LANGUAGE IN INDIA

Conversational Cloze as a Measure of Ability in English in Indian Schools

Md. Sohel Rana, Ph.D. Candidate

Introduction

This study aims to bridge the gap between English language teaching and mother tongue teaching (Bengali).

The main focus of the present study was to measure the comprehension level of the informants in English Conversational Cloze tests in both English and Bengali medium schools to identify the level of command they have for the second language (English) in Standards XI and XII.

In addition to this primary focus, the study also looked into the way a cloze differentiates among levels of proficiency as well as the practicality of the technique as a language testing tool. We earnestly hope that the findings of the present study will help in redesigning the curriculum of English language teaching and mother tongue teaching in the schools of West Bengal.

The experiment is presented here in the following format: first, the paper deals with describing the materials and methods followed for this study and then it presents and discusses the results. Finally, the paper summarizes the findings and concludes with some general remarks.

Materials and Methods

In the following section we shall discuss the research tools and procedures adopted mainly in English cloze tests for both English and Bengali medium schools.

For this study, the researchers prepared a test with a total of 4 conversations from different situations, namely, one about the conversation between two friends while they were traveling by train to go to Kolkata, another one was based on the conversation between a book-seller and the customer while purchasing a dictionary, the third one was a conversation that took place in a crowded Sabzi market (Vegetable Market). And the final one was the conversation between two friends while they were talking about their aim in life.

Data were collected through ethnographic consultation (face to face communication) and questionnaire. Firstly, authors recorded these conversations in Bengali language. After that the first author translated the texts from Bengali to English language.

Deletion Rate and Number

For preparing the conversational text in English, we selected words that are essential in a sentence. These included items such as parts of speech, active and passive, articles, prepositions, and so on. At the time of choosing and deleting these items from the test sentences of the text, we ensured that students did not feel any difficulty in guessing the missing items. In other words, context of sentences could aid students in indentifying the missing words and filling up the blanks suitably.

Every passage had approximately 120 to 150 words, and a total of about 20 words or items were deleted (left blank in the sentences) from the original text to reach this level.

Participants

Forty students representing a homogenous proficiency level participated in the study. The students who were on top or nearly on top of the classes were enrolled from Classes XI and XII. They were selected from 4 schools; Domkal Bhabataran High School, Modhurkul High School (Bengali medium) and Domkal Model School, Betai Senior Secondary High School (English medium).

Testing Procedure

The conversational texts without the deleted words were recorded on tape and the tape was played to the students. Students were asked to guess the missing words.

Scoring Procedure

For both English and Bengali medium schools we used both Exact Word (EW) and the Semantically Acceptable Word Method (SEMAC).

Data Analysis

This study followed the statistical analysis for overall results of conversational cloze tests in both English and Bengali medium schools. First, the authors made an analysis of the average percentages of all English cloze tests individually, and then prepared the average percentages.

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Ergativity in Pahari Language | The Robustness of Free Reading in Second and Foreign Language Education | Conversational Cloze as a Measure of Ability in English in Indian Schools | Teaching the Intangibles - The Role of the English Teacher | Failures and Disillusionment in Naipaul's Miguel Street | Issues and Problems in Ph.D. in English - Degree Quality Assurance in Pakistan | Socio-Linguistic Constraints of Code Switching in Hindi-English-Kannada Multilinguals | Nature of Perception according to Gautama | The Quintessence of Sports Psychology and Language | Some Characteristics of Tamil Jokes | Lexical Opposites in Tamil | The Fire and the Rain - Deriving Meaning for Modern Life from Myths | Realilty and Challenges for Tamil in a Multilingual Environment - Tamil in Malaysia: An Essay in Tamil | Teaching and Learning a Classical-Modern Language - Some Thoughts Relating to Tamil | HOME PAGE of December 2009 Issue | HOME PAGE | CONTACT EDITOR