INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON CONTEMPORARY MAURITIUS MAHATMA GANDHI INSTITUTE

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INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON CONTEMPORARY MAURITIUS MAHATMA GANDHI INSTITUTE 14 -16 SEPTEMBER 2011

INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON CONTEMPORARY MAURITIUS MAHATMA GANDHI INSTITUTE 14 -16 SEPTEMBER 2011

THE PROBLEMS AND PROSPECTS OF TEACHING/LEARNING ASIAN LANGUAGES IN MAURITIUS: THE CASE OF TAMIL

THE PROBLEMS AND PROSPECTS OF TEACHING/LEARNING ASIAN LANGUAGES IN MAURITIUS: THE CASE OF TAMIL By Dr Jeevendiren Chemen, Senior Lecturer, MGI

The Research Paper 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Background Methodology Problems Prospects Conclusion

The Research Paper 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Background Methodology Problems Prospects Conclusion

1. BACKGROUND Slide 5 shows the different languages as listed as spoken languages in

1. BACKGROUND Slide 5 shows the different languages as listed as spoken languages in Population census 2000. Slide 6 shows the various Asian languages taught and learned in the curriculum. Slides 7 and 8 give an inidcation of the number teachers involved at the primary, secondary and tertiary levels. Inspite of the high ration of teacher and studebts at all levels, not only the performance of the learners at almost all level is low but the number of drop outs at different levels also is very low( slides

‘SPOKEN’ LANGUAGES IN MAURITIUS (Population Census, 2000) n n n n Arabic Bhojpuri Cantonese

‘SPOKEN’ LANGUAGES IN MAURITIUS (Population Census, 2000) n n n n Arabic Bhojpuri Cantonese Chinese Creole English French n n n n Gujrathi Hakka Mandarin Marathi Tamil Telugu Urdu

Asian Languages in Mauritius Curriculum Arabic Hindi Marathi Modern Chinese Tamil Telugu Urdu

Asian Languages in Mauritius Curriculum Arabic Hindi Marathi Modern Chinese Tamil Telugu Urdu

No of Learners/teachers Primary Arabic Hindi Chinese Marathi Tamil Telugu Urdu 7, 180 47,

No of Learners/teachers Primary Arabic Hindi Chinese Marathi Tamil Telugu Urdu 7, 180 47, 217 2, 248 1, 693 6, 376 2, 067 12, 008 92 Second 3, 844 564 20, 911 33 Tertiary Nil 628 98 179 Nil 24 53 367 5 1, 591 12 25 8 181 622 36 44 4 87 5, 150 15 36 5 303 55 100 4 5

Learners/teachers Ratio Primary Arabic Hindi Chinese Marathi Tamil Telugu Urdu 78 83 93 31

Learners/teachers Ratio Primary Arabic Hindi Chinese Marathi Tamil Telugu Urdu 78 83 93 31 35 23 39 1 Second 116 1 213 1 Tertiary N. A 1 125 1 22 1 30 1 44 1 6. 25 1 1 41 1 8. 8 1 1 93 1 9 1 1 1 20 1 1

Number of Students at various levels Languages Arabic Chinese Hindi Marathi Tamil Telugu CPE

Number of Students at various levels Languages Arabic Chinese Hindi Marathi Tamil Telugu CPE 1157 118 8124 251 1099 409 SC 303 2 2114 26 121 45 HSC 55 8 604 16 52 23 Urdu 2193 431 165 Source: Mauritius Examinations Syndicate, 2010.

