EDUCATION SECTOR TUDY PROJECT

IMYA 190 I 004t

No. 7.3

The Teach- o

by

Dr. Myo Mylnt

Myanmar Education Research BureauYangon

February • 1992

----------------- -

The Teaching of English

by

Or. Myo Myint

(Yangon University)

Acknowledgement: This paper is the outcome of the collaborative effort of a sub-group of ESS WorkingGroup No. 2 (The Quality of Education). The sub-group, chaired by Or. Khin Maung Swe (Yangon University)included the following members: Oaw Cho Cho Thein (OBE), U Khin Maung Kyi (OBE) and Or. Myo Myint(Yangon University).

ABSTRACT

This paper examines the Quality of English language instruction, the curriculum, the instructionalobjectives, instructional materials and methodology. The study is based on survey Questionnaireswhich shows that there is an urgent need for untrained Primary Assistant Teachers of English toundergo training to impart them with the proper methodology and also to upgrade their prqficiencyin English. It is also very important to acquire a communicative skill in English for secondary andtertiary learners and greater emphasis should be given to the communicative skill in theinstructional materials at this level.

",I

PREFACE

The Ministry of Education, UNDP and UNESCO are engaged in a joint effort to review the presentstatf! of education and manpower training in the Union of Myanrnar. This review is being carriedout under the Education Sector Study project, which began in mid-1990. The objective of theproject is to help improving Myanmar's education system so it can make contribute moreeffectively to the country's social and economic development. The first phase of the EducationSector Study (ESS), a detailed diagnosis and analysis of the needs of the education sector, is nowcompleted. A synthesis of the main findings has been issued in a separate report.

This paper is one of a series of working papers produced by Myanmar ESS participants. The seriescovers various important aspects of education, such as quality and efficiency, linkages betweeneduc?tion and employment, costs and financing, school facilities, and sector organization andman,;gement. The ESS Working Papers series addresses itself to all professional staff in theeducation sector, as well as to interested researchers. It is hoped that these papers will contributeto stimulate a national discussion on ways and means to improve Myanmar's education system.

Dr. Khin Maung KyweNational Project Director

Antoine SchwartzChief Technical Adviser

OBEDHEDTAVEEAPELTESPESSINCELTMERBPATREAPPSAT

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

Department of Basic EducationDepartment of Higher EducationDepartment of Technical, Agricultural and Vocational EducationEnglish for Academic PurposeEnglish Language TeachingEnglish for Specific PurposeEducation Sector StudyIn-country English Language Teaching ProgrammeMyanmar Education Research BureauPrimary Assistant TeacherReading English for Academic Purposes ProgrammeSenior Assistant Teacher

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

I. INTRODUCTION .

11. BACKGROUND. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 2

Ill. ENGLISH AT BASIC EDUCATION lEVEL. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 3

IV. ENGLISH IN HIGHER EDUCATION 11

V. CONCLUSION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 13

BIBLIOGRAPHY 15

12345

LIST OF TABLES

Test Design for Standard 10 Compulsory EnglishUpper Secondary Teachers' Opinion of TextsTeachers Opinion of What Students Feel about TextsTeachers' Opinion of What Skills Text Promote (Per cent)Students' Opinion of Texts (Per cent)

Page

7888

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CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

The purpose of this paper is to examine the quality of English Language instructionin the Union of Myanmar within the context of recent developments in the economic field of thecountry and her changing needs. It will focus on the teaching of English at the Basic and HigherEducation levels where the"bulk ofthe student population is concentrated. The study examines thethree main factors that have a bearing on the quality of language instruction: the curriculum, theinstructional objectives, instructional materials and methodology; the teacher and the learner. Thispaper will specifically deal with the following questions and the problems related to them:

• Are English language teachers using the teaching method prescribed by theBasic Education Curriculum and Textbook Committee?

• Do the methods used promote the language skills required?• What language skills do the present courses and prescribed texts develop?• What are the attitudes of the teachers and students towards the prescribed

texts?• What is the attitude of the learner towards the study of English?• Are teachers qualified and adequately trained to teach the language?• What are the parents' opinion regarding the teaching of English from

Kindergarten?

