Studies in ELT and Applied Linguistics

Editorial Vol.1(1)

Bal Mukunda Bhandari — 2021-10-31

No abstract available.

Immense Power of English Language: Shall our Teachers Exploit or Avoid it?

Govinda Raj Bhattarai — 2021-10-31

We have realized the importance of English. About 150 years of English courses in Nepal has proved this. Yet we have not reached the desired level of it. All the efforts made by Nepal English Language Teachers' Association (NELTA) are to promote and improve English in terms of its quality and quantity both. We need more English, better English, faster and deeper every decade at the cost of the national language. Even we need it at the cost of the languages of the nation. They have already suffered a great loss by yielding before English at the cost of everything, specially, the culture. But our efforts are focused on a stereotype of English, teaching some rules of second language teaching and learning. Underpinned heavily by theories of educational psychology, our English teaching is rule governed so our students do not see, feel, and touch the depth of real English. That is, because our focus is on teaching a special kind of English that is constrained to grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation. All structural things, all basic. Other nations have exploited English for diverse purposes. One among them being reading and writing; creative works and practicing translation of our languages. Thus, in this short write up, I have traced the importance of English to Nepalese learners in its different dimensions of use.

(In)effective Thesis Writing and Supervision: (Lost) Opportunity for Learning

Madhu Neupane Bastola — 2021-10-31

Correction: The first author's name was mis-spelt on the webpage. On 18th November 2021, 'Bastika' was changed to 'Bastola'. The PDF remains correct.

Thesis writing requires a wide range of reading, the skill of critiquing, a good skill of academic writing, and a proper collaboration of student and supervisor; however, it is poorly understood, less explored, and replete with problems. In this paper, we present the merits of thesis writing, supervisors' and students' commonly held perceptions, the effectiveness of supervisory feedback, and the value of student engagement. Then we present two components of thesis writing (i.e., introduction and literature review, including theoretical framework). Considering the need of the novice researchers (i.e., master's students) who are writing their thesis for the first time, we present these two components' introduction and provide suggestions for supervisors. We also present commonly used language features and examples. This paper is expected to be beneficial to students and supervisors alike.

Developing and Implementing Mother-tongue Education Policy in Minority Speech Communities in Nepal: Issues and Challenges

Dan Raj Regmi — 2021-10-31

This paper examines some major issues and challenges in developing and implementing mother-tongue education policy in minority speech communities in Nepal. It also suggests some strategies based on field studies for meeting those challenges. In minority speech communities, constituting more than 55% of total population and speaking around 70 languages, despite attempts made by governmental and non-governmental agencies, multilingual education has not yet become accessible it is mainly due to the lack of operational mechanism in education policy. Till today, thousands of children of non-Nepali speaking communities are compelled to be instructed in Nepali and use the textbooks written in Nepali. This has resulted in class repetition, high dropout and very low quality at primary levels.

The case studies made in Western Tamang and Rajbansi have explored a number of challenges as well as some way-outs for effective implementation of mother-tongue education policy in such communities. First and foremost, the roles of mother tongue, Nepali and English have not yet been fully justified. In most of the minority speech communities, there is only sentimental attitude towards their mother tongue. Most of the MLE programmes have been commenced without conducting need assessment (Regmi, 2019). There is a lack of appropriate textbooks and reading materials incorporating local cultures and life crucial knowledge embodied in language. Due to the lack of trained and motivated teachers, programmes so far implemented are also facing the problem of quality maintenance. Thus, a promising and inclusive multilingual education policy should be developed and implemented for maintaining the sustainability of MLE programmes in minority speech communities in Nepal.

