outline. Without seeking and addressing feedback on the first draft, the final draft does not turn out to be perfect. My students understand this process; therefore, they love to follow all phases of the writing process because they receive separate points for outlines, first drafts, and final drafts.
Conclusion
To sum up, I have found that Grabe and Kaplan’s (1996) ethnography of writing is a useful framework to introduce AW to my ESL first-year university students. My students have developed an understanding of the basics of AW after I employed this approach. This framework has been very effective for me for two reasons. First, this framework promotes the teaching and learning of AW by asking the ESL students to analyze the writer’s process before composing any written text. As Paltridge (2017) stated, the students are asked: “to undertake any analysis of the context in which the text they are writing occurs and consider how the situation in which they are writing impacts upon what they write and how they write it” (p. 12). Second, this approach considers the intended audience, their background knowledge, values and understanding, conventions, genre awareness, and discipline-specificity and disciplinarity (Christie & Maton, 2011; Paltridge, 2017) because of people working in the academic community share “ideas, beliefs, values, goals, practices, conventions, and ways of creating and distributing knowledge” (Flowerdew & Costley, 2016, p. 11). Therefore, the ESL writing instructor’s responsibility is to train first-year university students to familiarize themselves with these elements when writing for academic purposes.
References
Atkinson, D. (1991). Discourse analysis and written discourse conventions. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics,11, 57-76. doi: 10.1017/S0267190500001951
Bailey, S. (2015). The essentials of academic writing for international students (4th ed.). Routledge.
Bailey, S. (2018). The essentials of academic writing for international students (5th ed.). Routledge.
Bruthiaux, P. (1993). Child’s talk: Learning to use language. Oxford University Press.
Chauhan, P. B. (2021). Academic writing challenges experienced by international students in a Midwest U.S. university: A phenomenological inquiry [Doctoral dissertation, Minnesota State University, Mankato]. Cornerstone: A Collection of Scholarly and Creative Works for Minnesota State University, Mankato. https://cornerstone.lib.mnsu.edu/etds/1129
Christie, F., & Maton, K. (2011). Disciplinarity functional linguistic and sociological perspectives. Continuum International.
Duff, P.A., & Anderson, T. (2015). Academic language and literacy socialization for second-language students. In N. Markee (Ed.), Handbook of classroom discourse and interaction (pp.337-352). Wiley-Blackwell.
Ferris, D. (2018). Writing in second language. In J.M. Newton, D.R. Ferris, C. C. M. Goh, W. Grabe, F. L. Stoller, & L. Vandergriff (Eds.), Teaching English to second language learners in academic context: Reading, writing, listening, and speaking (pp.75-122). Routledge.
Ferris, D., & Hedgcock, J. (2013). Teaching L2 composition: purpose, process, and practice (3rd ed.). Routledge.
Flowerdew, J., & Costley, T. (2016). Introduction. In J. Flowerdew, J. & T. Costley (Eds.), Discipline-specific writing (pp. 9-40). Routledge.
Giltrow, J., Gooding, R., Burgoyne, D., & Sawatsky, M. (2014). Academic writing: An introduction (3rd ed.). Broadview Press.
Gottlieb, M., & Ernst-Slavit, G. (2013). Academic language: A centerpiece for academic success in English language arts. In M. Gottlieb & G. Ernst-Slavit, Eds.), Academic language in diverse classrooms (pp. 1-38). Corwin.
Grabe, W., & Kaplan, R.B. (1996). Theory and practice of writing. Longman.
Greene, S., & Lidinsky, A. (2015). From inquiry to academic writing. A practical guide. Bedford/St. Martin’s.
Hyland, K. (2003). Second language writing. Cambridge University Press.
Hyland, K. (2004). Genre and second language writing. University of Michigan Press.
Hyland, K. (2017). Learning to write for academic purposes: Specificity and second language writing. In J. Bitchener, N. Storch, & R. Wette (Eds.), Teaching writing for academic purposes to multilingual students: Instructional approaches (pp. 24-41). Routledge.
Johnson, A. (2016). Academic writing: Process and product. Rowman & Littlefield.
Kirszner, L.G. & Mandell, S. R. (2015). Patterns for college writing: A rhetorical reader and guide. Bedford St. Martins.
Odena, O., & Burgess, H. (2017). How doctoral students and graduates describe facilitating experiences and strategies for their thesis writing learning process: A qualitative approach. Studies in Higher Education (Dorchester-on-Thames), 42(3), 572–590. doi: 10.1080/03075079.2015.1063598
Osmond, A. (2016). Academic writing and grammar for students (2nd ed.). Sage.
Paltridge, B. (2017). Context and the teaching of academic writing. In J. Bitchener, N. Storch, & R. Wette (Eds.), Teaching writing for academic purposes to multilingual students: Instructional approaches (pp. 9-23). Routledge.
Singh, A.A., & Lukkarila, L. (2017). Successful academic writing: A complete guide for social and behavioral scientists. The Guilford Press.
Starkey, D. (2015). Academic writing now: A brief guide for busy students. Broadview Press.
Swales, J.M. (1990). Genre analysis: English in academic and research settings. Cambridge University Press.
Swales, J.M., & Feak, C.B. (2012). Academic writing for graduate students: Essential tasks and skills (3rd ed.). University of Michigan Press.
Tardy, C. M. (2008). Multimodality and the teaching of advanced academic writing: A genre systems perspective on speaking-writing connections. In D. Belcher & A. Hirvela (Eds.), The oral-literate connection: Perspectives on L2 speaking, writing, and other media interactions (pp. 191-208). University of Michigan Press.
Tardy, C. M. (2009). Building genre knowledge. Parlor Press.
White, R. & Arndt, V. (1991). Process writing (1st ed.). Longman.
Zamel, V. (1983). The composing processes of advanced ESL students: Six case studies. TESOL Quarterly,17(2), 165-187. doi:10.2307/3586647
Author’s Bio: Dr Padam Chauhan works as a Retention Specialist for the International Center and an ESL Instructor for the IEP at Minnesota State University (MNSU), Mankato, Minnesota, USA. Prior to that, Padam worked as a Writing Consultant for MNSU’s Writing Center. He has earned MEd in English Education from T.U., Nepal, MA in TESOL, and EdD from MNSU, Mankato. Before joining MNSU, Mankato, he taught ESL at the high school level and served as a high school (10+2) principal in Nepal. Padam voluntarily served NELTA Central Committee as its member, treasurer, and general secretary. Padam has presented at the NELTA, IATEFL, TESOL, AAAL, and TESL conferences in Nepal, the UK, the USA, and Canada. His current research interests include academic reading and writing, Writing Center tutoring pedagogy, and equitable access to English language education.
Pedagogy concerns the process of teaching and learning which differs from the way it was practiced under a method which primarily focused on the delivery of information from the teacher to the students (Richards & Renandya, 2002, p. 5). So pedagogy is the conception of the post-methods practices which focus on “the dynamic interplay between teachers, learners, and institutional materials during the process of teaching and learning” (Brown quoted in Richards & Renandya, 2002, p. 6). That means, teaching, in pedagogy, is “a courageous occupation’’ and “a journey of hope based upon a set of ideals” (Day, 2004, pp. 8-20). It is an integral part of learning as Lieberman and Miller(as cited in Day, 2004, p. 105) state, “Teaching and learning are interdependent, not separate functions.” So in the process of teaching and learning as an integrated process, teachers are “problem posers and problem solver; they are researchers; and they are intellectuals engaged in unraveling the learning process both for themselves and for the young people in their charge.” That is to say, teachers are learning themselves through the process of teaching because in pedagogy learning is “not consumption’’; it is “knowledge production,” and similarly, teaching is “not performance”; it is “facilitative leadership” (Lieberman & Miller as cited in Day, 2004, p. 105). Similarly, Kumaravadivelu (2001) has conceptualized pedagogy in a much broader sense which includes not only the educational aspects of teaching and learning but also the sociocultural aspect. In this regard, he posits: “I use the term pedagogy in a broad sense to include not only issues pertaining to classroom strategies, instructional materials, curricular objectives, and evaluation measures, but also a wide range of historical, political, and sociocultural experiences that directly or indirectly influence L2 education” (p. 538). This conception of pedagogy is so comprehensive that it gives ELT practice a broad outlook which needs consideration from both educational and socio-cultural perspectives. That is, pedagogy should not be restricted to classroom boundary; it should go beyond the classroom and consider every factor pertinent to teaching and learning process. In this regard, the dialogue between Lord Krishna and Arjuna in the Gita captures the essence of pedagogy as the process of teaching and learning is situated in the wider socio-cultural, historical and political context.