The study is partly based on the responses to five questionnaires of which the firstthree were used in a survey of 363 Primary Assistant Teachers of English, 55 Senior AssistantTeachers of English and 1516 Upper' Secondary Students in ten townships representing thedifferent geographical regions of the country. Responses to other survey questionnaires devisedby members of Working Group 2 have also been utilized. The fourth questionnaire was for Headsof Department of English at various technical, agricultural and vocational schools and institutes anduniversities and professional institutes. The last was for the general public to solic.t their opinionregarding the standard they feel was the most suitable to begin teaching English. Findings ofmembers of Working Group 2 who conducted the survey in the ten townships and observed theEnglish Classes and held informal interviews with teachers of English have also been incorporatedin the report.

CHAYfER 11

BACKGROUND

The teaching of English in Myanmar has a long history. On Pe (1976) claims thatit came to be taught during the reign of King Bodawpaya (AD 1762-1819) whose uncle and father­in-law, Prince Mekhra, was apparently one of the first students of English. Since then, there havebeen many developments in the field of English Language Teaching (ELT) in Myanmar. Twodevelopments that occurred in the field of educatior:l during the post-independence period had amajor impact on the teaching of English in the country. The first took place in 1965 when all theprivate schools were nationalized resulting in all the schools in the country being brought togetherunder a single uniform system of education for the very first time. The second developmenthappened in 1981 when the New Education programme which stemmed from the Seminar onEducation held in 1979 was introduced.

Due to the change in 1965, with the taking over of all non-state run schools by thegovernment, the practice of using English as a medium of instruction in private run European CodeSchools and the system of teaching English from Kindergarten that was followed by Anglo­Vernacular Schools came to an end. The teaching of English in Myanmar now began from Standard5 as had been the system in Vernacular and National Schools since 1950. Moreover, Myanmar wasalso made the sole medium of instruction at the Basic Education level. This has already been doneat university level a year earlier in 1964 with the enactment of the University Act. The Englishlanguage was now termed a foreign language and since it was the foreign language with whichthe Myanmar were most familiar, there was no reason why it should not be used as a medium forthe acquisition of knowledge. Thus the aim of teaching English during that period (1965-1980) wasto impart what Han Tin (1990) calls 'literary skills', i.e., reading and writing skills.

However, the fortunes of ELT changed dramatically in 1981. The New EducationProgramme which was introduced to upgrade the standard of education in the country deemed itnecessary to expand the role of English in education. From 1981 onwards, English was to betaught from Kindergarten and the aim was to develop all four skills: speaking, listening,.reading andwriting. It also prescribed that English be used as a medium of instruction at upper secondary levelto teach science subjects and economics. At university level too, English became the medium ofinstruction for most disciplines.

In parallel with the national effort to upgrade the teaching and learning of English,there is a strong desire among today's younger generation to master the language. This is traceableto the attitude of most people that a good command of English leads to better job opportunitiesboth at home and abroad..

It is now nearly a decade since the introduction of the teaching of English fromKindergarten and this study on the quality of ELT in Myanmar may therefore be said to be mostopportune.

CHAPTER III

ENGLISH AT BASIC EDUCATION LEVEL

Basic Education consists of three levels: Primary (Kindergarten to Standard 4),Lower Secondary (Standards 5 to 8) and Upper Secondary (Standards 9 and 10). From the pointof view of teaching English, the primary level is considered to be the foundation laying level inteaching all four language skills, the lower secondary level as both foundation laying anddevelopmental and the upper secondary level as developmental.

English at the Primary level

The Course

The broad objectives of teaching English at this level is for the development of allfour language skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing. The prescribed instructionalmaterials for Kindergarten is the Primer containing sixty eight words for 'look and say', letters ofthe Alphabet and Numerals 1 to 10 for reading and writing, and songs and rhymes to promote oralfluency. For Standards 1 to 4, readers are prescribed. These contain graded patterns and languageitems to be taught to the learners using a variety of communicative activities so that theirfunctional aspects will be made known to the learner. Songs and rhymes are included in thesyllabuses for all the standards to develop oral fluency.

