CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

Background of the study

Need and significance

Statement of the problem

Explanation of the terms

Hypo theses

Objectives of the study

Methodology in brief

Sample selected

'I'ools used

Statistical techniques adopted

Scope of the study

1,imitations of the study

Organisation of report

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

l lackground of ' the Study

1,ailguage unlocks human nlind and extends his accessibility to differing

plcthora 01' inforlrlation and entertalnmcnt. Language is man's identity. It gives

tlefinitc configuration to man's thou$l-1s. feelings and emotions. "Language is a

complex bystern ior crcating mealiing through socially shared conventions"

Halliday ( 1978). To Vygotsky,(l978) "Language helps to organise thought, and

children LISC language tc; lcarn as wcll as to communicate ancl share expericnccs

with othel-S". L>ariguage i, a symbol sy:item or code, comprising a conventional set

of arbitrar! signals through which ideas about the world are communicated. It

enables to desci- be hypothetical or cven impossible things.

Halliday I 1973) suggested that language serves seven functions from

simple to abstract in day-to-day l i v ~ r ~ g These functions tend to retlect and serve the

personal. social and academic facets of human growth.

Thinking, talking, reading writing - none of these activities would be

possible \vithoiic language. The thought we have about the world, each other and

otil-selves are expl-essed i1.1 words. Language enables us to have ideas, to make sense

out of our experiences. and to sh;~rr our ideas, feelings and experiences with

others. Thc famous linguistic philosopher Sapir, (1921) defines language as, "a

purely human and non-instinctive nicthod of communicating ideas, emotions and

desires by means of voluntarily produced sym>ols."

"Language allows people to hypothesise and engage in higher thought

processes which impose5 order upo~? t:xperiences. Language behaviour represents

thought process most accebsible to i~utside influences including that of teacher.

These mental processes become the basis of writing, speaking, reading, listening

and thinking. Na~urally. these processes are evident in all environment or subject

al-eas not only in English courses allcl hence ought to be exploited for learning

purposes. Talk and expressive writing free the individual to think' and learn

thi-ough ordinary language by f i l tcr~rg it through personal experiences". Inter

national 6ncyc1opacdia o:'6d~lcation.( 1994).

L.;inguagc can be developed 111- acquil-ed but will not be usable i f i t is nor

srudieti o l ~ ~ e c t i ~ ~ e l y . Sttttielits ncccl i t ) appreciate that languagc learning is a skill

ancl they nced to .icquire :,onle skill5 r11;1t their previous education missed. (Dugdale,

1996).

Skill I S a physical. ~nciital 01- social ability that is learned through practice.

repetition and rellectiori :tnd in wlrich it is probably always possible for the

individual to ill~prove. . \ skill is ail :itsility to perform an appropriate behaviour in

an appropriate tasks/sitilat~on, co~islstently and with precision, as per one's own

developmental level (matill-ity). Whcrl a task is perlbrmed repeatedly, it turns into

a habit. In ottier words. ;I skill cutil[~etence is a behaviour which is matured by

repeated exposu~-e, practicc and suppurt, thus empowering the person.

Many Iilnguage experts have ]minted out that language is a skill subject and

that learning Iarlguage involves acqtriring proficiency in certain special skills.

Although we divided the school day into subject periods, the skills of language are

used throughour the day. Andel-son, (1959). Palmer, (1922) was the one who

originatecl the rnodern skill-based language teaching during the early years of the

present century. He w ; ~ s one of the early linguists to define language skills as to

derive celtain in,tructior~al procedures for fur~ctional language teaching. To him

languagc learning is essi:nrrally a [habit formation process, a process during which

habits a!-e set in automal~cally. According to Palmer, the ultimate aims of language

teaching al-c:

l ) to understand language when spoken rapidly by natives

2) to speak the language in the manner of natives

3) to understand the language as written by natives, i.e.. to read the language

4) to write the language in the manner of natives.

The concept of skill-based language teaching has also been advocated by the

Incorporated Association of Assistant Masters in Secondary Schools, Cambridge, in

one of their early publications. Teaching of English according to this Association

should be aimed at good speaking. good listening, good writing and good reading.

For years people felt that children learned to read and write by mastering skills one

by one. Each near skill i \ built on #.hi. previous one.