Pedagogical Context in the Gita
When it comes to the pedagogy in the Gita, it is not that easier to understand as it has unique and multifaceted context. Being guided by the above theoretical discussion on pedagogy, the dialogue between Lord Krishna and Arjuna in the Gita, can be claimed to be a pedagogical discourse. So Lord Krishna, as a teacher, has both roles as a problem poser and a problem solver (verses 18:63; 18:72, Prabhupada’s Version) and Arjuna, as a learner, has been involved in knowledge production (verse18.73) rather than in consumption of knowledge. Similarly, Lord Krishna is not simply performing his role as a teacher; he is rather taking the role of a facilitative leadership (verse 18:72). As the dialogue between Lord Krishna and Arjuna took place in the battlefield before the commencement of the war, he took the leadership in guiding Arjuna in the war. All these constitute the institutional materials for pedagogy in the Gita. Thus, as pedagogy constitutes the dynamic interplay between teachers, learners, and institutional materials, we can observe the dynamic interplay between these dimensions of pedagogy in the pedagogy of the Gita.
More important, there are some studies and commentaries which identify Lord Krishna as a teacher and Arjuna as a learner. Regarding Lord Krishna’s role in the war, Radhakrishnan (2014, p. 33) identifies him as a teacher or guru as he guided Arjuna to the right path against “the forces of darkness, falsehood, limitation, and immortality which bar the way to the higher world.” As Arjuna was unwilling to take his responsibility in the battle (verse1:46), he takes refuge to higher self, Lord Krishna who is able to make him realize his duty (18:72). In this context, as teaching by Lord Krishna contains universal knowledge, Radhakrishnan (2014, p. 33) calls him ”the world teacher” or jagadguru. Similarly, Sargeant (2016, p. 2), in reviewing the role of Lord Krishna in the Gita, came to a conclusion that he is the Universal Guru who is teaching the lessons of universal significance. In the similar fashion, Dayananda (2014, p. 21) in his book, The Teaching of the Bhagavadgita, identifies Lord Krishna as a guru because, accepting Arjuna as his disciple, he has been able to teach him the practical lessons which have become most effective in solving his problems. With this background Prabhupada (1986, p. 21) also defines guru as ”the one who dispels the darkness of ignorance by the light of knowledge.” Thus, the broad conceptualization of pedagogy can be observed in the dynamic role of Lord Krishna as a teacher and Arjuna as a learner in the pedagogy of the Gita. Besides, the contents of the Gita further justifies how pedagogy should be able to incorporate historical, socio-cultural, political and academic aspects of educational project as deconstructive pedagogy (Kamali, 2021b).
Pedagogy of the Gita, Postmethod Pedagogy and Deconstruction: A Grand Confluence of Pedagogy
The pedagogy of the Gita can be compared with the postmethod pedagogy as advocated by Kumaravadivelu (2001) in his article entitled “Toward a Postmethod Pedagogy” because the methodology employed by Lord Krishna in teaching Arjuna contains many of his concepts. Accordingly, Lord Krishna’s pedagogy in the Gita can be compared with Derrida’s deconstruction as Lord Krishna deconstructed Arjuna’s psychology—he was not ready to lead the war in the beginning (verses 1:47) but in the end, after the instruction by Lord Krishna, he became ready to do his duty (18:73).Thus, as Derrida (1986, as cited in Higgs, 2002, p. 170) deconstructed the metaphysics of presence grounded on structuralism and gave way to deconstruction and poststructuralism/postmodernism, Kumaravadivelu (2001, p. 537), in the same vein, deconstructed the centralized practice of ‘method’ and opened up multiple possibilities in pedagogy. In this regard, he commends: “As a consequence of repeatedly articulated dissatisfaction with the limitations of the concept of method and the transmission model of teacher education, the L2 profession is faced with an imperative need to construct a postmethod pedagogy” (p. 537). In this way, deconstruction of methods gave birth to postmethod pedagogy as deconstruction of structuralism to poststructuralism and postmodernism in philosophy. As a result, deconstruction and postmethod pedagogy have become inseparable. Thus, both recommend practices as “an open-ended inquiry,” and “a work in progress” (Kumaravadivelu, 2001, p. 537). These features are equally pertinent in the pedagogy of the Gita as Lord Krishna has practiced the pedagogy as an open-ended inquiry and a work in progress because Arjuna is free to learn and make decision on his own and learning has been regarded as a process (verse 18:63).
Thus, method of teaching has been transformed into pedagogy as a post-method practice which is defined as a movement away from a preoccupation with generic teaching methods towards a more complex view of teaching which encompasses a multifaceted understanding of the teaching and learning process (Richards & Renandya, 2002). In this regard, Richard and Renandya (2002, p. 5) further argue that in the post-methods era attention has been shifted to teaching and learning process and the contribution of the individual teacher to pedagogy rather than the output of the process. In the same vein, Brown (as cited in Richard and Renandya, 2002, p. 6) defines pedagogy as a ”dynamic interplay between teachers, learners, and institutional materials during the process of teaching and learning. By this he has deconstructed the dominant role of teachers in pedagogy and considered the roles of multiple factors contributing to effective pedagogy; it is the same case with deconstruction as it never ends with fixity; the outcome of the deconstructive analysis is always the possibility of multiplicity— difference (Derrida as cited in Culler, 1982, p. 97)! Thus, deconstruction makes pedagogy is more process-oriented and inclusive of all factors conducive to post-method pedagogy which has been further developed into “deconstructive pedagogy” (Kamali, 2021b, p.73).
ELT Practices as Deconstructive Pedagogy: A Conclusive Remark
As a global phenomenon, ELT has divergent practices due to its variations and myriad contexts. No single approach, method and strategy seems to be overarching in present ELT practices. Thus, it is required that ELT practices be like deconstructive pedagogy and ELT practitioners play the roles of a deconstructionist teacher like Lord Krishna in the pedagogy of the Gita as follows (Kamali, 2021a, pp. 73-74): 1. A deconstructionist teacher practices pedagogy as deconstructive pedagogy founded on deconstruction; 2. A deconstructionist teacher can fully act as an autonomous practitioner; 3. A deconstructionist teacher can develop a reasonable degree of competence and confidence in performing pedagogy; 4.A deconstructionist teacher not only critically implements theories into practice but he/she also builds theories out of practices; 5. A deconstructionist teacher focuses on the interplay between theoretical and practical dimensions of pedagogy and lets it open to any possibilities to make the pedagogy more effective in context.
The author:Dr. Hari Chandra Kamali is an Associate Professor of English education at Far Western University, Nepal. He pursued his PhD from Nepal Sanskrit University. Dr. Kamali has published several articles and presented papers in different conferences at home and abroad.
References
Culler, Z. (1982). On deconstruction: Theory and criticism after structuralism. Cornell University Press.www.z.lib.org
Day, C. (2004).A passion for teaching. RoutledgeFalmer.
Dayananda, S. (2014).The teaching of the Bhagavadgita.Vision Books.
Higgs, P. (2002). Deconstruction and re-thinking education. South African Journal of Education,22 (3), 2002, 170 – 176. www.academia.edu.
Kamali, H. C.(2021a). ‘Deconstructionist’ as the role of a teacher in postmethod pedagogy.Technium Social Sciences Journal,19 (1), 67-75. https://doi.org/10.47577/tssj.v19i1.3324
Kamali, H. C. (2021b). Lord Krishna as a deconstructionist teacher in the Bhagavadgita [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. Nepal Sanskrit University.
Kumaravadivelu, B. Toward a postmethod pedagogy.TESOL Quarterly, 35(4), 537-560. https//doi.org/10.2307/3588427
Prabhupada, A. C. B. S. (1986). Bhagavad-gita As It Is(2nd ed.).The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust.
Radhakrishnan, S. (2014).The Bhagavadgita.Harper Collings Publishers.
Richards, J. C., &Renandya. W. A. (2002). Approaches to teaching. In J. C. Richards & W. A. Renandya (Eds.), Methodology in Language Teaching: An Anthology of Current Practice(pp. 5-8). Cambridge University Press.
Sargeant, W. (2016).The Bhagavad Gita. Aleph Books Company.
Teachers need to be in good health to teach in an innovative, inspiring, and meaningful way. During their pedagogical journey, they may experience a variety of emotions. These experiences and emotions have a major impact on their as well as students’ successful schooling. The happiness of teachers is linked to their work satisfaction, professional relationships, and personal lives. The main purpose of this article is to review past and current literature related to the issues of teachers’ wellbeing and its adverse effect on their pedagogical success.
My perception of wellbeing
As an English language teacher in a private school and college in Kathmandu, I spend a lot of time and energy not only in the classroom, but also outside of it, because the job requires a lot of preparation time for assignments, lectures, and lesson plans. So far my experience is concerned, teaching in a private school is one of the lowest-paying jobs available, with no retirement plans or job security. Almost all teachers work on a contract basis and a part-time basis. Further, the COVID-19 crisis has exacerbated the teachers’ predicament. On one hand, teachers’ paychecks have been cut in half, and have to devote even more time preparing for online lectures and implementing new technology for teaching. On the other hand, working from home has made teachers’ work-life balance even more difficult. As a result, I am experiencing a negative impact from this change in both my personal and professional life.
I feel deprived of one of the basic needs of day-to-day normal life due to a lack of personal and emotional contact with students, colleagues, and close ones for an extended period. Staying at home twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week for months and months has been exhausting, stressful, boring, mentally unhealthy, and frustrating. As an ELT teacher, the unfolding situation has prompted an important question in my professional and emotional thinking. I am constantly wondering if I will be able to fulfill my professional obligations while also living my personal life to the fullest.
