LangLit

IMPACT FACTOR – 5.61 ISSN 2349-5189

An International Peer-Reviewed Open Access Journal

THE PROBLEMS OF TEACHING ENGLISH AND THEIR PROBABLE
SOLUTIONS
DR. ANUPAMA TEWARI
Asso. Prof. & Head
Department of English
Govt. P.G. College
Ranikhet (Almora)
Uttarakhand.
ABSTRACT
Language is the most authentic means for communication among humans. It
holds together society as individuals share their needs with each through it.
Rabindra Nath Tagore puts it aptly: ‘Man can speak and speech is the force
which combines a mind with others’. English in India is legacy of British. It
came to occupy a primary place with the establishment of East India Company
as political power in 1765. Its status was enhanced by Lord William Bentinck
and Lord Macaulay, who declared that knowledge of English literature and
science should be imparted to natives through the medium of English. To sum
up we can say that English occupies a place of prestige in our country but at
the same time we must accept that the standard of its teaching has
deteriorated fastly and that is why it is essential to know problems of teaching
English in India. Them alone we can remove these problems and teach our
students effectively for better results. The changing time have witnessed the
growing importance English language in all walks of life. It does not seem that
we are using English language as non native speakers or as second language.
Conscious and unconscious use of words in everyday conversation from
English language bears evidence to this fact. Even the illiterates in rural areas
use such words (like cell phone, CD, VCD, Tailor, Meeting etc.) effortlessly.
Much is required to be done by linguist, polyglots, the scholars and the
teachers to bridge the gap between English literates and English illiterate. If
we take into consideration the role of teacher and learner in acquiring the
knowledge of a language, the problem can be solved effectively. Decidedly one
or two persons can’t do anything solid. Let everyone concerned with it take
the responsibility. Only then we can create congenial environment and we can
be able to achieve better results in the teaching of English.

Language is the most authentic means for communication among humans. It holds together
society as individuals share their needs with each through it. Rabindra Nath Tagore puts it
aptly: ‘Man can speak and speech is the force which combines a mind with others’. English
in India is legacy of British. It came to occupy a primary place with the establishment of East
India Company as political power in 1765. Its status was enhanced by Lord William Bentinck
and Lord Macaulay, who declared that knowledge of English literature and science should be
imparted to natives through the medium of English.

The Charter of East India Company was renewed in 1813. During this period there was an
increasing demand for the teaching of English. Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Radhakant Deb and

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 LangLit
IMPACT FACTOR – 5.61 ISSN 2349-5189

An International Peer-Reviewed Open Access Journal

David Hare established Hindu College in 1817. Soon thereafter, the missionaries opened
Serampor College in 1818. The Bishops College was established in 1820. Macaulay in his
famous ‘Minutes’ said that ‘spread of western learning is only possible through the medium
of English Language’. This recommendation gave a greater impetus to the study of English.
Described as the Magne Carta of English Education in India Woods Dispatch confirmed what
Macaulay had said. He said a sound knowledge of English was prerequisite to seek admission
in any university.

After independence a controversy started about the place of English in Education. C

Rajgopalachari and few others favoured its retention. But some nationalists strongly
advocated that English should quit India. They argued that English was a foreign language.
They declared that students could learn and express their ideas more easily in their mother
tongue. What the nationalist said had some reason in it. It was acknowledged by most of the
persons in free India. In 1950 when the constitution of India was adopted Hindi became the
National Language and English remained as Link Language. With the coming of Language
Bill of 1963, English was the medium for all official purposes and Parliamentary
transactions. It provided a link between the states with regional languages.

The position of English language in India is different from its position in other countries.
Although it is a foreign language it still occupies the position of associate official language. It
is used widely as a link language in offices and among educated people. After Hindi it is the
most commonly spoken language in India and probably the most read and written language in
India. English symbolizes in Indian minds better education better culture and higher intellect.