Much of language learning I \ therefore. the learning of complicated skills

and learning skills is larsel) a question of adequate and effective practice. If one

can get more practice done in the time one has available for language learning, then

one shall have achieved considerable, economic and notable intensification of the

learning process. A skill is the term given to an action accomplished by a person

for the first time and with understanding,

(Sharma 1994) whereas a habit is ;in action carried out by a person without

participation of consciousness, owing to the fact that he has frequently performed

that action in the past. A habit is formed by the occasional repetition of a skill and it

cannot be developeil simply by applying knowledge. To teach

by progressing from knowledge to habit is inconsistent with

psychology because in the: exercise of skills, those actions that are performed with

the participation of consciousness is necessary. Very often, one forms a sentence

tt~at one tnay never- have used or heard before, in exactly the correct form. It is a

new act of specch conscrously perforlr~ed, that is a skill. The habits are deeply set

in the nervous system of the indivitiual and in the muscular, intellectual and

eniotional proccscs. To set up a parallel language system in learning a foreign

language ri a fi~rmidable task.

The skill orientation to languap,e teaching and learning has been endorsed

by many uf the promiaent language psychologists like Belyaye, ( 1963), Lado,

(1964) and Hording,(li)67). A distinction between skill elements and language

abilities I S tliat pronunciation. phrasing, sentence structure, punctuation,

paragr;lplljng, sentence, spelling e t c . are skill e lemen~s which are determined by

~-ules or e len~e l~ t s . f'roficiet~cy in skill elements require repetition and practice. On

the othcr hand. knowledge. ul~dcr-\k~nding and judgement constitute language

abilities. The skill ;~pprc-;\cl~ to latigi~ag:e considers language in its dynamic aspects

or activit\ I-athet- than as knowledge.

.rlic sc~c t~~i f i ca l ly valid proiidure in language learning involves listening

f i r h t to hc follo\vetl by speaking. ?'hen comes reading and finally the writing of the

language. This is just thc order in wtitch the child learns his mother tongue.

LValtcl;irr 1062 g v c the t~,l lor~ing guidelines for the proper development

of language hkills.

1 ) Enriclitnent of childrell's vocabulary through provision for many

cxperrertces.

2 ) Development of the abrlity to describe simple events briefly with

reasor~able accuracy and clarity and without excessive self consciousness.

3) I:ncot~~-agir~g dcvelopmetlt of ability to use complete sentences rather than

iir~cIe,ir fragmenrs.

3 ) Sparking interest in language and in the improvement of its use by

;ittenicon to pn~~cunciation and dictation.

5 ) I'ostering of intsrest in lihlcning to poems and stories and to their retelling.

6) Development of the ability to participate in simple dramatisation.

A study hy Southgate (19721 :ntended to identify the role of the four basic

language \kills in general educational performance. The results indicated that the

four skills: v i ~ . listening, speaking. reading and writing are basic to success in

educatioc~. Ta) lor. Sarah and Martha i 1980) surveyed views of university teachers,

school teachers and parents and found that all the three groups strongly agree that

language facilitated learning in young children. To Rivers (1972) the skill learning

approach was developed in order to enable students to use the language with ease.

Bever~dr? et, al. (19517). "Conlmuc~ication emerges as a process not just

:n:erpeisoiial but also inti-apersonal".

Seed and Significance

Thc baslc ability every young man is expected to possess is the ability to

express hinxeli clearly and effectively and the lack of it hampers his progress in

academic subjects and in various walks of life. It has been observed that many

people face problems in conlmunication either in public or in private. This also

affects theit- encoding skills: viz., listening and reading. Secondary school students

are mostly unable to speak two sentences consecutively in the present situation.