DROP OUTS CPE ( 2005) TO SC (2010) CPE ENTRIES 2005 CPE PASS 2005

DROP OUTS CPE ( 2005) TO SC (2010) CPE ENTRIES 2005 CPE PASS 2005 SC ENTRIES 2010 Drop Outs at SC % Drop Outs At SC % Drop Outs Entry-Exit 1249 865 303 562 64 % 75 % Chinese 149 97 2 95 98 % 99 % Hindi 10060 6855 2114 4741 69 % 79 % Marathi 375 268 26 242 90 % 93 % Tamil 1380 938 121 817 87 % 91 % Telugu 463 348 45 303 87 % 90 % Urdu 2864 1994 434 1560 78 % 85 % Total 16540 11365 3045 8320 73 % 82 % Arabic

% Very Low Performance (Grade wise) Lang. Arabic Chinese English French Hindi Marathi Tamil

% Very Low Performance (Grade wise) Lang. Arabic Chinese English French Hindi Marathi Tamil Telugu Urdu CPE (E, F) 42. 7 48. 6 31. 0 43. 0 49. 9 50. 7 45. 8 41. 3 44. 7 SC(7, 8, 9) 23. 9 20. 0 49. 1 30. 6 19. 1 32 51. 7 21. 6 15. 6 Source: Mauritius Examinations Syndicate, 2006) HSC(D, E, F) 45. 4 Nil 57. 1 33. 9 40. 6 0 37. 4 46. 7 26. 9

Appraisal of 11 students (2006) n Post HSc students Essay(E 1) : Describe the

Appraisal of 11 students (2006) n Post HSc students Essay(E 1) : Describe the primary and secondary schools where you studied. Essay(E 2) : The impact of science on our daily life Trainees’ Linguistic Performance compared with CPE, SC, HSC Results

Linguistic Performance and Results CPE SC HSC Sch/P Errors E 1 Errors E 2

Linguistic Performance and Results CPE SC HSC Sch/P Errors E 1 Errors E 2 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 CPE A A A C A A A SC 3 2 4 4 3 3 3 6 2 3 5 HSC A C C A B C B D B B C Sch/P P P Sch Sch P P Sch P Errors E 1 58/243 33/220 48/249 37/254 40/245 40/241 24/239 40/214 17/266 27/190 54/303 Errors E 2 41/178 16/143 19/181 43/250 46/213 49/211 27/328 48/182 42/224 35/210 58/260

Appraisal of 11 students (2010) Post HSC students Essay(E 1) : The importance of

Appraisal of 11 students (2010) Post HSC students Essay(E 1) : The importance of rain Essay ( E 2): The primary and secondary schools where you studied Tamil. Trainees’ Linguistic Performance compared with CPE, SC, HSC Results

n Learners performance in 2011

n Learners performance in 2011

CPE SC HSC Sch/P Errors E 1 1 A 3 B Sch 22/175 2

CPE SC HSC Sch/P Errors E 1 1 A 3 B Sch 22/175 2 A 3 A Sch 20/127 3 A 2 C Sch 32/260 4 A Sch 19/167 5 A 4 B Sch 48/208 6 A 3 A Sch 15/160 7 A 1 C Sch 19/200 8 A 5 B Sch 21/150 9 A 3 B Sch 17/160 10 A 3 B Sch 27/216 11 A 4 C Sch 15/152

Performance of learners in 2006 and 2010 2006 2010 1 4. 3 7. 9

Performance of learners in 2006 and 2010 2006 2010 1 4. 3 7. 9 2 8. 9 6. 6 3 9. 5 8. 1 4 5. 8 8. 7 5 4. 3 6 4. 3 10. 6 7 12. 1 7. 1 8 5. 3 10. 5 9 6 9. 4 10 4. 7 8 11 4. 6 10. 1 Average 6. 3 8. 3

The problem

The problem

The problems The main problem with the teaching/learning of asian languages in mauritius are