Based on a review of the literature on how pedagogical success and learning outcomes are affected, this research article is the result of my quest to understand teachers’ wellbeing and their negative and positive emotions. This question nags at the back of my mind whenever I reflect on my career as an ELT professional. I was curious about how teachers’ wellbeing affects their professional and personal goals. I was curious as to what teachers’ wellbeing entails, what factors contribute to it, and if there is anything that can be done to improve teachers’ wellbeing. What role can schools play in this endeavor? In line with these questions, this article vividly presents concepts of wellbeing and its components.
Teachers’ wellbeing
According to Mercer (2021), wellbeing, as a social construct, is considered not only for the individual but also for the entire ELT ecology. Although happiness, in general, is based on people’s perceptions, it is a deeply psychological construct that is difficult to define. According to one CESE (2014) report, teacher wellbeing is linked to the quality of their work and its impact on student outcomes. Mercer (2021) further argues that wellbeing is not void nonsense. It is deeply rooted in human existence within social communities and global ecology. Here, the term wellbeing does not denote an individual but the collective. So Mercer further states that ELT has got into this very intensely for understanding what wellbeing does mean for all the members of ELT community.
Wellbeing is synonymous with happiness and as Cann (2019) states ‘ life satisfaction’. There are two main theoretical perspectives on happiness: hedonic and eudemonic. The hedonic approach focuses on personal experience of happiness and an individual’s perception of balance between positive/negative emotions and their overall sense of life satisfaction (Diener et al., 1999; Mercer, 2020). The eudemonic perspective, on the other hand, is centered on self-actualization and the ability to derive a sense of purpose or meaning in life. Wellbeing brings pride and happiness, and happiness is more closely linked to effective teaching and learning in any educational institution (Cann, 2019). As a result, wellbeing appears to be one of the most important factors in pedagogical performance. Many studies have concluded that it is critical to promote teacher wellbeing to achieve better learning outcomes for students. Toraby and Modaresi (2018) suggest that when teachers are happy, they teach more creatively and their students achieve more (e.g. Caprara et al., 2006). Similarly, when students experience positive wellbeing in school and see positive behavior from teachers, they are more motivated and successful in their studies (e.g. Seligman et al., 2009). A positive relationship with coworkers to improve wellbeing is important for professional achievement and happy life.
Positive and negative emotions
The COVID- 19 pandemics have greatly disrupted the teaching and learning process (Sanusi, Olaleye & Dada, 2021), and it has created a lot of negative emotions among teachers and learners as infection numbers rise and is reported in news outlets and social media. Frenzel (2014) discussed negative emotions such as anxiety, anger, boredom, as well as positive emotions such as feelings of enjoyment and pride.
Dibbon (2004) has already brought the idea from his study that anxiety, anger, and boredom lead to the negativity of teachers’ wellbeing. Sanusi, Olaleye, and Dada (2021) describe the factors that create negative emotions such as “internet issues, including its cost, student’s participation rate, insufficient media instruction, lack of student’s preparation, and preference for face-to-face class”. The positive impact that COVID- 19 has brought is, among others, the learning of technology by the teachers to accomplish their tasks (Sanusiet et al., 2020). Positive emotions among teachers are likely to grow when they can adequately rely on their profession for sustenance and security.
Learning new skills and remaining consistent at work during the pandemic can provide an abundance of positive emotions. Teachers perceive their workplace as being stressful and anxiety-inducing and it exerts great pressure and stress on them (Salashour & Esmillie, 2021). One of the issues that must be addressed at the institutional level is the negative impact of negative teacher emotion (Toraby, 2018). Students’ performance may suffer as a result of negative emotions. Yoon (2002) researched student-teacher relationships in the classroom and concluded that students had a negative view towards their teachers as a result of the teacher’s stress and negative emotions. Such negative emotions are directly related to teacher burnout, which may reduce self-efficacy.
Burnout and self-efficacy
Learning without burden for students and teaching without burnout for teachers is essential for -the wellness of students and teachers. According to Maslach (2015, as cited in Safari, 2021), burnout is a psychological syndrome aroused from mental and emotional exhaustion that later develops as long-term emotional or interpersonal stressors. Also, long-term anxiety and stress may cause burnout. Some studies have also discussed the sources of burnout and have discussed briefly creating the issues (Safari, 2021; Maslach, 2015; Chang, 2009). It is pointed out that individual, organizational and transactional factors are the three main sources of burnout (Chang, 2009).
Individual factors include age, gender, ethnicity, educational background, and teaching experience. Traditionally, studies on education production function have focused on how teachers and their background characteristics influence student performance (Hanushek & Rivkin, 2010 et. al., Todd & Wolphin, 2003). Similarly, organizational factor denotes job satisfaction and workplace environment, which are linked to income, division of labor, classroom management, incentives, and the organization’s socioeconomic status.
Since self-efficacy is an important variable and can affect the rate and time of burnout, the relationship between self-efficacy and burnout is studied (Safari, 2021). The theory of social cognitive defines the term ‘self- efficacy’ as an individual’s faith in their capacity to be successful in certain conditions (Bandura, 2006).The theory defines that teachers’ self-efficacy is the belief in the ability to plan, organize, and implement different educational activities that are critical to achieving pedagogical goals. Implementation of the measures to control the level of burnout help to improving teachers’ mental, physical, and social wellbeing that supports to enhance their teaching effectiveness, interpersonal relationship and their job satisfaction (Safari, 2021). Hence, an effective teaching process plays a vital role in the performance and success of any institution.
Relation between wellbeing and pedagogical success
Teachers’ pedagogical success is primarily determined by their cognitive abilities as well as their academic and professional knowledge in the field (Toraby, 2018). Students prefer teachers who have both emotional literacy and professional literacy. Many studies have been conducted to investigate the cause and effect on the teachers’ wellbeing (Blazar& Kraft, 2017). The unpleasant emotions, which are experienced by the teachers such as tension, anxiety, frustration, anger, depression may result in dissatisfaction in their work (Kyriacou, 2009). Negative emotions in teachers have an impact on their wellbeing, which can lead to poor performance of the students. Therefore teachers need to focus on happiness since it can bring positivity and positive emotions that assist teachers in being content with their lives. In this way, many studies have concluded a moderate, positive correlation between teachers’ emotions and students’ views on teachers’ pedagogical success.
Teachers’ wellbeing is not only the matter of being satisfied but also has some dimensions for developing positive emotions that influence the success in teaching. Teachers’ psychological and sociological factors can influence their success and failure (Safari, 2021).Emotional exhaustion relates to the psychological problem whereas sociological factors here refer to the interpersonal relationships between teachers and their self-efficacy. So, control over the stressors helps to improve mental health issues, teaching techniques and skills, interpersonal relation that results to job satisfaction.
According to Cotton (2008), various dimensions such as quality education, classroom quality, classroom management, job satisfaction, language, teacher turnover, and self-efficacy affect teacher’s wellbeing. The success of teaching is, directly and indirectly, related to the beliefs that arise out of different theories in pedagogy. Positive emotions in teachers, according to studies, cause them to teach more creatively, and the learner(s) to achieve more. Toraby (2018) revealed that when students believe their teachers are enjoying their jobs, they learn more. Similarly, when students feel good in the classroom and during the learning process, they are more motivated and successful in their studies (Seligman et al, 2009). As a result, teachers’ wellbeing and positive emotions are critical factors in successful teaching and pedagogical success.
Teachers’ wellbeing amidst the pandemic
Mental health issues, stress, and anxiety are sweeping the world as a result of social isolation caused by COVID-19 led lockdown across the world for the last year. Due to massively increased coronavirus, schools and universities are some of the most severely affected areas in this regard. Teachers in remote and hybrid environments reported more challenges than those in solely face- to face instruction (Schwartz, 2020). While anxiety and stress among students due to online classes or even no classes are well reported, teacher’s wellbeing is not spared from the mental health pandemic.
The coronavirus pandemic has brought unprecedented challenges to educators including disruption in the management of day-to-day teaching stuff and a rapid transition from in-person to remote learning (Porter, 2020). Seeing the current situation, teachers’ wellbeing is affected adversely from the following three sides.
Teachers are forced to teach online, if any, without direct human interaction. As human interaction is the most important social ingredient for social health, the deprived teachers are unable to manage their emotional needs by merely teaching from home and not being able to go to physical classes. Teachers are forced to reply on computer screens for professional work, information, communication, entertainment, and so on. This helps to deteriorate not just the mental health of teachers, but also their physical health.
On the second side, millions of teachers across the world are losing or on the verge of losing their job. As private schools are struggling to survive amidst almost zero revenue and constant costs, teachers have to face with ever-increasing job insecurity and financial catastrophe.
Finally, the pandemic can hit a teacher’s family anytime. With little access to the vaccine among teachers, they are already one of the most vulnerable groups in society after medical professionals. This threat of disease has also put a lot of stress on teachers.