English is gaining more and more prevalence in the modern world

consequent upon the fast increase in international trade and co-operation and

globalizatioci. It is the language of cross cultural communication in the world.It

offers \r.ol.Id citizenship. English language is predominantly establishing its

supremacy in the field t.)f educa t~o~i . As such the duty of the teacher is very

tircsonic. But whcther tile tcachel-s accept it, giving duc seriousness is a puzzling

c~uestiori. The structure of English lar~guage is very much different from that of

Indian languages. This p;luses the gl-e.it difficulties in the smooth learning of the

language and collsequently affect. tiir: furtherance of studies of nlany students at

higher l e d . They lose in~erest in their studies as they fail to comprehend the

concepts and the different complex logical arguments presented in the language. It

is expected frcm all those who arc entrusted with the task of preparing English

teachers tor secondary ~choo l s to delineate the role of the language in general

educatior~ul pert'or-mancc and assist the teachers understand the significance of the

basic language skills. Development of language skills is practically unattended to,

in school>. If the basic skills are not tendered ill schools, the student is not going to

itrcngthen therri ;~nywherc else.

Tlic lea[-iicr has I I I hc equipped with command of English which allows him

express h111isel1 i n speech and bvl-iting in ,orcater- variety of contexts. Learning to use

:l foreign language freely atid fully i > ;I lengthy and efforted process which results

i l l an :iLitonornoils and ionlident speaker of it. Therefore, teaching of English in

schools I I ~ \ a Jcfinite f~.iiction. I t scivcs and will continue to do so as thc iilediuln

of instruct~on in central :,chools, higher education and professional sector. A change

in the situation i h cxpect~ld only \\.her1 i-lindi outlives English in India.

A> it i i the Associate 0l.fi i i : i l Language of the country it is a compulsory

school subject i l l the ci~untl-y. The rriain objective of learning i t is to use i t as a

Ilhl-ary laiiguagc. i.e., to use it witt~ comprehension and use it for communication.

The coniplex prucess of language coinmunication is made possible by the system of

habits, which operates 1;irfely withoul one's awareness. Language arts instruction

must ~.ccognisc [he function of [he language in the development of a child, in the

maintenance of a cul tu~e and i n the continuity of the development of a generation.

The child becomes accultured and socialised through language.

Sclier c l al.. (198.1) del'inch communication and proceeds to describe

communication and attitude in the classroom. To them "communication is the

process by which verbal and non-verbal symbols are sent and received and given

meaning. The) say that teacher's owl1 experiences and value system as well as their

self concepts deterrninc how they are likely to behave towards students in the

classroonl. Three factors help to describe the way in which attitudes are

communicated: expectancy. attributive theory and self fulfilling proficiency. These

concepts embody behaviours that are interactive, together they help to explain the

impact of the teacher n~essages on \tudents behaviours:'Goals and objectives of

communic~tion to Richal-d. ( 1996) are:

I . 'fo be understood to gibe something across to someone so that he or she

knows exactly what one mean.

2. To understand others- to get to know their exact meaning and intentions.

3. '1'0 gain acceptance for oneself or one's ideas.

4. To produce action or change- to get the other person or group, to

undel.stand what is expected, when it is needed, why it is necessary and

how to do it.

Conlprehension involves extracting meaning from a text, from participating

in a conversation or from listening to a person or people speaking.

Now it 1s believed that children learn to read and write through immersion

in a language rich environment. The new approach is based on observations of how

children learn to talk. This connection between talking, reading and writing

suggests that all three are more alike than they are different.

The speed of lang~rage acq~~isition is directly linked to just a few basic

parameters which can be used to greatly increase the pace at which an effective use

of a target language is acquired. Breaking the process down into two main areas is

realistic when the differences between thr: two are identified.

Accoi-ding to Palmer, (1922) the purely oral exercise of questions and

answers in the foreign language should proceed with any attempt at written

reproduction of what has bcen learnt. The three types of oral courses are:

a. As a means of initiation into the elements of a language of which the child is

~gnoranr.

b. As a rneanr of correctin; those U ha are obviously more or less acquaintsd with

the languqe. bu! ha\.e !.r.;~;si \~r;~c: habits in the use of language.

c. As a means of furthering the purpose of those who are already fairly proficient in

the language.

The Divisron of skills as listenin;, reading and speaking (oral fluency and

wi-iting is an expcd~ent one:.

To Dugdale. (1996). teaching of English or any other language can be

tough, especially to teachers where there are few chances to use the target language

outside the classroom. Language is difficult to test so classes are rarely stressed

cry effecti\ely. Hq controlling the htructure of what is said teachers can provide

s t~~dcn t with 'I chance of speaking creatively no matter what their level is.