English is the ‘Lingua Franca’ of the world. With the IT Revolution and most of software and
operating system being in English language, a new utility for written and oral communication
in English language has emerged. English is said to be the world’s most important language
having communicative and educative value. English is used all over the world not out of any
imposition but because of realization that is has certain advantages. A very important reason
for regarding English as a world language is that world’s knowledge is enshrined in English.
It is a progressive language. It is dynamic and flexible. Over and above English is universally
renowned for its power of expression and its rich literature. English is one of the six
languages of U.N.O. It is also link language of commonwealth countries. It is a window to
rapid progress of science and technology. English has a place in linguistic structure in India.

The use of English language in our country has been a unifying factor. From educational
point of view, English language plays a prominent role. Good quality higher education and
advanced studies in many areas in science like medicine, engineering technology etc are not
possible without English language. All correspondence of industrial and commercial life of
our country is done mainly in English language. At present, in India English language is
widely taught as second language practically at all levels of education. All the Indian
universities, graduate colleges and junior colleges have separate departments for teaching
English language. But unfortunately in these departments a majority of students get no
serious exposure to English as language. The teachers are not trained at all in basic
methodology of teaching language or in teaching structure of English language. This has
created a serious pedagogical and educational problem. English taught in our schools and
colleges today is to a great extent responsible for the deterioration of the standard of English

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 LangLit
IMPACT FACTOR – 5.61 ISSN 2349-5189

An International Peer-Reviewed Open Access Journal

on India. Teaching of English language in India faces many problems. The standard of
English are fast declining in our country. The reasons for this are too varied and complex.
One cannot simply say justifiably that teachers and their faulty methods of teaching alone are
responsible for deterioration in standards of English. Certain socio-political and
psychological issues are no less responsible for falling standards of English. To quote V.K.
Gokak, “teaching of English is in chaotic state today”. V.K. Gokak further adds, “ Pupils are
taught English for about six periods a week for six years. But they hardly have the ability to
speak and write in English with minimum errors. They do not know how to use the most
common structures of English”.

There are in fact many problems of English teaching and the consequent low standards of
English. The condition under which English language is taught are not satisfactory. Almost
every student feels nervous when he/she learns or new language. Particularly, the students are
more anxious while learning English language Anxiety is the most crucial factor which
affects the English language learning. The principal concern in child guidance is not the
abolition of all anxiety producing circumstances, but the elimination of needless anxiety. The
teacher has to keep in mind the age of student his native language, his cultural background
and his previous experience with English. The experience of teacher and his level of English
mastery are equally important. To achieve the desired effects the goal of the course must be
kept in mind- whether it is aimed at reading, fluency in speech, inculcating translation skills
etc. Teachers do not bother to classify the aims and objectives of teaching English. He
teaches only because it is included in syllabus. Pupils learn it by the way just to pass time.
Teaching English remains purposeless. Clear-cut objectives are not conveyed. Many teachers
have neither enough knowledge of English nor are familiar with latest and far reaching
developments. They lack the technique of foreign language teaching. Their knowledge of
English is inadequate and their pronunciation is faulty. Students find themselves unable to
express in English. They have no idea of proper sentence structure. They do not knew proper
pronunciation, spelling and grammatical rules. The sole objective of teacher and the learner
remain to clear the exam. The students never realize the importance of learning English as a
language. The emphasis on passing the exams lies so heavy on students that they opt for
cramming method. Such an approach helps unscrupulous elements to flourish. The inter-
disciplinary relation of teaching and learning process brings home the fact that the problems
of the teachers can be solved if we concentrate on the causes of the problems of students.

Unwieldy class room condition is also one of the cause of decline in the standard of English.
Individual attention cannot be paid to students. The infrastructure of many schools and
colleges is very weak. There is dearth of even simple audio- visual aids like flash cards,
lingua phone which can make teaching effective, Some teachers have good accent but they
do not possess a good command over language. The process of teaching is not updated with
passage of time. In many cases teachers have no idea of good dictionaries meant for
themselves or students or even for the office managers or administrators. It may be
pertinently mentioned here that to cater tremendously growing demand for English language
teachers and learners there exists ‘the bank of English’ with an envious corpus of about 400
million words of written and spoken English.

