How teachers can make it easier for students grappling with English as the language of instruction
Karthik Swaminathan
Learning in English medium schools is a challenge for many learners. They experience
difficulty understanding some subjects. This may be because the vast majority of learners are non-native English users and people think that learning in a native language may cause
trouble during higher studies as modern science, technology, medicine, business and
management studies are in English.
Further, business and trade have assumed bigger dimensions in recent times. Globalisation and internet have played a large role in English taking the role of a connecting language. In spite of English’s standing as a global link language, learning in it causes a large number of pupils anxiety and restricts even meritorious students from getting higher grades.
English is known for its versatility, meeting the growing demands of the world community. It has been an adaptable language all along the ages. Hundreds of new words are being added from all walks of life. New vocabulary for ever-developing science and technologies and words from other languages are selectively included. Researchers and linguistic scholars have extensively researched second language acquisition and found ways to acquire language skills. Research has been conducted to find better ways to teach
students subjects in English. Though teachers in English medium schools are
experienced in teaching English as a subject and can teach various subjects in English, they
often fail in contributing to the understanding of non-native English medium students. This
inadequacy can be dealt with by recasting lesson plans based on the students’ understanding and ability.
Identifying students’ pain areas is one of the foremost responsibilities of a teacher. To
trace and to eliminate them, teachers have to set out a threefold dynamic testing and
execution programme. Students can be tested on their knowledge of science or any other subject they study by being administered objective tests that contain technical terms, phrases and important concepts matching them with explanations. These tests may be helpful to improve their understanding of subjects and make them competent.
Lengthy texts, phrases and concepts may be explained by splitting them up into meaningful components and defining them by using long explanations. A book of simplified explanations of technical terms may be helpful or teachers may build a collection of select terminologies with explanations. Students can be taught different types of vocabulary forms and their relative meaning based on the context. Tools can be devised to help students learn subjects using reading comprehension-based questions and using other tools such as matching phrases, filling in with appropriate vocabulary and phrases and matching terminologies with explanation.
Activity-based learning enhances one’s learning curve. However, our education system does not stress the importance of practical lessons and our curriculum does not support application based learning. Nevertheless, our teachers could plan activities that encourage project based learning to improve students academically.
Forming study groups and assigning them different activities may encourage them to
interact with one another. Every group can be assigned a student coordinator who interacts
with the teacher regularly and can get the support necessary to aid the group. The
coordinator may make plans with the help of the mentor by setting goals and monitoring the progression towards achieving it. That may help them to challenge the complexity of learning in English medium schools.
Karthik Swaminathan is a certified English Language Trainer and a member of TESOL Canada.