The course has achieved limited success {jue to three reasons: the use ofinappropriate teaching techniques and methods, the non-utilization of teaching aids and theexistence of a large population of untrained primary assistant teachers. The course aim:; to impartbasic communicative skills right from the beginning. Hence it advocates for the practice oflanguage items in communicative situations in the form of meaningful interactions between teacherand pupils and among pupils th.emselves, language games and activities. However, observationsof language classes reveal that very few teachers make use of the activity-based methodology andinstead they spend most of the time teaching reading aloud and spelling and providing studentswith Myanmar meaning of words and sentences in the textbook which students are expected tocopy in their exercise books and memorize and regurgitate when demanded. This habit has becomeso ingrained in some children that on a visit to one school when we asked a Standard 2 pupil toread some of the sentences in the text, he read the sentences spelling out each word and givingtheir Myanmar equivalents after each sentence.

Due to the emphasis placed on the acquiring of Myanmar meanings of words andsentences by students, rote learning and memorization has become the primary modes of learning.Students have also come to regard the study of English as mere learning of words and sentencestogether with their Myanmar equivalents and not as the acquiring of a language which can be usedas a means of communication like their native language.

The emphasis given to the memorization of words and spelling also makes thesyllabus appear overloaded and cast a heavy burden on the young learners. As an illustration wecan take the teaching of English in Kindergarten. The syllabus prescribes that the sixty-eight wordsin the Primer be used for 'look and say' only but in most schools, students are also taught theirspelling as well as their Myanmar meanings. Moreover, these words appear in tests in the form offill in the missing letters items. It is to be noted that the Primer contains such long words as

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xylophone, umbrella, whistle, duster and arrow. It is not a small undertaking for five year olds tolook and say sixty-eight words as well as to memorize the spelling and their Myanmar meanings.

The teaching method outlined in the guide requires an abundant use of teachingaids. Most of these can be either produced by the teacher herself or can be readily available in theenvironment. However, either due to the teachers' ignorance of the value of and need for teachingaids in language classes or due to lack of resources for producing them, in most language classesvisited, no teaching aids were used. Even the few that existed in the schools such as charts werekept under lock and key in the head's cupboard. The majority of the language activities given inthe guide cannot be carried out without the use of teaching aids and teaching without them turnslanguage classes into boring sessions for drilling words and sentences.

The test design for this level is quite traditional. About 50 per cent of the marksis allotted to discrete point items on vocabulary, word forms, verb forms and structure words. Theyare either supply or multiple choice type items. Fifteen to forty per cent of the marks is given tosentence construction/controlled composition depending on the standard. Standard 3 and 4 testsinclude a reading comprehension test to which 30 per cent of the marks is given. The test ignoressuch areas as oral fluency, the listening skill, spelling and dictation, the other components of thesyllabus. This may be due to the fact that oral fluency and listening skills tests are difficult toadminister in the present condition of the classes. The focus on discrete point items and the lackof testing of oral skills encourage rote learning and memorization and the ignoring of the active useof language in communicative context by the learner.

The products of the teaching methods described in this section do not appear tofare too well. The survey shows that 40.2 per cent of the 994 primary students (Standard 4 notincluded) failed in English during the previous year.

The course may not fully realize its primary aim of imparting basic commur:'icativeskills in the language but it does have its strengths. It produces pupils who can read with a fairamount of comprehension and when reading aloud with an intelligible pronunciation, write legiblyand sing songs and recite nursery rhymes fairly fluently.

The Teacher

A study of the academic qualifications of the primary assistant teachers (PATs) inthe ten surveyed townships reveals that the majority possesses adequate academic qualifications:39 per cent are graduates, 36.9 per cent matriculates and only 19 per cent non-matriculates.Moreover, the national figures for untrained teachers indicate that 45 per cent of the PATs haveyet to receive training. In the group surveyed, 60 per cent said they had not attended any courseson the teaching of English. Among all the subjects they teach, English is the subject they mostneed training in. To teach the course successfully, they need to be clear about the aims, familiarwith the teaching method and techniques devis'ed for the course and have an adequate commandof the language. Although most PATs have sufficient academic qualifications, their English is byno means at the level required of an English teacher.