All these three factors have made teachers’ jobs even more challenging. They are neither being able to fully deliver what they have been doing for years and intend to do for the rest of their lives nor are they being able to receive extra support and incentive for all the extra effort they have to invest to switch from physical to online mode.
Conclusion
Many studies have claimed that teacher’s wellbeing, emotions, and students learning outcomes are an integral part of pedagogical success. Positive feelings coincide with teachers’ professional success and that success determines the teachers’ wellbeing. So, the display of emotion is considered vital in teaching success. Literature suggests emphasizing both the teachers’ wellbeing and students’ achievements for pedagogical success. Teachers’ positive emotion leads to better students’ achievement and success in teaching.
The pandemic has brought additional challenges to teachers’ wellbeing and pedagogical success. Effective and natural connections between the teachers and learners have been broken. Thus, the virtual world is nowhere near enough to meet the emotional need of the teachers and students.
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Author’s bio:
Rejina KC is a Nepalese ELT teacher-researcher. She is currently pursuing her PhD at Kathmandu University, School of Education, Kathmandu. She has a master’s degree in English from Tribhuvan University and an MPhil degree in Interdisciplinary Education from Pokhara University. Her research interests include literature in language classroom, creative writing in EFL and teachers’ wellbeing and motivation. She has more than a decade-long experience as an ELT teacher from ECD to the University level. She is passionate about learning different methodology in ELT teaching for fostering language competence and skills in both teaching and learning English.
This paper aims to explore the techniques and tools used for assessing the English language learners in remote teaching-learning and to discuss the challenges and obstacles faced by the teachers while assessing the learners. Based on a collective study design, this paper presents a study on the assessment practices in remote teaching-learning. Data were collected from three English language teachers of basic education level using online interviews. The results showed that many English language teachers transitioned to remote teaching learning because of the COVID -19 pandemic and whether it is a face to face class or remote teaching-learning, assessment is an integral part of the teaching-learning to check the understanding of the subject matter and to evaluate whether the educational goals and standards of the lessons are being met. The assessments were taken more or less similar to the face-to-face mode via written or oral practices with the help of technologies and while assessing the learners, the teachers faced the Internet connection issues, investment of ample time for designing and organizing the assessment with the help of technologies. The teachers gained less support from the parents and students for conducting the effective assessment.
Keywords: Assessment, remote teaching-learning, techniques and tools, educational goals, integral
Introduction
This study assessed the English language learners based on their mode of acquiring learning that is either through face-to-face or remote teaching-learning. Remote Teaching -Learning (RTL) offers teaching learning beyond the physical classrooms. It is the learning process where the teachers are separated from the learners in time and distance. According to Graham (2019), RTL is the practice of teaching a language interactively via videoconferencing. He further describes that it differs from telecollaboration which mainly focuses on enabling language teaching and learning to take place rather than on intercultural collaboration. In remote language teaching, both students and teachers interact through two-way communication technologies. Similarly, in Belz and Thorne’s (2006) view, RLT supports learners’ interaction with the teachers and peers, encourages them to have more dialogue, debate, and intercultural exchange. Remote teaching is also referred to as live online language teaching to refer to synchronous (i.e. in real-time) computer-mediated communication for language teaching (Swertz et al., 2007). In RLT, teachers focus on both pedagogy and technology to provide huge opportunities for effective learning and collaboration beyond the physical classroom. They involve approaches and techniques that are more connected with the technologies. Whereas, Whyte and Gijsen (2016) argue that there is an ample burden for the teachers to conduct the classes remotely than for regular face-to-face classes. Teachers are committed to helping the learners with these different ways of working and teaching them in the most effective way possible. Teachers require and prepare designed and written materials to take advantage of the teaching and learning context and delivery method (i.e. video conferencing). Therefore, remote teaching is an innovative way of bridging cultural and geographical distances and enables the teaching and learning of languages to students who would otherwise not have the opportunity.
At present, most English language teachers had to opt for remote learning because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Many teachers had transition to remote learning with no advance notice or preparation earlier this year. Some are planning for remote learning in the fall when they return to school. It is important to remember that remote learning refers to a class that intends to meet face-to-face. The teachers have been practising to replicate remote learning as far as possible into the real face-to-face classes. It is not just enough with the engagement of teaching-learning activities. The learners should be assessed to check the understanding of the subject matter and to evaluate whether the educational goals and standards of the lessons are being met. The learners must be able to think critically, analyze, and make inferences. Hence, assessing them is the most challenging factor in RTL. Nitko and Broookhart (2013) opine that organizing assessment helps the teachers to collect the information about teaching-learning and well as the students’ performance to make the certain decision teaching. Assessment in English language teaching has been defined as “involving professional judgment based upon an image formed by the collection of information about student performance” (Stanley, 2019, p. 8). Similarly, Wolf (2020) states that assessments are a critical means of identifying learners and monitoring their achievements. Assessments also play a fundamental role in teaching and learning, since it helps to gather the important information about students’ needs, which helps teachers provide appropriate support and interpret their academic performance accurately. Assessment is one of the important aspects which is being treated as a teaching-learning process as well (Stiggins, 1991). Assessing learners is a very important and essential part of a teacher’s teaching (Nitko, 1996). It is an integrated process for determining the nature and extent of student’s learning and achievement (Linn & Gronland, 2005).
According to Stanley (2019), there are two types of assessment: formative and summative. Assessment can be formative when it is to improve learning and assessment is summative when it is for monitoring and certificating performance or achievement. During the year, formal and informal instances of the formative assessment provide information to Remote Teachers (RTs) and Classroom Teachers (CTs) about student learning so adjustments can be made to teaching.
Assessment is an important aspect of teaching-learning. It offers the teachers to go up to the next class and to figure out whether the students are included. It also helps to get the results of the teaching-learning activities. On the other hand, it makes the teachers ready to take a proficiency test and provide the students the grades.
Research Questions
This study sought to answer the following research questions:
How do English Language teachers assess students in remote teaching-learning?
What challenges do English language teachers face while assessing students in remote teaching-learning?
Methodology
This is a qualitative study that used a collective case study design to explore the questions. According to Stake (1995), a case study is the study of the particularity and complexity of a single case, coming to understand its activity within important circumstances. It helps to collect the information in detail and understand the problem in-depth with its real-life context. The case study design is an important tool for exploring and describing a phenomenon in context while refining theory and identifying areas for more exploration (Yin, 2018). Data were collected from three English Language Teachers of Basic Education Level who were assessing students by using different techniques and tools and while assessing them in remote teaching-learning in one of the schools of Kathmandu Valley. The teachers were a diverse group in terms of their ethnicity, gender, and grade level experiences. I collected data, which included notes of observation and interaction during online classes and interview with synchronous tools like Zoom Cloud Meeting (5 times in total); written reflections for each teacher related to assigned articles, email and Facebook messages correspondence with pupils, and transcriptions of semi-formal small group interviews. I conducted two rounds of interviews individually with teachers and three rounds of interviews in a group. Each interview lasted approximately 40 minutes. I followed them twice a week. The data occurred in two phases. First, I divided the data sets for coding purposes. In this initial phase, I examined individual cases, techniques, and the tools used for assessing the students in remote teaching-learning. Comparing the responses, I coded and analyzed them into the four themes: Observations, Discussion, Feedback, and Self-assessment.
Next, I collectively asked the participants what challenges they were facing while assessing the students in the remote teaching-learning. The responses were kept under different themes in which the individual cases were combined and compared to create a collective case study. After collecting data by qualitative technique, the data were analyzed and interpreted qualitatively. The following sections represent the results obtained from data analysis.
Results and discussion
This study aimed to explore the techniques and tools adopted by English Language teachers for assessing students in remote teaching-learning and to find out the challenges English language teachers face while assessing students in remote teaching-learning. Therefore, the results gained via the interview data were put into two sub-sections: Assessment for learning techniques and Challenges.
Techniques and tools for assessing in remote teaching-learning
This section presents the data derived by observing the English Language Teaching (ELT) class to answer the first research question, exploring the techniques and tools adopted by English Language teachers for assessing students in remote teaching-learning.
Observations
Informal teacher observations: In remote teaching-learning, the teachers were found observing different things in their classes. They observed how well the students managed to focus when doing the tasks. Furthermore, how much time do the students need to do certain tasks? And whether the students were willing to volunteer or respond when called on. The teachers in the interview also added that they observed the students if they were prepared for the task or provide help.
Student-led observations: Teachers assessing English language learners using remote methods checked the students’ autonomy and responsibility in their learning. They were asked to follow the netiquettes as it was remote teaching. They were given responsibilities where they took attendance and gave their opinions on what was happening in the class. Furthermore, they were asked to provide the class report either to the class teacher or the subject teacher.
Discussions
Teacher participants in the interview shared that they assessed the students in remote teaching-learning by giving different learning situations. They assessed through the discussions in the live classes. Discussions were done on the usages of techniques and digital tools by the teachers, about the language usage L1 or L2. In addition to this, the discussion where the students did share in a peer, small group, or the whole class was also assessed. Lastly, the assessment was made when the students were provided with options during controlled practice.
