CTET Notes In Hindi | CHALLENGES OF TEACHING LANGUAGE IN A DIVERSE CLASSROOM
CTET Notes In Hindi | CHALLENGES OF TEACHING LANGUAGE IN A DIVERSE CLASSROOM
CHALLENGES OF TEACHING LANGUAGE IN A DIVERSE
CLASSROOM
In CTET exam, 2 questions in 2012, 2 questions in 2013,
l question in 2014, 1 question m 2015 and 3 questions in 2016
were askedl from this chapter. Most of the questions asked in
exam are based on disorders.
India is a land of diverse languages and majority of Indians use a
number of difterent languages. According to NCF 2005
multilingualism is constitutive of the identity ot a child and a
ypical feature of Indian linguistic landscape. This linguistic
diversity should be used as a resource readily available, as a
classroom strategy and a goal by creative language teacher.
Today, we know for certain that bilingualism or multilingualism
confers definite cognitive advantages. Every child feels secure
and accepted by adhering to use of muitilingualSm as a resource.
Effective understanding and use of languages enables the child to
maKe Connections between ideas, people and things and to relate
to the world around him/her.
5.1 Importance of English Languagge
English in India is a global language in a multilingual country.
According to NCF 2005 a variety and range of English teaching
situations prevail here owing to the twin factors of teacher’s
proficiency in English and pupil’s exposure to English outside
school. The goal of second language acquisition is attainment of
basic proficiency in English and later development of language
into an instrument of abstract thought and
knowledge acquisition through literacy.
We must understand that language diversity poses
some challenges and opportunities to English
instructors in India. More work, more efforts are
needed. All teachers should have the skills to teach
English in ways appropriate to their situation and
levels based on some knowledge of how languages are
learnt.
5.1.1 Major Challenges of Teaching English in India
Though India is a land of diverse languages, teaching
of English poses many problems in India.
Some major challenges of teaching and learning
English in India are as follows
1. Over Crowded Classrooms generally reduce the
teacher’s ability to teach English effectively and pay
personalised attention to the learners.
2. School Environment should be congenial and
permissive to enable pupils to hear or see or use
English. EXcept in cities, learners have rare occasion to
see any English beyond the local sign-board. The
English language teaching needs a new and functional
environment and this may be hard to have.
3. Lack of Study Material is another challenge for
English teaching in India. This is generally true in
remote areas and villages where at times course
related books are also not available.
4. Faulty Reading Habits among learners pose a major
challenge for teachers who have to teach English to
them. Some students read by putting fingers on the
words which hinders their concentration. Some
children move backwards rather than going forward
and many times they read in low murmuring sound.
5. Sometimes Learning English Vocabulary can be a
problem for students as English has a vast vocabulary
along with numerous homophones and phrasal verbs
etc. While teaching English in a class, correcting
Spellings and pronunciation of the words is a big
challenge for a teacher. Many words are often not
pronounced the way they are written so English
teacher has to find out ways to teach correct spellings.
6. Exam Oriented The English language learning
syllabus is created wholly from the examination point
of view, As a result, the content does not focus on
raising the levels of communicative competence of the
students and is conined to solving the examination
paper.
7. Learner’s Ability also affects teaching of English. To
adjust one’s teaching according to diversity in learner’s
ability is a major challenge and needs very competent
teachers who are not sufficiently available in India.
Some children suffer from chronic illness, disabilities
and some are handicapped. Teaching these children
poses a major challenge to the teacher.
5.1.2 Suggestions for Teaching English in a Diverse Classroom
Suggestions for teaching english in a diverse classroom are
• Appreciating the individuality of each student is
important. While generalisation sensitises us to
important differences between groups, each individual
student has unique values, perspectives, experiences
and needs.
• The teacher should make extra efforts to eradicate
socio-psychological problems of the students by
motivating them and giving them some responsibility.
• Interaction sessions between teacher and the students
should be more.
• Teacher should always try to converse in English with
the learners. One should keep talking with students
about day to day things. The children will learn to
comverse once the ice-breakers are done. When they
talk, they will learn.
• As a teacher it is very important to recognise our own
learning styles and cultural assumptions as these two
things altect teaching.
• Planning of lessons should be done extensively and in
advance. Such examples should be taken which reflect
different cultures, experiences, genders etc to include
all students in learning
• Teacher should use different teaching methods like
group discussions, collaborative learning, fun activities
to meet the variety ot learning needs.
5.1.3 Errors Made by Learners (English)
At all proficiency levels, learners produce language that
is not exactly the language used by native speakers.
Some ot the errors are grammatical, while others
involve vocabulary selection and mistakes in the
selection ot language approprate tor ditterent contexts,
Responding to students communication, teachers need
to be careful not to focus on error correction as it
deters confidence and communication process ot
learners.
Teachers can use error correction to support language
acquisition, avoid using it in ways that undermines
students’ desire to communicate in the Enghish language by
taking clues from the context.