It is a fact that most PATs are not fluent speakers of the English language havinghad very little practice in that skill when they were students. The responses to the questionnairereveal their insecurity regarding the speaking skill. Questioned about which language skill they

5

perceived to be the most difficult to teach, 39.5 per cent said it was the speaking skill, 33.6 percent the writing skill, 20.4 per cent the reading skill and 6 per cent the listening skill.

The problem of lack of training in most teachers is further aggravated by the factthat only guides for Kindergarten, Standards 1 and 2 have been distributed while those forStandards 3 and 4 are unavailable. The teachers have very little choice but to resort to themethods with which they have been taught but which are unsuited to the present set of texts andtheir aims. Figures regarding the views of the teachers who are fortunate enough to own a guideare also interesting, where 34.4 per cent said it took them more time to teach a lesson ifconforming to the guide. A quarter said they found it difficult to read the guide which is in simpleEnglish. Viewed in the light of the facts presented in this section it is not surprising that teachershave been using methods and techniques other than those presented in the guide thereby affectingthe quaiity of ELT at the primary level.

English at the Secondary level

No separate survey was carried out for this level. Unlike at primary level, the teaching ofEnglish at this level has been in existence for a great number of years, Few complaints have beenregistered about the course either from the students or from the teachers. The teachers appear tobe handling the texts well, although 1989 figures for untrained teachers reveal that 52 per centof the middle school teachers were untrained. The students too appear to be quite satisfied withthe course. A study of the responses by Standards 6 and 8 students to the questionnaire onstudent characteristics reveal the following data: 30.4 per cent said English was their favouritesubject and only 6 per cent said it was the subject they disliked most. The course was found tobe just right by 60 per cent and only 8.6 per cent found it too heavy.

Each unit in the textbooks usually consists of the following five components:

• reading comprehension text which is either a.prose passage or a poem andcomprehension questions

• grammar and syntax section dealing with such aspects as sentenceconstruction, grammatical features like determiners, tense, voice,composition and punctuation

• vocabulary reinforcement and development section• oral fluency section c!Jnsisting of pronunciation drills and/or short dialogues• spelling and dictation exercises

In Standard 5 and 6 texts, units usually begin with the grammar and syntax sectionfollowed by the comprehension section as the emphasis in these two standards is on the acquiringand use of basic language items. In Standard 7 and 8 texts the order is reversed as the focus nowshifts to the development of the reading skill.

The test design for this level differs very little from that of the primary level. Themajority of the items are discrete point items on vocabulary, word form, verb form and structurewords. The minor differences are the inclusion of textbased short questions with 20 per cent ofthe marks allotted to them. In the Standard 8 test design, in addition to composition, letter writingis also tested. As with the test design for the Primary level, the test does not include such areasas oral skill, the listening skill, spelling and dictation although they form part of the course.

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English at the Upper Secondary level

The Course

The broad objectives of the course are defined in the Description of andJustification for Textbook Production. English, Basic Education Level. It is stated that the courseintends to develop all four skills of the language and the achievement aimed at is equal to that ofGCE 'Q' Level. The main aim of the syllabus and the texts is to equip the learners at the BasicEducation level with the ability to use English for academic purposes when they get into higherinstitutions of learning.

The Text for Standard 9 (Compulsory English) is made up of extracts fr~m bothliterary and scientific texts while the Additional English text contains three short stories. Anadapted novel, Wuthering Heights is prescribed as the Compulsory English Text for Standard 10while Great Expectations, another adapted novel, is prescribed as the Additional English text. Thecourse also includes poems mainly from the nineteenth century and teaching of formal grammarwith Wren and Martin's High School English Grammar and Composition prescribed as the referencebook. The syllabus also has a component to promote speaking and listening skills, dialogue, piecesof sustained conversation, short talks to develop listening and note-taking skills, textbased and/orlearner experienced based topics for oral composition/discussion are included in this component.

Although the syllabus specifies a separate component for the listening and speakingskills, no such materials appear to have been actually prescribed. The negative attitude of theteachers and students towards the use of adapted novlills written about an era which they cannotfathom and set in places which they have no knowledge of, should also be noted. Assessmentshould also be carried out on what skills such texts can promote in the light of students' needs,such as the present demand for the speaking skill.

The Standard 10 Compulsory English Course text design covers four areas: (eadingcomprehension, facts from the prescribed text, syntax (sentence construction and punctuation) andconnected discourse. Item types for each area and the marks allotted are presented in Table 1.