Feedback
Students in remote teaching-learning were assessed based on the feedback given by them. Following things were taken into considerations when assessing the feedback given by them. Students were asked to give feedback when their peers participated or did any work. They would give feedback on their friends’ thinking process, presentation, content, gestures, etc. They were asked to provide positive and critical feedback which could motivate their friends to perform better and which would help to create a healthy atmosphere.
Self-assessment
Self-assessment is another technique used by the teachers to assess English language students in remote teaching. They explained that they used active recall questions to check the students’ progress. The students were asked to do the self-assessments by preparing PowerPoint presentations, using digital tools to do their project works, encouraging them to write journals, blogs, etc. They were also asked to take objective tests with the help of google forms and other online platforms. Furthermore, they were asked to appear for the written subjective tests. Recording the voice or video on any academic topic was promoted which they had to send to the teachers. Finally, some teachers asked them to attend the class on time.
Challenges in assessing students in remote teaching-learning
This section presents the data derived by observing the ELT class to answer the second research question, exploring the challenges and the obstacles faced by the teachers assessing the learners in remote teaching-learning.
Students with the internet issues
The teachers have found that most of the learners had the Internet with low bandwidth. There were also the chances of power cuts and disconnection while taking the synchronous class. The teachers responded that because of low connectivity they had to turn off their camera and be connected with mobile data.
Students with not enough support
The teachers revealed that the students were getting less support from their parents and seniors regarding the use of laptops and digital tools while taking the classes. The children were also less supervised by the parents while taking the classes. There were more chances of getting distracted and being engaged in playing online games.
Widening gaps between students’ proficiency
The teachers explained that there was an individual difference in remote teaching-learning. All the students did not have the same digital literacy and level of competency. The children faced problems while submitting the assignments, communicating with the teachers, and handling the tools.
Difficulty in supporting individuals
It was very time-consuming for the teachers to prepare the lessons and spending more on screen. The teachers had to spend more time preparing PowerPoint presentations and giving feedback to the students because of the technical issues the teachers were unable to give the class and communicate with the learners properly.
Conclusion
The present study investigated the assessment techniques and tools used by the English language teachers for assessing the learning in the remote teaching-learning and the challenges and obstacles faced by the teachers while assessing them in the remote teaching-learning. Results of the study showed that assessment was an integral part of teaching-learning to check the understanding of the subject matter and to evaluate whether the learning goals were achieved or not. The teachers did the planning, implementing, and organizing of the lesson by using digital and printed materials to assess the learners. The teachers engaged the learners in the discussion in the remote learning, observation of the lesson, engaging them in the feedback and self-assessment. While following those techniques, the teachers also encountered challenges related to the technologies and with the students’ well-being.
About the author
Mr. Puskar Chaudhary is an MPhil practitioner at Kathmandu University. He works as a full-time faculty and coordinates with the Digital Literacies Programme at Triyog High School, Tokha, Kathmandu. He is also a life member of Nepal English Language Teachers’ Association (NELTA) and International Association of Teachers of English as a Foreign Language (IATEFL). His current interests include digital pedagogy, digital literacies programme, and teachers’ networking, and professional development.
References
Nitko, A. J. & Brookhart, S. (2013). Educational assessment of students. Pearson.
Belz, J. A. & Thorne, S. L. (2006). Internet-mediated intercultural foreign language education. Thomson Heinle.
Coniam, D. (Ed.). (2014). English language education and assessment: Recent development in Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland. Singapur: Springer-Verlag.
Hill, C. & Parry, K. (2014). From testing to assessment: English an international language (Applied linguistics and language study). Routledge.
Linn, R. L. & Gronland, N.E. (2005). Measurement and assessment in teaching. Pearson Education.
Rahman, M., Babu, R., & Ashrafuzzaman, M. (2011). Assessment and feedback practices in the English language classroom. Journal of NELTA, 16(1-2), 97-106. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.3126/nelta.v16i1-2.6133
Rivera, C. (2006). State assessment policy and practice for English language learners: A national perspective. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Publishers Inc.
Shrestha, P. (2014). Alternative assessment approaches in primary English language classrooms. Journal of NELTA, 18(1-2), 148-163. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.3126/nelta.v18i1-2.10337
Stanley, G. (Ed). (2019). Innovation in education remote teaching. British Council.
Stiggins, R. J. (1991). Relevant classroom assessment training for teachers. educational measurement: Issues and Practice, 10(1), 7-12.
Swertz, C., Motteram, G., Philp, H. & Gonul, S. (2007). Language learning with certified live online language teachers: Teacher Manual. Retrieved from https://www.scribd.com/document/198458088/LANCELOT-Teacher- Manual
Unruh, S. & McKellar, N. A. (2017). Assessment and intervention for English language learners: Translating research into practice. Springer International Publishing.
Whyte, S. & Gijsen, L. (2016) ‘Telecollaboration in secondary EFL: A blended teacher education course. In S. Jager, M. Kurek, and B. O’Rourke, (eds.), New directions in telecollaborative research and practice: selected papers from the second conference on telecollaboration in higher education (pp. 163-170). Research-publishing.net.https://doi.org/10.14705/rpnet.2016. telecollab2016.503
Wolf, M. K. (2020). Assessing English language proficiency in US K-12 Schools. Routledge.
Can be cited as:
Chaudhary, P. (2021, May). Assessing English language learners in remote teaching-learning [Blog article]. ELT CHOUTARI. Available at: https://eltchoutari.com/2021/04/assessing-english-language-learners-in-remote-teaching-learning/
English as a Medium of Instruction (EMI) has become widespread due to globalization and the growing demand of developing nations, particularly in Nepalese public schools which are assumed as a symbol of quality education. This new trend of adopting EMI caught the attention of parents on the impact and changes in education. The study explores the perceptions of parents on the implementation of EMI in public schools through Bourdieu’s lens of the symbolic power of language theory. Based on an in-depth interview with three parents of Kanchanpur, the perceptions on the implementation of EMI in school education are explored. The data analysis reveals EMI is perceived as an investment for developing advanced English skills and an uplifting lifestyle. The result shows EMI is just a fashion and propaganda to increase the number of students. Despite the demand of parents in society, some public schools are switching to EMI without proper preparation. Also, EMI is the preference as a mantra of competition. Findings indicate that the public schools need to close their ears for howling mob i.e. EMI as synonyms of quality education without proper preparation and readiness because hunting needs loaded guns and hunting skills.
Keywords: EMI, fashion, social strata, competition
Introduction
As English is an international language, its use in different areas of social science is growing rapidly all over the world. The use of English from business to education is rapidly increasing. The rapid use of English in different aspects of society is dominating other languages of the world. Further, the English language is becoming a global lingua franca that links critical turns such as globalization, global economy, transnational communication, education, and the Internet (Sah& Li, 2018). Since English is integrated into every aspect of life, it has become obligatory in order to uplift social, economic status in the globe. In this regard, Bourdieu (1993) states English has become one of the best sources of achieving power, linguistic capital, and access. We visualize the choice of English in different schools even in remote areas of the world. With this notion, non-native countries are adopting English as a Medium of Instruction (EMI) though its implementation is great intimidation to the indigenous languages (House, 2014). Its effect is visible in the education sector where these countries are adopting EMI even from the basic level. As a result, English is practiced as an academic subject from the very beginning of formal education (Dearden, 2015), as people assume that EMI provides better socioeconomic mobility (Sah & Li, 2018). So, the hegemony of English is vividly felt in every aspect of social life including school education.
However, EMI is one of the prominent issues in the context of Nepal where private schools have already adopted and public schools have been mushrooming. EMI is taken as the prestige of school though schools are under-resourced (Gnawali, 2018) and lacking will power in real classrooms. Implementing EMI in such a situation has created problems in students learning achievement and creativity. In this regard, Sah and Li (2018) say implementing EMI without proper preparation resulted in negative outcomes: students neither achieve content knowledge nor English language skills. On the contrary, Evans, and Morrison (2016) state the graduates of EMI schools seem more confident in English ability, received superior examination grades, and able to adjust to diverse social contexts. As the entire world has been emphasizing the English language, countries like Nepal, India, Indonesia, and Ghana have been switching towards EMI without proper preparation.
In developing and non-English speaking countries EMI has different faces. As an instance, EMI in Indonesia is taken as a symbol of prestige and power where English Language teachers play an agentive role (Zacharias, 2013) for its promotion. In the same way in Taiwan, students agreed that English instruction helped them improve their English proficiency (Chang, 2010) though, in Pakistan, it was neglected to point its negative effects in mainstream education (Ahmed, 2011). According to Haider and Fang (2019), English is proving linguistic capital for elites although the lack of opportunities in general school leads to failure in professional life in Pakistan. On the other hand in China, Hu, Li,& Lei (2014) portrait EMI as a gatekeeper of access to English and other potential benefits. As English and its use in education have been increasing, many public schools are adopting it massively as a medium of instruction. To put it in a nutshell, in some countries EMI is a boon and for a few others, it’s a bane.