Students do not realize the importance of English as language of communication. The lack of
confidence to speak in English, expression in the language is weak First reason is that they

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 LangLit
IMPACT FACTOR – 5.61 ISSN 2349-5189

An International Peer-Reviewed Open Access Journal

have been taught through Grammar- Translation Method. This method makes them
dependant on their mother tongue. Whatever they read, they translate in their own vernacular
During the time of exam they cram the expected questions because they cannot write one
original sentence of their own. Because of GT method they have no vocabulary of English
words, while writing they depend on cheap material from the help books.

Variety of syllabus is also one of the major problem. In India there is no single English
syllabus for whole country. The variation in syllabus brings variation in achievements.
Syllabus must be designed with clearly stated objectives right from the level at which English
begins to the level where English ceases to be compulsory subject in curriculum. Defective
textbooks are used in teaching English in certain states. These books have not been
systematically written. No attention is paid to selection and gradation of language items in
them. Textbooks do not have adequate exercises for language practice. Neither have they
suitable illustrations.

Faulty system of examination is another great problem for deterioration of the standard of
English. The hackneyed, stereotyped and traditional pattern of exam aims at clearing English
not as languages but as a subject. The students therefore are guided to practice, pick and
choose methods from the sub-standard material available in the market. It is more shocking to
learn that even the questions that students are supposed to answer are told to learn through
translation from English to their own vernacular .Poor performance in translation, lack of
proper vocabulary, no knowledge of proverbs are all results of a casual approach .Even after
reading English for 14 or 15 years the level of students remain poor. The question set in the
examination generally aim at testing the cramming power of students. They fail to test the
students real attainment in language skills. The exercise books of students lack in suggestive
correction. All the exercises of the students should be corrected thoroughly. As there is
practically no supervisor of the work of English teacher, they fail to get guidance from
experts.

The old fashioned type of benches and desks which restrict the movement, the bad light noise
from neighbouring classes, lack of aids of all kinds, interference from parents, student union,
dominating, conservative principals are some other causes responsible for deterioration.

To eradicate the problems arising in teaching of English, Kothari Commission (1964-66)

suggested three language formula. It is needless to emphasize that in a developing country
like India the study of foreign language like English offers vast opportunities. The policy
regarding the place of English in our education system should be well defined. This should be
determined keeping in view its use and vast opportunities in the field of science, technology,
social sciences, philosophy, area studies journalism, international trade and diplomacy.

The teacher while teaching his students must keep in mind the aims of teaching English.
These are –
(i) to enable the students to understand English when spoken.
(ii) to enable him to write English.
(iii)to enable him to speak English.
(iv) to enable him to read English.

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IMPACT FACTOR – 5.61 ISSN 2349-5189

An International Peer-Reviewed Open Access Journal

A systematic approach should be followed.The teachers should aim at teaching primarily
not knowledge but skill required for good listening – Speaking-Reading-Writing.
Teachers should find some ways of helping pupils to enjoy their language activities and
building their confidence. As children learn by way of imitation, similarly the students
tend to follow the example set by their teacher. Special efforts should be made to ensure
that teachers of English themselves possess a good command of English . A teacher
should speak clearly and strongly, use gestures, mime and short concise sentences. The
school and college libraries should subscribe good journals which may enable them to
know the latest development in the field of linguistic and language teaching. The teacher
must be conversant with good methods of teaching.

Positive encouragement to students should be given. Persistent use of first- language

should be avoided and discouraged in class. While teaching English as a foreign language
students should be encouraged to use English and only English. A set of class rules and
penalty system should be developed if a student is caught using their first language three
times we should be asked to recite a poem in English in front of class or ask him to write
twenty words in English. A teacher should know and identity the interest of his student.
Focus should be given on weaker students in class. They should be encouraged to answer
the questions in class. To tackle with the problem of lack of vocabulary in the students
productive and receptive use of words should be kept in mind. The students should be
made to learn simple words. This will help in inculcating a habit of learning new-words in
them. This is the natural process of movement at need from receptive to productive use of
words. This enhancement of vocabulary will result into better expression. The students
should be clearly guided about the difference between parts of speech by practice. They
should be made aware of the different parts of word, root, suffix, prefix etc. Regular tests
can be held to evaluate the progress of students. After laying stress on their vocabulary
building students should be given exercise of reading. Reading is the core of language
learning. Practice in exact reading should occur frequently. The vocabulary drill can help
them understand the usage of words in the book. They should be made to underline the
noun, verb, adjectives, adverbs etc in given passage of reading. Once their interest is
aroused they will show tremendous improvement. After the usages of all such practices in
classroom, the students should be given exposure. There can be no learning without
exposure group discussions should be encouraged. The zeal learning will help them in
their own advancement. The problems of students and teachers are inter-related.
Necessary audio, visual aids should be made available. Students can be encouraged to
listen to English News, English commentaries broadcasted on Radio and Television.
Motivation is the initial phase proper methodology is next.