An important aspect of the text design is that 60 per cent of the marks is given totext-based questions/items. In the previous test design, multiple choice and supply type items formthe major portion of the test and so students tended to abandon the text in favour of memorizationof isolated words and their various forms. The present test design attempts to redress this byallotting a major portion of the marks to text-based Questions in order to make students read andstudy the prescribed texts. In this it succeeds. However, one drawback is that weak students tendto resort to memorization of huge chunks of the texts to be able to answer these questions. Thesecond important aspect of the test is its emphasis on the mastery of connected discourse byallotting 45 per cent of the marks to it. This is a great change from the previous test design whichmakes use of isolated sentences to test language items such as verb forms, word forms,vocabulary and struc~ure words. However, her~ again, those students who are unwilling to exertthe necessary effort to master it resort to memorization of prepared character sketches, essays,letters and even passages from the text for the c10ze type item. Despite its drawbacks, the testdesign can be said to be an improvement over the previous one as it requires a greater ability ofthe students in expressing themselves in English unlike the previous test design which focuses onisolated language items.

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Table 1Test Design for Standard 10 Compulsory English

Area Item Type Marks

r. ReadingComprehensionl. extract from Std 10 l. Sentence 5 x 1

J~10 ]text Completion2. Short Questions 5 x 1

202. extract from Short Questions 5 x 2 =10

Std 10 text

rr . Questions on l. Sentence 10 x 1 = 10]Std 10 text completion 20

2. Complete answers 5 x 2 = 10to questions &reference tocontext

III. Syntax To punctuate given 5 x 1 = 5]l. Punctuation sentences 15

2. Sentence Sentence 10 x 1=10Construction Transformation

IV. Connected Discoursel. Cloze Type Fill in blanks in 20 x 1/2 = 10

(passage from 9 given passage withtext) words provided

2. Character Sketch Outline given 10 45(Std 9/10)

3. Letter Writing Instruction given 104. Essay 3 paragraphs on given 15

topic; no guidelines

Total: 100

The Teacher

The majority of senior assistant teachers (SATs) who are teaching English in thetownship surveyed possesses the necessary academic qualifications and are adequately trained.Of the 55 teachers, 80 per cent were graduates, 48.1 per cent were B.Ed degree holders and 29.1per cent were holders of a diploma in Education. The questionnaire for the SATs focused on theirpreference of texts, their opinions of which skills the texts imparted and the teaching methodemployed.

It is important that views of teachers regarding the texts be known as the textsform the sole learning/teaching materials. The questionnaire showed that 74.5 per cent preferredthe Standard 9 text which is made up of excerpts from literary and scientific texts while only 23.6per cent liked the Standard 10 text, Wuthering Heights, an abridged novel. The level of difficultyand the load of each text were also assessed as follows:

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Table 2Upper Secondary Teachers' Opinion of Texts

(Per cent)

Opinion/ Difficulty LoadText

easy quite difficult too difficult too much just right

Std 9 54.4 3.6 6.0 1.8 47.3

Std 10 3.6 32.7 9.1 49.1 1.8

The question on what they think students feel about the texts elicited the followingresponses which is quite close to their own feelings about the texts:

Table 3Teachers Opinion of What Students Feel about Texts

(Per cent)

Opinion/ Difficulty Interest Load

Text easy difficult interesting boring too heavy justright

Std 9 32.7 12.7 44.0 - - 44.5

Std 10 - 50.9 27.3 29.1 54.5 1.8

The following table gives the teachers' opinions about the type of skills they feelthe texts promote:

Table 4Teachers' Opinion of What Skills Text Promote

(Per cent)

Skill/ Listening Speaking Reading WritingText

Std 9 47.3 14.5 79.9 65.5

Std 10 38.2 16.4 41.8 49.1

The table indicates that a higher percentage of teachers feel that the Standard 9text is better able to promote the language skills, particularly the reading and writing skills. It is to

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be noted that only a small percentage feel that the texts promoted the speaking skill. This reflectsthe lack of development of that skill in the High School as the aim here is to develop the ability touse English for academic purposes.