The problems The main problem with the teaching/learning of asian languages in mauritius are a poor perfornmance on the part of the learners and the a high brate of drop outs inspite of the high input in terms of time, talents and energy and money. The problems could be perceived from three main levelsn( slide 23), inter alia. 1. linguistic level 2. Pedagogical level 3. Infrastructural level At the linguistic level, the problems have to be addressed mainly taking into consideration the systemic performance, sociolinguitic and strategic levels, all prerequisites for a good written and spoken communication. (Slide 24). n

n Pronunciation, spelling, addition and omission of letters, homonyms and methathesis, juast to mention

n Pronunciation, spelling, addition and omission of letters, homonyms and methathesis, juast to mention a few, are some of the probblems encountered by the learners. Morphological and syntactic constructions are really a headache for most of the learners of a second and foreign languages when due to intra and inter llingusitic influences. Some of the asian languages are very agglutinative in nature and good command of morphophonetic rules are essential to avoid errors at this level. Inappropriate vocabulary oftens make the learners to deviate fro the correct expression at the semantic level. Learners of languages such as Tamil often have to master the diglossic issues that present in the language between the written and spoken forms.

The Problem n Low performance of the learners n High rate of drop outs

The Problem n Low performance of the learners n High rate of drop outs

Problems n Linguistic level n Pedagogical level n Infrastructural level

Problems n Linguistic level n Pedagogical level n Infrastructural level

Linguistic level n Systemic performance level n Sociolinguisitic level n Strategic level

Linguistic level n Systemic performance level n Sociolinguisitic level n Strategic level

PROBLEMS AT LINGUISTIC LEVEL SYSTEMIC COMPETENCE AQUISITION 1. PHONETICS AND PHONOLOGICAL LEVELS 2. GRAMMAR

PROBLEMS AT LINGUISTIC LEVEL SYSTEMIC COMPETENCE AQUISITION 1. PHONETICS AND PHONOLOGICAL LEVELS 2. GRAMMAR LEVEL 1. SEMANTIC LEVEL

Phonetics and phonological levels Pronunciation n Spelling l , l ( retroflex); n ,

Phonetics and phonological levels Pronunciation n Spelling l , l ( retroflex); n , n (dental, alveolar, refroflex); t , t (dental, retroflex); r, r n (alvoelar) Addition, omission of letters n Homonyms n Methathesis ( letters in wrong place) n

Grammatical level Cases n Syntax- SVO – SOV n Infinitives- participles n Indirect speech

Grammatical level Cases n Syntax- SVO – SOV n Infinitives- participles n Indirect speech n

Reasons for problems at Systemic competence levels Inter lingual interference Intra lingual interference Teacher

Reasons for problems at Systemic competence levels Inter lingual interference Intra lingual interference Teacher competence Teaching approaches Lack of teachinhg/learning materials

n The following slides summarise the major shortcomings at the level of pedagogy. Not

n The following slides summarise the major shortcomings at the level of pedagogy. Not only there are no textbooks and workbooks at some levels of the teaching /learning of the some of the languages, but also, the contents and approach of the books are inappropriate taking into consideration the status of the language, the exposure of the languafge and the formal and informal enviroment in which the learners are. appropriate and accurate and effective supervison, mentoring and acvvices are also very important to further improve the teaching/llearning of the language.

Pedagogical problems Inappropriate teaching methods ( L 1, L 2, F. L) n Inappropriate

Pedagogical problems Inappropriate teaching methods ( L 1, L 2, F. L) n Inappropriate textbook n Lack of textbook/ work book n Inappropriate supervision/ no supervision n Lack of ICT materials n Inappropriate teaching aids n

Infrastructural level There are lots of pitfalls at the level of infrastrure in the

Infrastructural level There are lots of pitfalls at the level of infrastrure in the teaching/learning of the languages in Mauritius. Most of the languages are not tatught in the most conducive environment. In a few cases more than one languages are being taught in the same clasrrom at the same time witth a light separation of the spaces and in some of the cases all of them are done in the same classroms. Very often the class turns into a ccaphoinc situation.

Prospects n n n n n Teaching as a profession Translation as a profession

Prospects n n n n n Teaching as a profession Translation as a profession Research as a profession Desire to understand ( Speeches, films, songs, prayers) Desire to speak India emerging economy Journalists Language for business purposes Language for tourist purposes Language for the cultural and religipous purposes

n THANK YOU

n THANK YOU