5.1.4 Children Suffering from Various
Disorders (Learning Disabilities)
Some students have unique challenges that make learning in a
traditional classroom difficult. e.g visual or hearing
impairments, attention deficit disorder, handicapped, chronic
illnesses etc. Learning disorders that are most conspicuous
usually revolve around reading, writing or Mathematics.
Dyslexia
It is a learning disability in reading. Basic reading problems
occur when there is difficulty in understanding the relationship
between sounds, letters and words. Reading comprehension
problems occur when there is inability to grasp the meaning of
words, phrases and paragraphs.
Learning Disabilities in Maths (Dyscalculia)
Learning disabilities in Maths vary greatly depending on the
child’s other strengths and weaknesses. A child’s ability to do
Maths will be affected by language learning disability or a
visual disorder or difticulty with scquencing, memory or
organisation.
Dysgraphia
Learning disabilities in writing can involve the physical act of
writing or the mental activity of comprehending and
synthesising intormation. Basic writing disorder refers to
physical difticulty in torming words and letters. Expressive
writing disabilities indicate a struggle to organise thoughts on
paper.
Dyspraxia
This type of disability refers to problems with movement and
coordination in cutting, writing or gross motor skills such as
running or jumping-A motor disability is sometimes reterred
to as ‘output activity meaning that it is related to the output or
information from the brain in order to run, jump, write or cut
somethin8, the brain must be able to communicate with the
necessary limbs to complete the action.
Asphasia/Dysphasia
Language and communication learning disabilities involve the
ability to understand or produce spoken language. Language is
also considered an ourput activity because it required
organising thoughts in the brain and calling upon the right
words to verbally explain something or communicate with
someone else. Signs o anguage based learning disorder invole
problems with verbal language skills, such as ability to retell a
story and the fluency of speech as well as the ability to
understand the meaning of words, parts of speech,
directions etc.
Auditory Processing Disorder
An inability to distinguish subtle differences in sound or
hearıng sounds at the wrong speed make it difficult to
relate to words and understand the basic concepts of
reading and writing.
Visual Processing Disorder
Problems in visual perception include missing minor
diferences in shapes, reversing letters or numbers, skipping
words, skipping lines and having problems in eye-hand
Co-ordination. Visual perception can affect gross and fine
motor skills, reading comprehension and maths.
Ditficulty in school doesn’t always stem from a learning
disability. Anxiety, depression, stressful events, emotional
trauma make learning more of a challenge. In addition,
ADHD and AUTISM sometimes co-occur or are confused
with learning disabilities.
ADHD (Attention Deficiency Hyperactivity Disorder
Attention Deficiency Hlyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is
not actually a learning disability but it can hamper or
disrupt learning. Children with ADHD often have
problems sitting still, staying focussed, following
instructions etc.
AUTISM
Difficulty in mastering certain academic skills can be due to
developmental disorders such as Autism and Asperger’s
syndrome. Children with autism may have trouble in
communicating, reading body language, learning basic
skills, making friends and making eye-contact.
CHAPTER EXERCISE
1. Schools need to become centres
that prepare children for life and
ensure that all children
especially the differently abled,
children from marginalised
sections and children in difficult
circumstances get the maximum
benefit of this critical area of
education”. This observation
found in the National
Curriculum Framework 2005 is
related to………
(1) Inclusive education
(2) Constructivist learning
(3) Gender equality
(4) Critical pedagogy
2. A mixed ability group is
heterogeneous in
(1) econormic status
(2) gender and age
(3) social strata
(4) knowledge and skill
3. A creative English language
teacher can use multilingualism
as
(1) a classroom strategy to involve all
learners
(2) a tool to make connections
between ideas, people and things
(3) best resource readily available
(4) All of the above
4. A class II teacher, Ankita, uses
various tasks such as creating
charts, graph, drawing,
gathering information and
presenting them through pair or
group work. This type of
instruction
(1) helps learners with multiple
intelligences to perform well and
learn better
(2) is a way of demonstrating her own
knowledge
(3) only helps the bright learners
(4) is the best way to prepare students
for an assessment
5. According to NCF 2005 across
the curriculum approach’ for
teaching Engish means
(1) using English only as a medium of
instruction
(2) breaking down barriers between
English and other subjects
(3) having a separate curriculum for
English which goes beyond the
other subjects
(4) treating English as one of the
subjects in the curriculum
6. The teaching of English in India
is facing the main problem of
(1) excessive use of teaching aids
(2) use of traditional and old methods
(3) lack of good learning material
(4) Both (2) and (3)
7. How a good teacher will treat a
child with some learning
disability?