Educ:ltion entails deliberate irlterventions in the pattern of experience

structured and t;~ilored i i i a way calculated to facilitate and maximise desired

Ir~lrning. A carefully selected and ordered sequence of exercises can vastly improve

11p011 h:~j)ti~~%aril ~rnrnerstc~t~ 111 expcricrice as a strategy for improving participatory

\kills Keirtl Webh ( 1993:.

.The theories of language lc~iinlng which are generalised in nature do not

account k)r the varied contexts of learn~ng diffcl-ences across the individuals. Every

child without ,pecial training expoecl to surface structure of language in many

interactiori contexts, build i'or himself in a school period of time and at an early

htase of cosnlttve d e v e l c ~ p n ~ n t - a deep level abstract and highly complex system of

linsuistic S I ~ L I C I L I I ~ and use. Except for these physical and cognitive skills which are

closely btoiogical in thctt Ixise, i t is tlifficult to think of abilities that all humans

ilcvelop. hlorc anti less inrelligerit. c:onon;ically fortunate, physically able and

emotionally healthy chil~li-en acqurre language. Normally specifics of the learning

differ depending on cha~;~cIci-istics ol the language being learnt as well as on some

other environiiic~ital fac~urs . But a gei~eral sequence can be predicted. Wells,and

Litidfor- i 1987 I

L;inguuge acquisillon is influenced by many factors: familial environmental.

social. psychological, cullu~al, persona, and academic. The language background

ol the patents ;~nll care-;,ivcis in !tic f;lmily influence the language development of

~ h c child very bvell. An (:n\'lronmcnr which permits profusive experiences for the

clitld to hear, to speak. !o read c.~son;~l al- pupil-rclated i;lct.~rs include the language background of the

child. h15 pe~sotlality 1'actors. i ~ ~ ~ c l l i g ~ ~ ~ c e , cognitive development, creative,

thinking, at~itudc of the i:iiiltl toward\ the language which involvcs his interest in

rile 1ang~1a;c. e t l i i~cncy of liis sctisc or-gans, general health so on and so forth.

Acadeniic facrors ~nvolvc the inilirution-related factors such as instructional

strategic\ cmpl(,-et1 b \ tile teaclle~r to provide apt learning experiences, the

textbook. use c ~ f tcchnolog~cal dcbic~: available in the institution, evaluation

tectiniiluz~. l i b facilitie.~, condiic~ of CO curricular activities, presence of

adtiitional cour-9z.s like sp.)kc11 Engli.\ii. language forum and the like. All the above

~ ~ ~ ~ n t i o n e ~ l l'a~ti)i.\ ;Ire detcrrninant\ 01' continuity in learning. Continuiry refers to

tire coridi~ii~il \rlrcl-eby !tie lcarne~ \ v i I move smoothly from level to level in an

cclucatioli;il sys[e~ii. But ih;it continii~ty is not attained in English language learning

;it ]>~-cse~lt.

A \tudy conside~in: all the ;~bove mentioned infinite number of variables

will be a n extr:rustive c\ne Hence 11-IC inveitigator delimited her study selecting

some u l rile val-~;ibles n,.lrnely, intell~gcnce of pupils, their socio-economic status,

tlieir a t t i ~ i ~ d e toivards Iciisning English language as pupil-related factors and

instructior~al striiiegies 'idopted b) tlic teachers, library facilities available in the

school and condi~ct of cc~~curricula~- activities as institution- related factois.

Intelligence wh~r:h manifests itself in mental functions is the vital

detern~inaiit factor of language de\'eiopment. intelligence has been defined by

Thorndikc (1917)as "the ability o i ;in individual to cope with his environment. It

may be rhought O S as ;I co~npositc 01' organisation of abilities to learn, to grasp

broad ancl suhtlc facts cspecially. ;~bstract facts with alertness and accuracy to

exercibe tlient;il control ;i~itf to display flexibility and ingenuity in seeking the

bolutions of p~oblcms" Depending upon its variation mainly teachers speak of

\rudents 4s a\.crase, below average. t~nd gifted. Certairily the education, income and

- ' ;--;l RP' I:. ' _ . i : 4 , ,

* . ' i . , .;

