TITLE:
Obstacles in Learning English as a Second Language among Intermediate Students of Districts Mianwali and Bhakkar, Pakistan
AUTHORS:
Tahir Jahan Khan, Nasrullah Khan
KEYWORDS:
English Language, Training, Syllabi, Behaviour
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Social Sciences,
Vol.4 No.2,
February
25,
2016
ABSTRACT: No one can dispute the assertive position of English as a communicative language. It is enjoying status of medium of instruction as well as compulsory subject in Pakistan. But it is facing numerous problems in learning. The failure rate of the students is increasing which is deplorable. The failure in this subject means the failure in the public examinations. The concerns about the situation can be observed by all the stakeholders. The recent study is an attempt to probe into the alarming situation that has been conducted in the male colleges of public sector of Districts Mi-anwali and Bhakkar, the remotest Districts of Pakistan. This study deeply looks into the obstacles faced by the intermediate collegiate students in learning it. Four out of seven public sector colleges of both districts have been selected; taking from urban and rural areas to get genuine and reasonable data in this connection. The study has examined the position of English in the presence of Urdu and Saraiki, the mother tongues of students with the background of the brief survey of the position of English and the learners of it. Many factors have been indicated that are responsible for creating obstacles in learning English. Results point out that students of the context desire to learn English but numerous factors stand on their way of progress that need to be eradicated for the better future of this language. The ambiguous educational policies, the bias attitude towards English, the behavior of parents and teachers, the adverse policies of the government, the unavailability of modern teaching technology to the public sector, the shortage of English teachers especially in the remotest located colleges, the flawed syllabi and examination system, the lack of teaching training and the deprived position of teachers are the major factors that are arising obstacles in learning English. The study emphasizes upon the state support by adopting positive approach to the issue to strengthen the position of English.