Examination system should be overhauled. The evaluation in English should be in line

with the new technique of teaching-learning. A variety of questions should be asked to
test the knowledge of vocabulary, use of forms and tenses, sentence pattern etc. English
review committee (1965) suggested as follows, “ There should be a variety of questions
to test linguistic competence and the knowledge of vocabulary, questions on the use of
verb forms and tenses, sentence pattern, the degree of comparison, the use of relatives,
preposition, word order transformation and synthesis of sentences and so on.

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 LangLit
IMPACT FACTOR – 5.61 ISSN 2349-5189

An International Peer-Reviewed Open Access Journal

A crash programme of training Teachers in English language is must. In service
programmes should be conducted frequently. More institutes should be opened to give
regular courses in English and new techniques of teaching English.

The University Grants Commission should play active role in development of foreign
language. Research in the field of methodology material production, text book writing
and original research in English and foreign languages should be liberally financed. The
teachers of English are also expected to teach their students as effectively as they can.
Prof. Nissim Ezekeil said in, the Presidential Address at the 35th session of AIETL, Pune
in 1984, “We have a job and we must do it. There is a prescribed text book and classroom
of students. Teach the former as best as you can. The students would come alive and we
would relate them in their varied circumstances”.

To sum up we can say that English occupies a place of prestige in our country but at the
same time we must accept that the standard of its teaching has deteriorated fastly and that
is why it is essential to know problems of teaching English in India. Them alone we can
remove these problems and teach our students effectively for better results. The changing
time have witnessed the growing importance English language in all walks of life. It does
not seem that we are using English language as non native speakers or as second
language. Conscious and unconscious use of words in everyday conversation from
English language bears evidence to this fact. Even the illiterates in rural areas use such
words (like cell phone, CD, VCD, Tailor, Meeting etc.) effortlessly. Much is required to
be done by linguist, polyglots, the scholars and the teachers to bridge the gap between
English literates and English illiterate. If we take into consideration the role of teacher
and learner in acquiring the knowledge of a language, the problem can be solved
effectively. Decidedly one or two persons can’t do anything solid. Let everyone
concerned with it take the responsibility. Only then we can create congenial environment
and we can be able to achieve better results in the teaching of English.

REFERENCES :
1. Pahuja, Sudha. Teaching of English.Meerut : R Lall Book Depot, 2011
2. Parida, BR. Improving English Teaching.New Delhi : Discovery Publishing House, 2007
3. Sharma, Ram Kumar. The Problems and Solutions of Teaching English.New Delhi :
Commonwealth Publishers, 2008.
4. Hismanoglu, Murat. “Teaching English Through Literature”. Journal of Language and
Linguistic Studies. Vol. I No. 1 (April 2005).
5. Hema Malini, H.C. “English Language Anxiety in Relation to English Achievement Among
the High School Students”. E Journal of All India Association for Educational Research Vol.
22 No.1 (June 2010).
6. Narayanan, R., N Rajasekharan Nair, S. Iyyapan. “English Language Teaching In India : A
Theoretical Study”. The Modern Journal of Applied Linguistic Vol : 1 (Februrary 2009).
7. Bhadanri, Supriya. “Problems of Teaching English at College Level in India” –Boloji.com
(24th may 2009).
8. Writes, J Devis. “ Teaching ESL : 10 Common problem in classroom” hubpages.com
9. Saini, Bimaljeet. “English Language Teaching”. 47th All India English Teachers Confrence,
University of Lucknow- Souvenir (2002)

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