\ 'Yp-, . . .- occupat~oii of the parelils determine how far thcy involve th'e@sklves-in the --;..: .~ .. . :icademic lprogre\s of the i:hild, the tnicumgcrnent they glve, the accessibility'of the ' '

child to ailditic~~rsl learn~ilg inatel-~ali and I-eading materials which reciprocates in

the child's test lc,ults. ho Inatter lion well educated the pal-ents are, how rich and

high their ol'1.ic1;~l status I S L ~ I I ~ hou i~~tcll igent the child is, they are of no use if the

child does not possess a liusitive attlt~ltle towards the learning of English language

including \~ncerc interest. School 15 t l ~ e most significant institution influencing the

promotion of language o l the child and that is the right place wherein the child can

dc\.elop pcisiti\c ;ittitudc\.

AI] attitude may he tiefined .IS 'an emotional tendency organised through

experience.: to react pc-is~t~vcly 01. r~r:gatively towards a psychological object.'

R i ~ r ~ m e r s l 19601

A ~ n o n g the i~~s t i t~~ t io l~- re la tcd l ~ c t o r s selected for the study prior importance

i h given to insrruziional s t r~~tegies . If the ability to acquire language is inherent in

the child. the te,lcIicr, thc school ctnd the othep social environment should aid to the

fostering of its dcve lopr r~e~~t . Teaching is the most difficult of all arts and profound

l a c c '1-eachinp i i on art, i t science, a skill, a social, rational and human

iic~ivity. iiltriciitc. complex, conscivii? and deliberate activity. Pupil is the most

I-clcvant criterion for teai.11cr cffectiv~~ness Krishnan (1985)

f'resently the. srcondary schoals do not help attaining the target skill

developnicnt I I I English language. .flit. main reason is that English language is

taught b) ~eaclrcl-h who ;II-e ncithcr specialised nor trained in the language teaching.

Perhaps, that I \ why a good nunibcr of teachers, even after attending in-service

courses. 1;ril co adopt nioder-n strliteglzs and techniques, in the English classroom

2nd they ;II-e ur~:i\liilse 01. the utility-v;rlue of cheap and easily available teaching aids.

Curriculum transaction docs not go hand in hand with the co-curricular activities in

English. Facilitics and participation i n such items supplement the inadequacies in

the English language clas\room. A well-functioning library with adequate variety of

books renders the pupils plethora of information and thereby nourishes their

language.

h. 'unlng . ' for the 2ls t century demands the acquisition of a range of skills

and a broad arcas of knowledge and the development of a set of attitudes. The

process of learning a second language is often misconstrued as being complex and

difficult, especially lea~ning a second language. Learning any language to

proficiency takes thousands of hours, but learning enough to be able to

communicate reasonably \\ell is not difficult.

Statement of the Problem

F.n\ i s a g ~ l i ~ the importance of :hest factors in English lanzuage learning the

investigator has designed the present study to find out the association between three

pupil-related factors, intelligence, socio-economic status, and attitude of pupils

towards learning English and three institution-related factors: instructional-

strategies, library facilities and co-curricular activities and the basic language skills

in English.

The study i h ent~tled.

EFF1;Cl OF PUPIL AND - INLS77TUT(ON RELATED FACTORS ON THE

DEVELOPMENT OF EdYGLISH LANGUAGE SKILLS OF SECONDARY SCHOOL

CHILDREN

Explanation of'rerms

Lang~iage skills

To Ruhin (1990) the language arts are listening, speaking, reading and

writing. They al-e the language modes

Listening

1-isrening is a conscious cognitive effort involving primarily the sense of

hearing (reinforced by other senses) and leading to interpretation and understanding

Rose, ( l "Listenins i.; a rcczptive language skill which involves the

intcl7ic:a::~n of verbal S! ruhol into rnei~ning"'.

Speaking

"Speaking is an expressive la~iguage skill in which the speaker uses verbal

symbols to conln~unicate" *. "Communicating corresponds to the production of

meanings through effecti\:e interaction in the recurrent contexts. Communicative

skills al-c the main tools for social development and for structuring social reality".

Dann, (1983). Bloomfield, i 1953) speaks of three successful events of speech. A.

the speakcl-'S situation B his utterance of speech sounds and its impingement on

hearer's eal- drums and ( ' , the hearer's response. In principle the students of

language is concerned will-I B the acluai jpeech

Krading

"Rending i \ an inrcractive proL,ejs in which higher order knowledge based

processeh can bc used to compensate lor inefficiencies in data-driven processing."