(1) Ignore the student completely
(2) Pay individual attention
(3) Motivate the student to learn
(4) Both (2) and (3)
8. A student of class II finds it
difficult to read his text book
lesson. He is suffering from
(1) discalculia
(3) anxiety
(2) dyslexia
(4) dysgraphia
9. Suhel, a student of class I, can
speak and read out his lessons
very fluently. But when it comes
to writing, he is unable to write
even small sentences. He is
suffering from a learning
disability called
(1) dyslexia
(3) dysgraphia
(2) autism
(4) dyscalculia
10. If a child is hyperactive, impulsive
and lacks general coordination,
she/he is considered as a child
with a
(1) hearing problem
(2) visual problem
(3) physical problem
(4) learning disability
11. Which one of the following is not a
principle of helping pupils with
learning dificulties?
(1) Teaching preparation
(2) Devise various learning situations
(3) Design meaningful learning situations
(4) Teacher offering tuition at home
12. A child is very friendly and takes
active part in group work. But his
purents always complain to the
teacher about him not writing
properly and misplacing the words,
not getting good scores in written
exam. The teacher can support the
student by
(1) praising his social interaction
(2) explaining to the child’s parents that
he is suffering from dysgraphia
(3) request parents to be patient with the
child and say motivational words
(4) All of the above
13. Which of the following is a value
associated with an inclusive
classroom?
(1) Competition
(2) Envy
(3) Sympathy
(4) Collaboration
14. After reading a poem, a teacher
involves the learners in group work.
One group writes the theme of the
poem, another draws a picture to
depict the main character andyet
another Write the summary ol the
poem. This activity
(1) is aimed at learners to prepare for
assessment
(2) will distract the learners
(3) is a sheer waste of time
(4) caters to diverse abilites and interests
of the leaners
15. According to NCF 2005 (3.1.3), “At
the initial stages of language
learning……. may De one of the
languages for learning activities
that create the child’s awareness of
the world”.
(1) English
(2) Vernacular language
(3) Second language
(4) Hindi
Previous Years’ Questions
16. According to NCF 2005,
learning of English aims
[CTET Nov2 2012]
(1) to enable knowledge acquisition
through literacy and its
development into an instrurment of
abstract thought
(2) to subsume the languages that a
child acquires naturally from
her/nis home and societal
environment
(3) to introduce standard sign
language in English for children
with lánguage related inmpairments
(4) to provide adequate facilities at
the state level for instruction in
Engish at the primary stage of
education
17. What is taught is not what is
learnt because [CTET Nov 2012]
(1) a teacher or learner can never fully
master any iscipine
(2) students pay attention durin9
informal discussion
(3) a teacher’s socio-economic level
may differ widely from the
students
(4) Students possess different
abilities, personalities and come
from a variety of backgrounds
18. A ‘special needs language
classroom, is ideally [CTET July 2013]
(1) has extra teachers to help regular
teachers
(2) exclusively furnished
(3) located separately
(4) integrates all types of leaners
19. One of the challenges of
‘Behaviour Management’ in a
senior class is [CTET July 2013]
(1) teacher’s lack of self confidence
(2) students, readiness to use the
smart board
(3) students’, lack of self study skills
(4) teacher’s preference to conduct
group rather than individual work
20. Enriching the curriculum for
learners who are gifted and
talented
(1) give them leadership roles in class
CTET Feb 2014)
activities
(2) increases complexity of curriculum
for them to experience a wider
variety of language and
opportunites for creativity
(3) promote them to a higher class so
that they are exposed to a more
difficult syllabus
(4) introduce a loreign language
21. Dyslexia is an intellectual
disability that negatively affects
the understanding abilities in
terms of [CTET Sept 201]
(1) oral language
(2) Sign language
(3) dialect
(4) reading
22. The major objective of teaching
English at primary level is [CTET Feb 2016]
(1) using English in different
situations of life
(2) speaking English in British accent
(3) scoring good marks in the exams
(4) knowing the grammar of English
23. After reading a poem a teacher
involves the learners in group
work. One group writes the
summary of the poem, another
draws a picture to depict the
main theme and yet another
sets the poern to music. This
activity [CTET Feb 2016]
(1) is a sheer waste of time
(2) caters to diverse abilites and
interests
(3) is aimed at preparing the leaners
for assessment
(4) will distract the learners from the
lesson
24. Aditi, a visually challenged child
in class IV, does not have any
text in Braille. How can a
teacher facilitate her in reading
the English textbook?
[CTET Sept 2016]
(1) She may arange and give the
audio CD of the textbook to the
child
(2) Instead of focussing on this single
child, she may use her energy in
teching the remaining class
(3) She may ask her parents to look
after their child
(4) She may ask the principal to
arrange a special teacher for her
Answers
1. (1) 2. (4) 3. (4) 4. (1) 5. (2) 6. (4) 7. (4) 8. (2) 9. (3) 10. (4)
11.(4) 12. (4) 13. (4) 14. (4) 15. (1) 16. (1) 17. (4) 18. (4) 19. (1)
20. (2) 21. (4) 22. (1) 23. (2) 24. (1)
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