Research Proposal
Research Proposal
Research Proposal
Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION ..........................................................................................................3
STATEMENT OF PROBLEM ..................................................................................................5
RESEARCH QUESTION ..........................................................................................................5
OBJECTIVES .............................................................................................................................6
DELIMITATION ........................................................................................................................6
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY.............................................................................................6
CONCLUSION ...............................................................................................................11
1. Introduction
However, at higher education level (colleges and universities), there is only one
medium of instruction: that is English. Thus there are two streams of students entering
from the schools into our higher education institutions:
As far as English medium students are concerned, they do not feel much difficulty
in coping with the environment as well as the advance study; whereas, the vernacular-
medium students face a lot of problems in competing them:
These students cannot comprehend the lectures and books which are
mostly in English
They have to face so many hurdles in explaining their points of view due
to the lack of verbal competency.
Their academic results suffer a lot as they usually secure low grades due to
their inability to write proper English sentences.
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The causes of these problems seem to lie deep-rooted as English is not at all a
new language to these vernacular-medium learners. In almost all of the institutions, it is
taught up to the graduation level as a compulsory subject. However, it has been noted that
usually Grammar-Translation Method (GTM) is adopted to teach it. By utilizing the
mother-tongue, national and the regional languages, the grammatical rules as well as
from- and into-English translations are taught to the students hoping that the already
acquired language will support the target language, and by comparing the two languages
the students will be in a better position to understand the English structures.
But many researchers and linguists blame this GTM approach as “the flawed
pedagogy”4 along with the faulty material design responsible for these problems of the
learners. They argue that GTM usually proves beneficial in the beginning as the students
find it easy to learn by relating to some previous knowledge. But it should not be the only
medium used because in this manner, the mother tongue of the learners seems to interfere
a lot, and the learners always appear pre-occupied in comparing the two languages to
form English sentences which usually results in blunders.
One obvious reason for these difficulties seems to be the unavailability of the
encouraging environment for the use of English in vernacular-medium instruction. In a
country where the literacy rate is just 54%, it is very difficult for a learner to practice a
foreign language in his daily communication. English-medium learners have the
advantage over Vernacular-medium learners in this case. They can practice the language
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in the classroom and develop their confidence and skill; whereas the vernacular-medium
learners lack these opportunities. Moreover, social factors also cause shyness and
hesitation among the learners. English is still regarded as a symbol of Western culture in
Pakistan and the people seems to be in a fear of being alienated in their society.
Thus, there are so many socio-psychological problems and difficulties that hinder
the efficient and proficient learning of English language. These difficulties hinder the
proficient written expression and verbal communication causing so many other
economical and career problems.
What are the difficulties faced by an English language learner belonging to the
Urdu-medium instructions? What specially-designed pedagogical strategies can be
applied?
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Objectives
1.3.Delimitation
The researcher has delimited her research to the learners of English as a subject
from Urdu-medium background at graduation level of the University of the Punjab.
2. Literature Review
Medium of instruction is the language that is used in teaching. It may or may not
be the official language of the territory. 6 Urdu is the national language of Pakistan that is
the language of instruction in all public sector institutions. Usually Grammar-Translation
method is used for the teaching of foreign language that considers the second or foreign
language learning as a mere provision of the detailed explanation of grammar of the
target language in their native languages, paradigms to memorize, and bilingual
vocabulary lists to learn; and thus to prepare the learners for the regular task of
translating long passages.7 The aim is to enable the learners to understand foreign
literature and to pass standardized exams. 8 9
The researcher is of the view that the learners of English language belonging to
Urdu-medium instructions are under various social, economical and psychological
impediments that hinder in the proficient learning of the language. And these difficulties
can be removed by effective application of the counselling, psychological conditioning
and pedagogical strategies by the teachers.
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3. Research methodology
3.1.Research Design
3.2.Population
The population of this research will be the students of the Government Post
Graduate College for Women, Satellite Town Rawalpindi.
3.3.Sample
3.4.Research Tools
A. Survey Tools
B. Field-Study Tools
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For the presentation of data, tabular charts will be used. For example, the
questionnaire data will be presented and analysed in the following manners:
The comparison will be done in the form of progress charts and graphs. For
example, the result of the experimentation will be shown as follows:
80
70
60
50
group 1
40
group 2
30
20
10
0
day day day day day
1 3 5 7 9
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5. Conclusion
Endnotes
References