Snowling. ( 1986).

" R c a d ~ r ~ g compwilcnsion is onit of the most complex forms of cognition in

which pcuple loutinely s i~gage. It I S thc result of information from usual auditory,

semantic, conceptual alld l~nguistic sources combining instantly to provide a

rendition o i each sentence (11- fragrnc111s. Reading comprehension occurs when the

reader interact; with the content or the situation."*

IVriling

i t 1 n ~.o~npIex process embedded within complex social

r c l a t i o ~ ~ s h ~ p s 1 1 ) \tudents ol seconti:i~y Icvcl. Writing is a means of reformulation

;tilt1 extcl~tlrng kriowl~:ilgi~."* I I C Iearriing is expedited when i t is

contexui:iI~se~l ;iriil thai tlrrougl~ cuprcSsivc writing and discussion or total

information is l ~ l ~ e r e d tl-lioi~gh pcr\ol;al cxpcl-iences. "Writing is a productive skill

which involves ~nanipulating, structilring and communicating. Writing helps to

satisfy thc studznl\"grasp ol vocabi~l~ir!~ and structure and comprehension and other

skills. Ap[~ropr~acy can Lie developsil only through writing Venkateswaran,(l997).

WI-i~ing i. a coniplex p:c.)bicm-solvi~ig proccss. The dynamics of the composing

process 111volvi.s the task of p l a n n ~ i ~ g , retrieving information, creating new ideas

and proiiucing and revisins languagc components which will react throughout the

cornposiii? pnjcess. B ~ ~ L I I ( 1992).

'' International Encyclopaedia of Eciuc~1t1on(l994).

Develop~~rr,rtl

Pinget, (1952) and Vygotsky I 1978) - stress the importance of a child's

spontaneous cognilive ac~ikilies wlicli c~icoding and processing information. Piaget,

takes the i ~ i d i ~ ~ d ~ ~ a l corlstr~~ctiori 01 cognitive competencies as its focus, whereas,

Vygotsky, cons~ders the clcuelop~neril o f socrally shared cognition. Newman,et al..,

(1989) spoke 01' cogni~ive develu~~lnent dne to learning processes that can be

i!\tcmatic:~lly opii~iiised ~iisough ;~pj~sopriate instruction. In the present study

'ile\~elopmcnt' ~rsriils fill. r l~c e n l i ; ~ i ~ ~ c : n e n t of basic language skills which is a

prerequisite Sol- al l levels vlcilgniticiir

I r r s t i t u l i o r ~ ~ ~ e l u l c ~ l

Lt1stitutioti is a gcr~el-al tetnl for a school, college, university or other

educational estahil\htnent. .Also uscil in a specific sense for a professional body

which deterrnincs standarris of p r o l ~ s ~ i o n a l and sometimes academic conduct of its

niernbers. Inslit~~lion-reI;ite[l factors ;in those factors influencing the development

of the pupil in c i luc~~t ion. Thc insricu~ron-related factors considered in this study are

: instructional strategies. library facilii~es and co-curricular activities in English.

I'lcpil-Related Factors

Pupil is ttir persorl ct~rolleti i r l a school, college or ~injversity to follow a

p:l~-ticulai- cour.\c of stutl!. . Pupil-ici,~tc:d factors considered in this study are those

pcrsonal Sactor\ ;~lfectins rlie devclopn~ent of the pupil in education. Pupil related

factors ;Ire : 111trl1igent:c. socio-ec.o~~~)niic Status and attitude of pupils towards

leai-ning Englihli

Secotldurj S c l ~ o o l

School lpiovidin:! sccondaly education following primary education. The

1101-rnal p i~p i l / s~u~len t agc range at .I ~i.c:otidary school is all or part of the l I to 19

I n ihc tcrn yc.1~ .\chool p~ocramme, the schools in Kerala s'tate which

have standards VIII, IX ;!lid X are hcco~idary schools.

11ypotheses

The study was (ocused on two major hypotheses.

