LANGUAGE IN INDIA

Strength for Today and Bright Hope for Tomorrow

Volume 16:11 November 2016
ISSN 1930-2940

Managing Editor: M. S. Thirumalai, Ph.D.
Editors: B. Mallikarjun, Ph.D.
         Sam Mohanlal, Ph.D.
         B. A. Sharada, Ph.D.
         A. R. Fatihi, Ph.D.
         Lakhan Gusain, Ph.D.
         Jennifer Marie Bayer, Ph.D.
         G. Baskaran, Ph.D.
         L. Ramamoorthy, Ph.D.
         C. Subburaman, Ph.D. (Economics)
         N. Nadaraja Pillai, Ph.D.
         Renuga Devi, Ph.D.
         Soibam Rebika Devi, M.Sc., Ph.D.
Assistant Managing Editor: Swarna Thirumalai, M.A.

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Teaching Compulsory English Course to Large Classes:
Some Observations

Prof. Sandip J. Nikam, M.A., B.Ed., SET., Ph.D. Candidate

Abstract

Teaching English to large classes is one of the most common practices in India. A large class consisting of more than 100 students needs a lot of preparation and planning on the part of the teacher. Teaching English to large classes can be challenging even for experienced teachers. Every teacher of a large class ought to give more individual attention to the students. He/she must know that the learning of English depends on having plenty of opportunities for practicing the correct and enough exposure to target language. Most teachers of English and ELT experts may agree with the view that teaching a small group of students is quite simpler, more enjoyable and less time consuming than teaching a large group. The present paper is an attempt to explore various techniques /pedagogical devices to use group activities to cope up with limited resources in dealing with large classes to teach English.

Keywords: Large classes, Compulsory English Course, Challenges, Strategies, Pedagogical Planning, Classroom Management, Students’ behavior, Techniques /Activities, Language Games, Describing picture/place, Narrating a story, etc.

Introduction

Most of the colleges affiliated to Indian Universities have the common observable fact that the number of students of compulsory English class is more than hundred. So teaching English to large classes is a regular feature of teachers teaching at UG level even in colleges affiliated to the University of Pune. Being a teacher, the researcher that the teaching of English in India needs a lot of innovations. The experiences and observations shared in this paper are based on the compulsory English classroom practices at the undergraduate level. It is very usual routine to teach large classes like Compulsory English at the undergraduate level. So what to do as teachers face a class of more than hundred students? There are certain challenges while dealing with a large class. It requires proper handling of those challenges and issues so as to facilitate the teaching and learning of English in the classroom. The following are some of the challenges and issues in regard to handling of large classes:

1. To get familiar with as many students as possible
2. To take utmost participation of students in the classroom
3. To keep up discipline ongoing throughout the lecture
4. To involve all the students of different abilities i.e. slow learners and advanced learners etc
5, To manage with limited teaching - learning resources
6. create friendly atmosphere for language learning in the class

This is only the beginning part of the article. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE IN PRINTER-FRIENDLY VERSION.


Sandip J. Nikam
M.A., B.Ed., SLET., Ph.D. Candidate
Assistant Professor in English &
Research Scholar
S. P. Pune University
Ganeshkhind
Pune 411007
Maharashtra
India
sandipnikam59@rediffmail.com
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