Language and Style of Sunetra Gupta’s Fictional Narratives

Maswood Akhter — 2021-10-31

My aim in this paper is to offer a critical discussion on certain linguistic and stylistic aspects in the fictional pieces by Sunetra Gupta, an important Bengali diaspora author based in Oxford. In her debut novel, ‘Memories of Rain’ as well as in her others, Gupta effortlessly intersperses prose with poetry; her writing is complex, fusing stream of sensuous poetic imagery with stream of consciousness. A powerful delivery of interior monologue, figurative language, and continuous time-shifts invites the novelist’s comparison with Virginia Woolf. Memory becomes a vital player in many of her novels, be it Memories of Rain, Moonlight into Marzipan or So Good in Black. Giving it the centre stage automatically leads her towards an experimental narrative technique, since memory – a highly subjective and elastic category blending fantasy with the past – keeps intervening in the linear flow of the plot. Interestingly, her stream-of-consciousness technique transforms language and punctuation marks from normative linguistic symbols into poignant emotional tools. By exploring the limits of ambiguity in language, as I argue here, Gupta has evolved a personal literary idiom in which prose is pushed into a territory formerly accessible only to poetry. The issue of intertextuality is also discussed, with special reference to Memories of Rain where the influence and interplay of diverse texts provide the novelists context and meaning, and shape its narrative and characters.

Ecological Approach to the Second Language (L2) Teaching and Nepali English Teachers

Vishnu S. Rai — 2021-10-31

Ecological approach to L2 teaching is based on the concept of language ecology. In this ever changing world nothing is static. After so many approaches, methods, views, and ideas, ecological approach has made its appearance on the ELT stage. The approach is new to many Nepali English teachers who equate it with teaching ecology through the English language. The present paper explores the origin of the approach, shows differences between ecological approach to L2 (English) from teaching ecology through English, presents situation of language ecology, and ELT in Nepal, and suggests what could be possibly the best ways to teach English in Nepal.

Developing Language Skills through Students’ Quality Circle (SQC) Way: An Innovative Approach to Language Teaching and Learning

Lekhnath Pathak — 2021-10-31

This article proposes SQC framework for English language education. The meaningful context in which the language activities take place as the students work through the cycle of problem solving provides rich opportunity to develop their language skills. Theoretical, conceptual and historical background and framework, stages of SQC case study, tools and techniques used in problem solving to develop the students’ personality, language and SQC interface and sample SQC case study have been discussed in this paper. The potential of SQC leading to TQC for professional development and its potential to inform and refine the ELT curriculum has been proposed. The systematic and scientific approach that SQC adopts has tremendous future potentials in academia.

Creative Learning: A Gateway to Professional Development

Shiv Ram Pandey — 2021-10-31

This article presents insights on creative learning. It briefly describes the types of creative learning and ways to learning creatively. It discusses the usefulness of creative learning and ends with highlighting the need for creative learning on the part of children, students, teachers and the other individuals. It is truly an enabling, encouraging, engaging and inspiring activity on the part of learners. Creativity cultivates crucial capacity and commitment to learn and earn more conducive knowledge, skills and attitudes.

Impact of Social Networking Sites on Students’ Learning English Language at Tertiary Level in Bangladesh

A.K.M. Iftekharul Alam Chowdhury — 2021-10-31

With the advancement in technology, Social Networking Sites (SNS) are being used by millions of students in Bangladesh for various purposes. People use SNS for communication, interaction' sharing posts, photos, videos; creating blogs, sending messages, and for real time conversations (Zaidieh, 2012). Students can learn their target language through SNSs as these platforms engage students more and inspire them. Moreover, the usage of SNSs minimises learners’ fear and nervousness and authority of the instructor (Gilbert, Fiske, & Lindzey, 1998; Beauvois, 1998, cited in Millis, 2011). Moreover, an opportunity of interaction for both teachers and students is ensured through authentic tasks and materials which promote constructivist learning through meaningful communication (Woo, Herrington, Agostinho, & Reeves, 2007). This study has explored the impact of SNS in learning English at tertiary level. So, it focuses on the effects of Social Networking Sites in language learning platform, developing reading, writing, listening and speaking skills and creating ease to teachers and learners in English has been examined in this study. To investigate this, I implemented quantitative research method with 120 students studying Honour’s in English Language and Literature at Public, National and Private Universities. Forty students were selected randomly from each of the university category. All the students were surveyed by using close-ended questionnaire and later descriptive statistical method was used to analyse the data. Despite having hesitation of communicating with each other, it is clearly evident that students use SNS mainly Facebook to improve their language skills.