1) i'herc exists sil:liiiicant correlation between the pupil-related factors viz.,

~ t e l l i t t c r . ocio-cconomic I : I I J S and iittjtude of p~ipils towards learning

English lai~guage and the basic language skills in English viz,, listening,

speahing read~rig an11 writing.

2) 'l'here exists significant correlation between the institution related

facto~h, viz.. instructional strateglzi library facilities and co-curricular activities

in Englisll and the b,.lsic languagc k i l l s in English.

Objectives of the Study

The follo;ving ol~yxtives u e l c fol-med, based on the hypotheses, for the

present sttlily:

I . To I'inil O L I I (lie relatio~lsl~ip bctivccr~ thc pupil-related factors: Intelligence ( V I ) ,

Soc io -ccono~~~ic statu:, (V? , and attitude o f pupils towards learning English (V,),

and the total basic lan,guage skills 111 English, viz. listening (LSI) speaking (LS:!),

readin: (LS ; l :lnd w~itiiig [LSd irr the whole sample and in the relevant sub-

sample\. boys. girls . mixed, rural 'ind urban. 2. To fincl out lhc. relatioirship between the pupil-related factors V I , V2 and V3 and

each o l the 1)asic l ang~~age skills: I.Sl, LS2, 1 3 , and LS4 in English in the whole

sample

3 . To find out [hi. relatiot~ship bet~bccn each oT the pupil-related factors: V I , V:! and

V , . and the basic lallguage s k ~ l i in English, when the other variables are

partiallcd out singly i~nd i n co~nhi~iation, in the whole sample and in the relevant

sub-sainples.

4. T o find out the relatior~ship between each of the pupil-related factors: V I , V2 and

V3,and each o l t h e b a s ~ c language

5 . To find out thc combiried effect of the pupil-related factors V!, V2 and V, on the

total language skills in 15nglish in the whole sample and sub-samples.

6. To find out the combined effect of the pupil-related factors VI , V2 and V3 on

each of the basic language skills, in English: LSI, LS2, LS3 and LS4 in the whole

samplc.

7. To find out the relationship between the institution-related factors: V4, VS and

Vg, and the total basic language skills in English: LSI , LS2, LS3 and LS4 in the

whole sample.

Methodology in Brief

Methodology is the layout of the study. Consistent with the objectives the

invsstigalor resorted to sur\ey method.

Sample Selected

Random ,~mpl ing ~cchnique n 2. adopted in order to avoid undue privilege

or prejudice against any institution. 'Ten schools were randomly chosen, two

schools delegating each area, north, south, east, west and middle part of Kerala. The

sample consisted of 580 students of ninth standard . 25 teachers handling English at

secondary level and 10 school libraria~is or teachers in charge of the library were

also selected for institutior~-related variables. A minor portion of the sample was

deleted due to poor performance which might obliterate the results of the study.

And the final sample consisted of 500 students of ninth standard, 150 girls, 150

boys and 200 from co-education institutions. The sample had 250 rural and 250

urban repl-escntatior~. 10 teachers handling English at secondary level and 10 school

librarians or teachers in chargc of the l~hrary were the final sample for institution-

rclated v;~r iabI~s .

Tools Used

l'hc major tools uscd in this st~idy are:

I . A Generalised Language Ability Test Battery consisting of 4 tests.

Te$t of:

Listening comprehension, Speaking, Reading comprehension and Writing

2. Kerala University Verbal Group Test of Intelligence to measure the intelligence

of the p ~ ~ p i l s

3. Attitude Scale for puptls to measure their attitude towards learning English

4. Socio-econoniic Scale to assess the education , income and occupation of

parents.

5 . Otrser\at~on Schedule to evaluate the English language teaching at secondary

6. Inter\.it.\v Schedule to find out the ,ivailability and use of library facilities in the

high schools,

7. Checklist to estimate the facilities available in schools for the conduct of co-

curricul~ir act~vities in English and to check the extent of pupil participation in

them

The tools were prepared with special care and were administered personally

by the investigator after conducting 21 pilot study for most of them, the details of

which are given in the fourth chaptei-.

Statistical Techniques Adopted

The investigator ~esortedto correlation technique as the study is envisaged

to find out the relationship of pup11 and institution related factors with basic

language \kills in English. Pearson's product-moment coefficient of correlation,

partial correlatio~i and multiple correlation were used for pupil related data and

Spearm;ln3s Rho correlation was uscd for the institution-related data.