Similarly, parents send their children to private schools in urban areas because of their global status. They are willing to get and give education through EMI, even though they have low economic status. English is synonymously taken as a part of skills development (Erling, 2014) so all parents prefer to send their children to EMI implemented schools. Similarly, English is taken as a superior language and English-educated people are taken as highly prestigious in the society, therefore, parents are demanding EMI even in public schools though policies encourage mother tongue-based multilingual education (Phyak, 2016). This shows the gap between policy and practice. Similarly, implementing EMI created tension among parents having low economic status though they strongly prefer it. In this vain, Poudel (2019), says in the context of Nepal, English is the most influential language among upper and middle classes. It has created the strata in society as EMI educated are taken as superior and Non-EMI educated are as inferior.
However, most of the research on the EMI is primarily focused on teachers’ readiness, policy analysis, the effect of EMI, and students’ demands. The real perceptions of parents from the root level have not been well explored among scholars and policymakers in the context of Nepal. This study, therefore, aimed to explore the perception of parents’ on the implementation of EMI in public schools. It further tried to answer the question ‘how do parents narrate their experiences of sending their children to EMI implemented public school?’
Despite these useful studies, there is still a dearth of research investigating the perceptions of parents on the implementation of EMI in public schools. This study, therefore, aims to explore the perceptions of parents on the implementation of EMI in public schools. This study addresses the following question:
How do parents narrate their experiences of sending their children to EMI implemented public school?’
Reviewing Nepalese language planning and policy status
Language planning is an important process that enhances and reforms the entire linguistic situation of the country. It is also the national or international strategy to promote the selected language(s). Many ups and downs are found in the language planning of our country. Regarding this, Bist (2015) writes that the Nepal National Education Planning Commission (NNEPC) 1953 AD suggested that English needs to be started from grade four to Bachelor level as a compulsory subject. However, through its report in 1956, the commission recommended removing English from the Medium of instruction, which was in practice since the Rana regime.
Furthermore, the Education Act (1971) was amended by The Education and Sports Related Some Nepal Acts Amendment Act (2007) with the policy that the Nepali language or English language or both languages shall be the medium of instruction in a school in its section seven, subsection one. Similarly, in subsection two (a) it is included that the mother tongue may be the medium of instruction up to primary education, and in subsection two (d) we can find the policy of English language medium while teaching a compulsory subject of English. Therefore, this document of the Education Act permits public schools to use English as a medium of instruction while teaching any academic subjects in the schools (Education Act, 1971).
Multilingual Education Directive (2010) declares mother tongue to be the medium of instruction at the pre-primary level and basic level in class (1- 3) to teach all subjects except Nepali and English subjects, and mother tongue or the language of government officials to be medium of instruction at basic (classes 4- 5) level. The Constitution of Nepal (2015) includes the right of every Nepali community living in Nepal to get education in its mother tongue up to the secondary level, in Article No. 31, sub-article No.5 (Constitution of Nepal, 2015). Regarding other language planning documents, Phyak (2016) says if we closely look at the Ministry of Education’s policies and plans such as Education for All, Millennium Development Goals, School Sector Reform Plan, and National Curriculum Framework, it wants to promote multilingual education by considering children’s home/community languages a resource for an equitable and quality education.
Symbolic power of language
The symbolic power of language believes education is one of the most effective means of immortalization of the existing social pattern (Benbenishty et al., 2005). It further gives proper justification for the social inequalities and recognition of the cultural heritage. More specifically, Bourdieu (1977) highlighted the symbolic power of language which is the symbol of imposition. Symbolic power here is a power of constituting given through utterances, of making people see and believe, of confirming or transforming the vision of the world (Loader, 1997). Further, the language given legitimate status involves the claim to be heard, believed, and obeyed and that can exercise its effectiveness and effectiveness of the mechanism (Bourdieu, 1991).
In the context of Nepal, EMI is practiced as a means to gain power in society. In our own experience, a person having good command over English gains high prestige and reputation. As Bourdieu (1977) said that the powerful language imposes different ideologies, the practice is seen in the Nepalese schools by implementing EMI. Existing scenario presents EMI as the symbol of power which controls the social aspects from education to economy. Likewise, EMI has brought strata among the schools in the nation. Schools having EMI tend to be superior than the non-EMI schools. This division is clearly seen in our context. So, analyzing this power play of EMI, Symbolic Power of Language theory was found appropriate in our study.
The review helped us to get an overview of EMI policies in Nepal and it has also revealed the importance of multilingual education in the context of Nepal. As the study aimed to explore the implementation of the English language as a medium of instruction, this review created a base for analyzing the real context which later helped us to frame out our findings. Further, analyzing the present status of local languages and imposition of English from the previous studies created the proper gap and demand to explore more.
Method
As the study aimed to explore subjective realities from the real field, it is qualitative in nature. The site of the study was Kanchanpur (one of the districts of Western Nepal) and three parents whose children study in EMI implemented public school were our participants. To explore their perception of EMI, we chose them purposely. To maintain balance on the existing contemporary strata of the society, we selected one participant from the lower class (Ramesh) level and other two from the middle-class level (Sampurna and Ram).
Ramesh was from a lower-class family, aged in his mid-thirties. He enrolled his children in a public school implementing EMI. He was an auto driver having five members in the family. He had two daughters and a son studying in the same school. Similarly, our second participant Ram was a middle-class man, aged in his mid-fifties. He had stayed in Malaysia for three years and had one daughter who studied in class nine. Earlier, he had enrolled his daughter in a public school where the Nepali medium of instruction was implemented. He did not pay any monthly fees there. After coming back from Malaysia, he preferred to enroll his daughter in a public school where EMI was practiced even by paying. And the third one was Sampurna, a middle-class man with four members in the family having two daughters. He was a farmer and his wife was a housewife. He enrolled both his daughters in public schools where EMI was practiced.
We collected data through in-depth interviews. Moreover, we interviewed them thrice and it was audio-recorded. The first interview created the opportunity for the follow-up interviews which ensured the contextual experiences. We conducted a second round of interviews only after the data from the first phase were categorized into different themes, and the analysis was underway. The frequent informal conversations made our data more lively and interesting. The interpretive paradigm was employed to explore parents’ perceptions of EMI. After that, we coded data using thematic chunks such as English as a fashion, EMI as a symbol of power, and English as a mantra of competition. We developed all those codes after a careful understanding of the collected data. The codes were further put into analytical memos, which depicted emerging themes. These themes were developed on the basis of the research question and objective. As every participant is value-led, we valued the participants’ views and had prolonged engagement during formal interviews and informal tea talks. For ethical issues, we took the consent of the participants and used pseudo names for privacy so that it won’t harm their personal and professional life.
Results and discussion
As this research aimed to explore the perception of parents on implementing EMI in public school, they take it as symbolic power, fashion, and weapon to compete. On the basis of perceptions of the parents their themes were made and discussed in this section.
Power Play of EMI
From the parents’ perspective in Nepal, English is taken as a symbol of power since English education is taken as highly prestigious in society. The success story of private schools has led to many Nepalese parents who preferred an English medium education for their children regardless of their socioeconomic status. In this regard our second participant Ram (pseudonym) shared:
When I was in Malaysia, I came to know the value of English in today’s world. I was thinking of sending my daughter to an elite institutional school but I realized that I could not handle it from an economic perspective. Later, I enrolled her in a public school where EMI is practiced. I am happy right now because my daughter is learning English. I know those people speak English, they get respect in society and they will get jobs very soon.
It is believed that English-educated people are more intelligent and wise in the community though English is not widely accepted in everyday communication. According to Bourdieu (1993) language regulates the power and prestige in society which is seen as practice. In the same line our third participants Sampurna added:
I could not study at the campus level, I had a dream to send my daughters to college for higher education. My friends share that English is very important, the upcoming generation won’t get any job without English. Then only I realized the value of English in each and every sector. Sometimes I spent time with my friends in the teashop, everyone used to talk about their daughters and sons. They feel proud of themselves for sending kids to more expensive schools where English is primarily focused. I also felt that without English, no one would get a job and opportunity in this century. So, I have sent my daughters to public schools where English is prioritized.
Analyzing both of the views above, the English language has a great impact and position in the world so he preferred to send his daughter to EMI School not only for content knowledge but also for the English language. Participants believed EMI is very important in school education, it has increased the number of students in public schools and they know the value of the English language. They believed that English promotes prestige in the community and EMI helps students to facilitate the learning of content and English skills (Sah, 2020). It has become such a well-adopted medium of instruction in higher education in Nepal. Despite having low economic status, people show keen interest to enroll their children in English medium school because they know that English is a powerful language. Likewise, looking at it from the symbolic power perspective, lower class, marginalized and disadvantaged groups of people try to uplift their status with the use of powerful language (Bourdieu, 1993) i.e. English in the Society.
This shows EMI in today’s demand in developing countries like Nepal. So, English is for economic development, social mobility, and participation in the global economy (Bruthiaux, 2002) as English has achieved global status. English is taken as a weapon in order to bring happiness to family and community and uplift the socio-economic status of the people.