Teachers’ Beliefs on Students’ Home Language as a Resource in EFL Classroom

Uma Nath Sharma — 2021-10-31

This is the age of multilingual turn. It advocates the inclusion of indigenous languages that the children bring to school from home as resource. At present, use of students’ home language as a resource in teaching and learning of a new language has become a vexing issue. The teachers’ beliefs on any issue determine the types of teaching learning activities that they use in the classroom. In this context, this paper aims at exploring the Nepalese English language teachers’ beliefs regarding the use of students’ home language in English as a foreign language (EFL) classroom, and why or how they form their respective beliefs. For this, I collected data from five ‘Grade ten’ English language teachers of different community schools in Kathmandu, taking in-depth interview with them. The data were analyzed qualitatively creating themes. The analysis shows that the English language teachers regard home language as a resource in EFL classroom, and they do so on the basis of their own theoretical understanding and practical experience in teaching.

Pedagogical Experience of Classroom Teachers in English as a Medium of Instruction

Suresh Kumar Shrestha — 2021-10-31

English as a medium of instruction (EMI), especially at public schools, is a matter of curiosity and exploration among Nepalese academicians and researchers, as it is already in policy and practice with the growing number of public schools implementing it. Therefore, it is essential to explore the perceptions and experiences of all the stakeholders in Nepal to address the issues of EMI in the local context. The article outlines teachers’ experiences of EMI in classes in the Nepalese multilingual context. It builds upon the experiences of three teachers teaching several subjects including English at private and public EMI schools. The semi-structured written interviews were employed to collect required data. The teachers’ experiences have been presented in four aspects: teaching techniques, achievements, challenges and strategies disclose the hopes and challenges both the teachers and students including parents and school administration experience. The findings hint the imperativeness of discussions at different levels from locals to policy makers for the proper understanding and management of EMI at schools.

Grade 12 Students’ Leaving Essay Questions Unsolved in the Exam: A Phenomenological Study

Banshidhar Joshi — 2021-10-31

This paper focuses on the issue of grade 12 students’ leaving essay type questions unsolved in the examinations. The main objective of this paper is to explore the causes of leaving essay type questions unsolved and to explore the effective ways of solving the issue. As my study is guided by interpretive paradigm, it demands qualitative research design to explore the multiple realities through the methods of questionnaire and in-depth interview. One of the exam centers of Bajhang district was selected as research site. In this study, 10 students, from different schools attending their final exam at a school, were selected as sample by using purposive sampling strategy. They were assigned questionnaire to fill up and one secondary level English teacher was interviewed on the issues raised in the study. Teachers’ negligence in teaching composition, lack of sufficient time for teaching, lack of practice in classroom, and students’ poor performance in writing from the very beginning are found as the main causes. The findings show that overall scenario of teaching composition in school level is not encouraging.

Analysis of Grade 10 English Textbook with Reference to Curriculum and Examination

Laxman K.C. — 2021-10-31

This paper entitled “Analysis of Grade 10 English textbook with reference to curriculum and examination” was an attempt to explore the relationship among curriculum, text book and examination system. It aims to explore the contents in the textbook which were assumed by curriculum and evaluation procedures specified in the examination system. The contents and exposure sufficiency to develop intended language competency in learners were attempted to analyze. Another important concern of this paper was to explore the opinions of school level English teachers, who are the keys to materialize the textbook in relation to curriculum and examination system. Phenomenological research design was used in the study and the data was collected through interview, group discussion and interaction. The collected data were critically analyzed by developing themes. The findings of the study depict that there is insufficiency of the contents in the prescribed textbook for grade 10 in the experience of teachers and students. Similarly, they also noted that the contents are not suffice to achieve the objectives of the curriculum.

Translanguaging in Higher Education

Tanka Silwal — 2021-10-31

Teachers’ pedagogical practices have vital role to cater the students’ achievement in education in general and in language (here English) education in particular. This study aims to explore English language teachers’ pedagogical practices with special reference to translanguaging. I employed qualitative research design for the study. The participants of the study were four community college teachers and six students of Dhading district. For the collection of the data, I observed four classes of each teacher; interviewed with the same teachers; and organized focus group discussion with the students. The findings were discussed under eight headings thematically. The conclusion of findings indicates that translanguaging can be a useful pedagogy even in the higher education. Hence, it has been recommended that the English language practitioners can conduct large scale studies on the relevance of translanguagins in higher education.