Scope of the study

l'he skill based language teaching is gaining ground in the present language

C L I ~ ~ ~ C L I ~ L I I I ~ . Thc role of English language in education is decisive. The main

intention of the htudy undertaken was to estimate the extent of association between

pupil-and-instltuiion-lLeIated factors and the basic English language skills. The

findings of the study throw light on the actual capacity of secondary school pupils

in English language in terms of the basic language skills which is very relevant and

which is highly needed for remediat~on to ensure the required degree of efficacy in

them. The study can broaden its arena taking into account all the pupil-related

factors and corl-elating I I with each of the basic language skills. All the school-

related factors can be investigated on a state-wide sample which would empower

curricu!um retormers. I he English language arts curriculum for primary ie\~el.is

being :&aped into an .~cti\.ity-oriented one. When the trend is extended to high

school lt.\el. the findings of the present study can finger at the effete area.

Student-centred and an activ~ty-oriented curriculum is the need of the

occasion. Language classrooms should get rid of its monotony. The task of the

teacher should not be tiresome. Above all the pupil should be relieved of the

tension of the acquisition of the English language skills. Learning of English

which is very pertinent in its global perspective, should ensue as a co-operative

endeavour. The study undertaken concentrates on all these areas. Therefore the

scope of the study is very extensive.

Limitations of the Study

'The invcst~gator took every precaution to make i t possible to generalise the

findings of the study to the population. However, the results of study should be

i~nderstooii and iiltcrpreri.ii. hcaritrg In mind some lin~itations, which have crept into

11.

yeat-lung cvalil;ition of ttlc \kill development of secondary school pupils

~vould have lhcen mori: rclevani Hut due to the limitation of time and the

widespread of the sample tile inve\ti,yator abstained from such an endeavour. The

sample could irici~~iie standard V111 ; ~ n d X in its umbrella. An extensive evaluation

of the languagc skills i l l English fro111 standard VIII to standard X would also have

. . hccn peri~lient ~n~ornrat ion.

Ilata tclactrrg to itic pupil related variables were collcctcd from a st~ldctlt

s~irnple l 50i) I I ~ I I I htralificd reprcscniirrg Lhc stalc. but daia rclating to

inhtitutioii rel,~tcd varlablcs, instl-u

\\eightage to \ . ~ l ~ ~ l i t y ancl practicabil~t):. Therefore, even with these limitations the

investigaror exl)'c~ that the findit~g\ of the present study would high light the

p~oblern a r e a 111 the :icvelopnlcil! at' language skills in English within the

il-amewoi-k o i t!rc study ;rnd would help thc policy makers and government to better

the f a c i l i ~ ~ e to i:t~liance \hill develop~rlcnt in English language. The coming century

dcmand plofic;cl~i.) in t i l l \ language a.; a pse-requisite to become an illternational

citlzen.

Organisation ol' the Reporl

Tile rclxvi ()I thc ,,l~idy is s ~ r t ~ ~ . t u r e d into six chapters based on the nature of

~ l i c tnatet-~~ils [>rchcnted C:ICI> ol'll1c111

Chapter 011e The I ' I I . L chapter which is the introductory chapter.

encon~pii;ses the background of the problem, the need ancl

significance of the study, statement of the problem the

objecrivc; of the study, def~nition of key terms, variables

consitlc~cc! fot- the study, methodology in brief, sample

selected. tools used, statistical techniques adopted, scope of

the study, limitations and organisation of the report.

'l'his i.l~apce~. is a theoretical overview of l ang~~nge

acquist t~i~n, the'nature of each basic language skills and

co~npc)nci~t skills and the interrelatedness of the skills

An account of literature and studies related to this area is

~ncluded in this chapter.

The nlethodology chapter details on the study in retrospect,

detail> 01- the sample, description of the tools used.

;~dmin~\rt-ation of the tools, the procedure followed, the

Clzapter Five

Chapter Six

descriptio~l of the statistical techniques employed.

This chaptcr has information regarding organisation and

compiling of data, for the purpose of the analysis and their

Interpretations.

'The major conclusions emerged out of the study, educational

implicatiorls and suggestions for further research are

flocked i n this chapter.