Fashion in the market
EMI is growing as a kind of fashion. This fashion is linked to “cultural capital” in a globalized society where parents of public schools want to switch schools (Lareau & Horvat, 1999). As new fashion first attracts the attention of the people who are not in the habit of being changed i.e. lower-class people, the same group of people are more attracted to enroll their children in EMI schools. In this regard, Bourdieu (1997) states cultural capital consists of familiarity with the dominant culture in society and especially the ability to understand and use “educated” language, and here in the community English is accepted as an educated language. In this line Ramesh provoked:
I have never ever studied English in my life. Nowadays, we are bound to learn English. My daughter always forced me to send her to an English medium school. The prime reason was that her best friends study in English medium school. In my locality, no one studies in public schools where the Nepali medium is practiced. Those incidents compelled me to enroll her in an English medium school. And we are happy for EMI in public school.
In the same line, Ram the first participant put forwarded his view as:
I see everyone sending children to the boarding school with well-ironed dresses and ties. This really touches the heart and made me feel like sending children to boarding school. This is a new culture now. Everyone sends children to boarding school even if they don’t have food to eat. Except for English, there is not much change in education but also everybody’s wish.
Participants believed that English provides a better academic and professional career in national and international arenas. Similarly, people believe they are inferior if they don’t study or educate their children in English Medium.
This is because, to some extent, receiving English instruction at a younger age gives sound input and proficiency (Bahrani & Sim, 2012). Participants and children believed that switching to EMI responded to the demand of the present day and would not be dominated by other colleagues in the community. This demand and wish of English from the point of view of symbolic power theory, has been developing and promoting the status of lower and middle-class people. The representational practice of English in education helps in achieving power in society (Hall, 1997). It is how an exhibition constructs and persuades meaning through demonstrating a path through meaning. It is believed that everyone is running behind English because of its popularity.
Mantra of competition
Many public schools have been opting towards EMI to compete with the institutional schools as well as other public EMI schools. The reason behind this is that the number of students is also decreasing day by day. Participants opined that EMI is just for competition rather than collaboration and quality education. In this regard, Ram said:
I have earned a BA in English. After that, I could not get a chance to resume my study because of family problems. Nowadays, I have been engaging in small businesses. Currently, I see that many public schools are switching to EMI. I confidently say that it is a big issue in today’s school education system. In public school, some teachers cannot even read accurately, how can they teach students effectively? There is not any sort of training and enough teaching materials. I believe that this is just for increasing the number of students by showing advertisements for EMI.
In the perceptions of common people, public schools are switching to EMI only just for the sake of advertisement so that they could increase the number of students although the teachers’ readiness, training, and proficiency are in debate. They have a motto to compete with children in the international market with the English language. In the same way, Sampurna viewed, “ Students having good English can tackle problems in the modern age.” He further added, “We were not educated with English so we are facing so many challenges in the digital era. So I send my children to EMI school”. So, the symbolic power (Bourdieu, 1997) of EMI as a linguistic capital is to compete with institutional schools in national and international markets.
It is evident that some public schools are switching to EMI without enough preparation and infrastructure (Sah & Li, 2018). With the motto of competition, many public schools have been implementing EMI but the part of proper preparation and readiness is not properly studied. This resulted in fragmentation in the result. In this regard, Sah and Li (2018) further believed students developed neither content knowledge nor English language skills. This vividly presents the lack of proper preparation and ineffectiveness of EMI in public schools even spending a huge amount of economic and other efforts. Similarly, EMI created the strata among the students in terms of the economy and social status. In the name of English, there has been a stratum of educational division and injustice for the children who are from a lower socioeconomic status and are not able to get access to EMI (Kuchah, 2018). This brings conflict among different ethnic groups in the community. In this line, Sampurna added, “English is a fake myth it does provide quality education but only attract the attention”. Students willing to have education in EMI are compelled to face psychological effects due to poor economic background as education in EMI is expensive, though EMI was taken as a strategy to sell the tag of EMI education in the linguistic market (Bourdieu, 1977). In a nutshell, EMI is just a showcase to increase the students in school rather than providing quality education.
Conclusion
The study employing Bourdieu’s (1977) symbolic power of language theory looked at the perceptions of parents on the implementation of EMI in school education. As the data revealed parents idealised EMI as a symbol of power and linguistic capital to develop English skills through its real flavour is not achieved because of the lack of preparation and readiness. Switching to EMI without enough preparation and supervision, under-resourced conditions, and improper lead resulted in students’ low proficiency in both English and non-English subjects. On the other hand, it was found EMI in public schools is just propaganda to collect more students which creates a problem for lower and middle-class people as it is more expensive. As this study was limited to the perceptions of parents in a district, future research can be in unpacking the critical analysis of EMI practices and their effect on classroom and students’ achievements in different parts of the country.
About the authors
Mr. Dipak Prasad Mishra is a research Scholar at Kathmandu University, School of Education. Mr. Mishra is Head of the Department of English at Valley View English School. He is a Life Member of the Nepal English Language Teachers’ Association (NELTA). Mr. Mishra is interested in learners’ autonomy and critical thinking.
Mr. Surendra Bhatt is an MPhil Scholar at Kathmandu University, School of Education. Currently, he is the head of the English Department at Charles Darwin Academy (Management College). Life Member of the Nepal English Language Teachers’ Association (NELTA), Mr. Bhatt is an executive member of the Geo-linguistics Society of Nepal. Deputy Academic Director of ISTER Nepal, Mr. Bhatta keeps interests in teacher well-being and teacher professional development.
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Can be cited as:
Mishra, D.K. & Bhatt, S. (2021, May). English medium instruction in school education: Parents’ perspectives [Blog article). ELT CHOUTARI. Available at: https://eltchoutari.com/2021/04/english-medium-instruction-in-school-education-parents-perspectives/
This article attempts to explore how the local contents in ELT materials can be utilized to enhance patriotism among English language learners in Nepal. The purpose of this study was to explore how the local contents in ELT materials support to enhance patriotism. By employing a phenomenological design of qualitative research with purposive sampling, the three graduate level English language learners were interviewed to collect the information for this research. Collecting audio-recorded interviews, the information was coded, analyzed, and interpreted thematically linking the information with relevant theories and previous studies. The results of this study indicate that the local contents and the texts of Nepali English writers’ in ELT materials and English courses can contribute to enhance patriotism among Nepali English language learners. This study also signals that all the stakeholders of Nepal’s ELT such as curriculum planners, course designers, and textbook writers should maximise the contents from Nepali contexts and culture in ELT course in Nepal.
Keywords: Patriotism, Local contents, Nepal-based contents, and Nepali English learners
Introduction
In this rapidly materialized era, education system of the country can play a major role to strengthen patriotic feelings in its citizens. In the context of Nepal, the local contents in ELT can contribute to orient students towards working for the welfare of their nation. Recently, the government of Nepal has released the actual map including the Nepali territories Kalapani, Lipulekh, and Limpiyadhura that lie in the east of the Mahakali River. This new map is included in our recently published school-level English textbooks which is highly appreciable. Similar initiatives and the contents from Nepali contexts and culture can contribute to enhancing patriotism among students in ELT classroom.
ELT in Nepal should go beyond the teaching of how to listen, speak, read, and write in English. ELT should include how to reform society, preserve our own culture, and enhance patriotism. Nussbaum (2013, p. 3) focused on “an education that cultivates the ability to see full and equal humanity in another person, perhaps one of humanity’s most difficult and fragile achievements.” ELT should primarily promote Nepal-based knowledge and culture. Giri (2015) asserts that English has become an indispensable part of life for the Nepali people in recent years. As English is introduced more and more early and widely, the contents in ELT materials should be carefully selected and graded to promote Nepali cultures and languages.
As far as my knowledge is concerned, there is scarcity of studies conducted in this area connecting patriotism with ELT in the context of Nepal. Therefore, perceiving this gap in the literature, I conducted this research so that it could help the major stakeholders especially English curriculum planners, English syllabus designers, and English textbook writers of Nepal to design curriculum and syllabuses to address this issue in the future.
Purpose of the study
The purpose of this study is to explore how the local contents in ELT can be utilized to strengthen patriotism in English language learners. This study specifically aims to explore the perceptions of Nepali English language learners on ELT in the light of patriotism.
Research question
This study aims to answer the following question:
What are the perceptions of Nepali English language learners on ELT and patriotism?
Theoretical framework
Taking constructivism as a philosophical standpoint for this study, I take Vygotsky’s socio-cultural theory as a main theoretical base and ‘patriotism’ (Bar-Tal & Staub, 1997) as supportive theory.
Vygotsky advocates for socially constructed knowledge that can be obtained in society. In this sense, learning is considered a social process. Therefore, social phenomena and events have a significant role in learning a native or a foreign language. Learners live in their own societies; they have the feeling of intimacy with one another and they have deep love and respect for their society and geography. As Vygotsky considers learning as a social activity and the knowledge is socially constructed through interaction among the learners in social settings. Therefore, Vygotsky’s theory is widely popular in the sector of educational research which seems to be very useful in socially situated investigations of educational development and transformation (Marginson & Dang 2017). Furthermore, education should bring reformation in the mindset of learners to unite the nation in this rapidly globalized educational world.
