TEACHING AND LEARNING CHALLENGES IN PAKISTAN

(APPLIED LINGUISTICS PERSPECTIVES)

Supervisor: Sir. Shehbaz Malik

INTERNATIONAL ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY ISLAMABAD

English is very dominant language in the world. Due to its dominance the non native

countries are compelled to set their syllabus in English. In the non-native countries

English is very essential for academic success, job opportunities, and plays important

role in communication. Thus, in these countries teaching and learning English is a

challenge for both the teachers and the students. Such challenges include some

pedagogical issues, some institutional barriers, and others that are linguistic and

socio-cultural. To address these kinds of challenges, there is a need for advanced

teaching methodologies such as CLT and task-based methods to enhance students’

language skills.. Moreover, to improve infrastructure and install advanced

technologies. Tools such as multimedia , language learning apps, and audio and video

tools can enhance students’ listening skills. The teachers often teaches the language

on the basis of traditional methods which are failed to enhance the basic language

skills of students such as reading, writing, listening, and speaking. So, the teachers

need to adopt advance language teaching methods. Some teachers use their experience

to teach the language which is not suitable for language teaching, they must have to

adopt methods as directed by Applied linguists. Moreover, in Pakistan English is

often considered as a privileged language which leads to identity crisis and anxiety.

Therefore, teachers must have to keep balance between promoting English

proficiency and respecting students’ native languages.

TEACHING CHALLENGES

One of the big challenge in teaching is that the teachers are unprepared and used

outdated approaches. The experience of the teacher largely impacts the classroom

practices and students learning. But unfortunately, the teachers are mostly unprepared,
they are not aware of the language teaching methods, and mostly relies on traditional

teaching such as memorization, list of vocabulary and grammar. The students learn

vocabulary but they are not able to use it in context. The interaction of students

influenced their learning like group discussions, presentations, and classroom

activities but the teachers often complain about time constraint and classroom size.

Thus, the teachers have to prepare themselves before going to class and adopt advance

teaching methods like CLT and task based teaching.

Additionally, Pakistani institutions lacks resources. The availability of resources such

as language learning apps, multimedia, and reading materials enabled teachers to

teach effectively. In schools, where limited resources are available, they often relies

on chalk board and worksheets hindered the communication and effectiveness of

teaching. Thus, limited resources is one of the big challenge for teachers to teach

language in Pakistan.

In Pakistan, the poor infrastructure is another great obstacle for teachers. Sometimes,

the government admits more than one hundred students to each class which is a very

high number for teachers to manage. Environment play very important role in

learning while in Pakistan the infrastructure is very poor so students lacks interest in

learning. Moreover, due to high number of students teachers are not able to assess the

students, arrange activities, and group discussions. The students assessments are not

properly organized and the teachers are continuously facing difficulties while

assessing students and evaluating their assignments. The government must have to

establish new infrastructure and overcome the students number in the classes.
Moreover, while teaching English, teachers often face gender based challenges. In

Pakistan, Education is taught in Co-education systems. In classroom both male and

female study together, in rural areas female are mostly doing domestic works at home

so they have no much time to do the schoolwork. While teaching language the

teachers often face such type of differences which leads to a difficulty to address both

gender in the same class. So, for this the teacher must have to give more time to

females for their evaluations, guiding and assessments.

In Pakistan, there are communities in which English is regarded as a prestigious

language. In this Scenario, the learners face pressure and anxiety towards learning

English. On the other hand, in areas where English is regarded as unnecessary,

students become disengaged and non-serious. This duality often leads to difficulties

for teachers because some students are non-serious, while others are hesitant in the

learning process. In such situations, the teachers needs to be psychologically prepared

to address, guide and motivate students.

LEARNING CHALLENGES

In Pakistan, students often face significant challenges in learning English language

and to achieve fluency and accuracy. This issue affects their ability to communicate

effectively and limits their success in academic environment. This issue is not solely

related to students, it is often associated with education system, varieties of English,

and the influence of first language on the second. The students often face difficulties

with their confidence, complaining about communicative environment, and

skills and perform better in academic environment and professional life.

The problems of many students are the lack of confidence and the fear of speaking.

This shows that students are facing psychological issues, such as anxiety and fear of

judgement. It indicates that participating in presentations, public speaking, group

discussions, and debates can improve the confidence of students which can leads into

language fluency and accuracy.

Another challenge for students is the late introduction of English during their

childhood. The ability to learn a language is very fast in childhood, but unfortunately,

for students in Pakistan, English is often introduced after the first language is acquired,

which hinders the ability to acquire a second language. The first language often

influence the second language in speaking, which leads to difficulty in pronunciation

and accent.

Another problem is that students often rely on memorization to learn English, which

limits their ability to perform communicatively. Students often learn grammar and

vocabulary through rote memorization, and they are not aware of advanced learning

methods. To learn a language, students must adopt advanced learning methods and

relevant theories. For instance, Interventionist theory suggest that, by interaction with

others we can improve our language, so, practicing language with interaction can

boost language fluency and accuracy.