Problems in Teaching English in Schools

            English as a subject in the school curriculum is given great prominence by the authorities. Its study is compulsory for every one.  Naturally there are good many teachers of this subject in the schools.  But it is rather sad to note that there is something wrong with the teaching of English in Indian schools.  The Standards of English are fast deteriorating.  What makes us feel like that?  If we compare the graduate of today with the graduate of a few years back, we notice the marked difference.  That graduate was much better.  Shall we say that there is something wrong with the learning of English?  The fact is that the standards are rather disappearing.  The conditions under which English is being taught in the schools are far from satisfactory.  The following points highlight the fact:

i) Lack of Purpose

The teachers in the schools teach English and the learners learn English but none of them is fully clear about the real purpose of teaching-learning English.  They are not clear about the aims of teaching English. The teacher is like a sailor who does not know his destination and the pupil is like a rudderless vessel which may be drifted along any ashore.

ii) Incompetent Teachers

Many teachers of English who are teaching the subject are not competent.  Very few of them are really competent for teaching this subject.  They have defective pronunciation.  They have hardly a satisfactory command over English.  With the lapse of time, we find that now better qualified teachers are available.  But in basic qualification they are lacking all the more.Their knowledge of English is inadequate.

iii) Faulty Methods of Teaching

The method of teaching English adopted in the schools are quite defective.  The translation method is used almost in all the schools.  The teachers do not show any interest in acquiring knowledge about the latest methods of teaching the subject.  Then they encourage the students for cramming the material.  In short, the composition is dictated by the teacher, the textbooks translated into mother tongue and the entire emphasis is on passing the examination through the magic wand of cramming.

iv) Faulty Examination system

 The students as well as the teachers have become examination minded.  They do every thing for the sake of examination.  The paper setter, the examiner, the teacher etc., don't bother about real teaching-learning of language. The paper setter sets the question paper and only tests the crammed knowledge of the learner.  So everybody ignores this important aspect of learning the language.  The fear of the examination remains taxing for the teachers and the students.  There is hardly any learning in the real sense of word.

v) Faulty Textbooks

The prescribed textbooks of English suffer in many ways.  A number of students find themselves in troubles while reading these books.  The subject teachers also finds many shortcomings in them. The vocabulary, the structures also present difficulties to the learners.  The students hardly feel any attraction for the subject matter contained in the books.

vi) Faulty Syllabus 

The prescribed syllabus of English for different school classes are not satisfactory.  They are not related to the surroundings of the learners. The students are able to pass the examinations but in their real life situations, they can hardly make use of anything learn by them.  In their schools, they learn many essays, stories, letters but in real life situations, they find it hard to write a simple application.

vii) Neglect of Correction Work

In the teaching of a language, correction work is of great importance.  For teaching a foreign language like English, correction work becomes all the more important.  But we find that very little attention is paid to it. The school authorities don't care for it.  In their over-busy schedule of work, the teachers are not able to do justice to their duty of correction work.  All this results into deterioration in the learning of English by the students.

viii) Lack of Research

Teaching-learning process needs continuous overhauling.  The drawbacks in the teaching-learning of English may be many, but their solutions need be thought of.  Who should do this? The teachers of English, the research minded scholars can do it.  A good teacher does not teach the same thing in the same way year after year.  He is always on the look out for introducing new things in new ways.  In this fast changing age of science and technology, research on the part of the teachers is very essential.  But we find that the teachers are not able to carry on any research.  The lack of research deteriorates the situations.

           Thus we find that the conditions under which English is being taught in the Schools are not satisfactory.  The different factors should be checked properly.  All efforts should be made to remedy the drawbacks.  Only then the deteriorating situations will improve. 

                                                                                               P. RAVISANKAR

                                                                                               DEPT. OF ENGLISH