According to Karsten (1908, p. 61), “For patriotism is not only a legitimate instinct of every healthy human being; it is the sacred duty of every citizen.” Kodelja (2019) highlighted that education and patriotism are closely connected to the learners. Therefore, patriotism can be taken as an indispensable part of the citizens’ life and this feeling is important and should be spread among the learners.
Methods
I conducted this research by using the phenomenological design of qualitative research. I collected the data required for this study using the unstructured interview technique from the Master’s level English language learners from Kailali district ranging from 25 to 30 years age. They were selected using the purposive sampling technique. They are mentioned as participant A, participant B, and participant C in this research. They were informed before, after, and during the research process about the aim of the research. Using two-step procedures, firstly, the information was collected, and secondly, it was analyzed by making different themes.
Tools
The information collection instrument consisted of background interviews and open-ended oral questions which were answered orally. The background interview covered the questions about their name, experiences, and present level of study. Mainly open-ended interviews were conducted by including research questions relevant to this study. The participants were asked to express their ideas and views on enhancing patriotism through ELT. Their views were audio recorded and transcribed.
Results and discussions
The results of the qualitative analysis are reported in three main themes: a) Patriotism as a backbone of Nepali ELT and learning, b) Patriotism as a lifeline of Nepali English language learners, and c) Patriotism as a guideline of Nepali ELT and learning.
Patriotism as a backbone of Nepali ELT and learning
When the researcher asked the question related to the connection of ELT and patriotism, participant A stated, “English is one of the foreign languages for Nepal. It is a language . . . for communication with foreigners. I hope we don’t forget our originality. For that the connection of patriotism with English language is essential.” Therefore, Nepal-based contents should be highly valued and included in both school-level and higher-level ELT materials. By including such contents in the materials, ELT classes can contribute to enhance love towards nation and its culture to the students. Saud (2020) stresses that the inclusion of local writings in academic courses will help to protect Nepali diverse cultures and the Nepali English literature will gain a new height. In fact, through the translation in English, we can showcase our culture and diversity globally.
Likewise, participant B expressed “In my view, without patriotism, the use of foreign language becomes meaningless. I don’t want to learn English to make my country a foreign land for me.” As participant B expresses ELT materials must include the local texts and foster the feelings of belongingness to the texts in the classroom. Therefore, English materials should prioritize patriotism in its contents, which can contribute to a dignified life of students in modern society.
Similarly, the participant C clearly stated “Where I was born and . . . where I stand determines patriotism. It is a backbone of English language teaching and learning and English should be taught and learned in this way. This is my understanding.” From the view of participant C, it is clear that patriotism should be the backbone of ELT materials and teaching- learning. Therefore, English can also be used as a tool to make Nepal known to the world. Saud (2020) states that ELT should be culturally sensitive and socially responsive valuing multicultural contexts. Eventually, patriotic contents help to strengthen any sort of solidarity for the welfare of the country and its people.
Patriotism as a lifeline of Nepali English language learners
Many Nepali learners are interested in English language learning due to its dominance in the whole world. However, many learners are leaving the country after learning English. Through the inclusion of patriotic contents, ELT materials can help to strengthen the students’ love towards the nation.
When the researcher asked another question regarding Nepal-based contents in English textbooks, participant A replied “In my opinion, the texts in English textbooks that we study are written by foreign writers. We should promote English texts written by Nepali writers. I think patriotism should be the lifeline for us.” Participant A reveals the status and representation of texts in our ELT materials and textbooks. In response to a similar question, the participant B opined:
In some English textbooks, I find some contents related to Nepal which we count on fingers. However, I think these are good signs of hope. Some of the Nepali English textbook writers prioritize Nepal-based content in English which is appreciable. I think so.
Participant B acknowledges the inclusion of local texts in ELT materials and is hopeful to increase in future. It certainly signals a ray of hope, but the proportion of the local texts, discourse and culture should increase in ELT materials. Saud (2020) states that a language reflects culture. However, different cultures can also be reflected in one language. Likewise, participant C expressed “The amount of local contents is very minimal. English writers of Nepal . . . attention, please. Without knowing Nepal, how do we promote patriotism?” Considering the opinion of participant C, patriotism can be promoted if the learners know Nepal and its cultures, and students get to know more about their country and culture, if they are exposed to more reading materials with local contents and cultures.
Furthermore, the participant A (being energetic) replied “If some lessons related to Nepal are included in the textbooks, it really helps to enhance patriotism in the learners. It’s essential.” From the view of this participant, it can be inferred that the lessons related to Nepal play a great role to enhance the patriotic feeling in Nepali learners of English. Similar is the opinion of the participant B, who stressed “We must learn Nepali contents and culture in English language classroom and live in Nepal being Nepali not only in the heart but also in mind.”
Likewise, the participant C replied, “If patriotic, cultural and social contents are included in the English textbook, learners become curious and show interest in English language learning.” The view of participant C also indicates the necessity of Nepali contents in English textbooks which helps to enhance not only patriotism but also facilitate learning English with ease. When the learners find the texts and contents from their local culture, it is easy for them to comprehend, as a result, their learning gets better.
Patriotism as a guideline of Nepali ELT and learning
Generally, common people believe that English is learned to go to a foreign country and earn money. It may be true to some extent, but it can also be learned to spread our history, culture, art, and knowledge in the different parts of the world.
In response to one of the researcher questions, the participant A says:
Let me talk about higher education. In English literature, many stories, poems, dramas, and novels written by foreigners are included in the course, but the texts created or written by Nepali writers are neglected . . . the textbook writers should include the creation of Nepali writers that represent patriotism. It can give Nepali flavor in English language teaching and learning.
We can take the gist from participant A’s view that Nepali texts should be included in English materials, which is the need of time. Therefore, the texts of Nepali writers’ should be given priority in English textbooks. Saud (2020) urges the material developers to value local culture and include more and more local contents and texts in the materials in future. In response to a similar question, participant B expressed “In my opinion, English should be used to strengthen our country. English language should be utilized to strengthen our relations with us and others. I think . . . patriotism is a guideline for English language teaching and learning in Nepal.” The intention of participant B is that English can strengthen our internal and international relations. For that, patriotism can be taken as a guideline to ELT and learning of Nepal. In this sense, English can strengthen our country.
Bhandari (2016) argues that teaching English in multilingual and multicultural contexts in Nepal can be considered as one of the major challenges in ELT. Teachers can play a significant role to minimise it as Giri (2020) advocates that English teachers can play an important role minimize the hegemonic influence of native speakers. The hegemonic mindset can also be changed if Nepali contents get space in the ELT of Nepal.
Answering a similar question, participant C stated “ELT in Nepal should be focused on Nepali contents and contexts. At least fifty percent contents must be related to Nepal and should be included in English courses.” In participant C’s opinion, it can be inferred that Nepali contents should be kept at the centre of the ELT and learning of Nepal. Furthermore, Giri (2020) clearly mentions an example of whether the lesson is about ‘pollution’, the materials used should be the ones that are written about their own cities. Therefore, Nepal-based content should be included in the ELT of Nepal to enhance patriotism among the learners.
In this post-method era of language teaching and learning, socio-cultural contents get focused to enhance patriotism through the ELT of Nepal. Kumaravadivelu (2001, p. 545) stresses that “post method pedagogy rejects the narrow view of language education that confines itself to the linguistic functional elements that obtain inside the classroom.” As ELT is an educational activity, relevant content should be added as per the necessity of the country.
Conclusion
The inclusion of local texts, discourse and contents in ELT materials can enhance patriotism by making learners aware of their nation and culture. Learning a foreign language is a right of learners, whereas being patriotic is a duty of a responsible citizen. The results show that Nepal-based contents should be prioritized for enhancing patriotism in Nepali learners in general and Nepali English language learners in particular. As the contents are significant rather than who has written the texts and where the texts have been written. However, it is also true that the texts produced in one’s context and culture are more comprehensible, readable, and learnable for the learners. Furthermore, the results of this study also indicate that the texts written by Nepali English authors should be included in school and university level English courses which help to strengthen patriotism to a greater extent.
The author: Mr. Bhan Singh Dhami is an M. Ed. fourth semester student of Kailali Multiple Campus, Dhangadhi, Kailali under Tribhuvan University of Nepal. He has been teaching since 2006 AD. Currently, he is a secondary level English teacher at Shree Khare Secondary School Gaurishankar RM -8, Dolakha. His areas of interest are academic writing, creative writing, English Language Teaching (ELT), learner autonomy, teacher identity and teacher professional development.
Bhandari, B. (2016). Teaching English in Multilingual and Multicultural Contexts in Nepal. Tribhuvan University Journal, 30(2), 17-24. https://doi.org/10.3126/tuj.v30i2.25542
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Can be cited as: Dhami, B. S. [2021, May]. Enhancing patriotism through English language teaching and learning in Nepal. ELT CHOUTARI. Available at: https://eltchoutari.com/2021/04/enhancing-patriotism-through-the-local-contents-in-elt-materials/