Enquiry about the mode of instruction employed revealed that an overwhelmingnumber of teachers, 70.9 per cent, used a mixture of Myanmar and English followed by those whogave the explanation mainly in Myanmar, 24.5 per cent, less than 5 per cent said they used onlysimple English in class. The responses show that the proficiency level of the students in Englishis not high enough for the teacher to be using only English all the time in class. It may also be dueto the lack of confidence on the part of the teacher to use only English in teaching.

Interaction in the class between teacher and students appear to be limited. Only10.5 per cent said that students always asked them questions, while 52.7 per cent said thatstudents asked questions only sometimes, 9 per cent said their students never asked themquestions.

At the Upper Secondary Level the medium of instruction for science subjects andeconomics is English and teachers of English appear to function as consultants to those colleagueswho have to use English as their medium of instruction. Here 85.5 per cent said that teachers ofother subjects seek help from them. This positive role of the English teacher needs to be furtherdeveloped and exploited for more effective use of English as a medium of instruction.

To summarize, the survey indicates that a certain amount of disenchantment of the.Standard 10 text exists among teachers. For a course to achieve its aims, it is important that theteacher be comfortable with and like the instructional material. There also appears to be anoverutilization of the mother tongue in the English class. Since for the majority of the students,school is the only place where they can gain access to English, it is necessary that the use ofEnglish by the teacher as well as the students be maximized as much as conditions permit.

The Student

The questionnaire for students focused on their opinions of the texts, the languageskills they would like to acquire, their attitudes towards the subject and finally their performancein the subject. As stated earlier, the design of the texts are very different from each other. Whenquestioned about their preferences regarding the text, Standard 10 studentl> who are familiar withboth the texts stated their preferences as follows: 55.5 per cent preferred the Standard 9 text,25.5 per cent the Standard 10 text and 16.9 per cent neither text. Reasons for their preferencesmay be found in the following table which shows the way they perceive the texts:

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Table 5Students' Opinion of Texts

(Per cent)

Opinion/ Difficulty Interest LoadText

Easy Diff No Int Bor No Heavy just No

Response Response right Response

Std 9 47.7 31.1 21.2 .67.7 10.6 21.7 22.8 62.8 14.4

Std 10 13.0 34.0 53.0 36.0 13.7 50.3 36.2 13.5 50.3

It will be found that the Standard 9 students' views of their texts are morefavourable than those of the Standard 10 students of their own text. More Standard 10 studentsview their texts as difficult and overloaded than Standard 9 students of their own text.

The question on which language skills they wish to acquire reveals that writingwhich is a skill they are quite weak in tops the list with 61.9 per cent followed by speaking 57 percent, reading 54 per cent and listening 27.3 per cent. These figures show that most students areeager to acquire the active skills which they are weak in but which would be useful in their futurelives. Related to this issue is the question to what extent they think English would be useful fortheir future careers. Fifty per cent thought it would be of great help, 35 per cent of some help and14.5 per cent thought it would be no help at all. Regarding the relevance of the English course intheir study of other subjects taught in English, quite a number, 66.6 per cent felt that it helped onlyslightly, while 20.4 per cent felt that it was of much help.

As regards students' views on its standing in terms of difficulty in the curr!culum,for nearly half the students, English was the most difficult subject and 32.1 per cent said theywould not study it if had not been a compulsory subject. This may be due to their poorperformance in the subject: 93.5 per cent of those surveyed said they got less than the pa_ss markof 40 in the last test they took.

The study shows that Upper Secondary students appreciate the importance ofEnglish in their future careers but a number of students appear to be disenchanted with studyingthis subject either due to their poor performance in it or because of their dislike of the prescribedtext. It must also be noted that a signifi_cant number of students feel that the course is only helpfulto a small extent in their pursuit of other subjects taught in English.

CHAPTER IV

ENGLISH IN HIGHER EDUCATION

The Context

The teaching of English at University level has undergone many changes. From1920 when the Yangon University was founded until the sixties, English was the medium ofinstruction. This came to an end with the enactment of the University Education Act in 1964.Today, English is once again being used to teach science disciplines and most of the humanitiesand social sciences.

English as an optional subject too, saw many changes. After 1964, English wastaught only during the first two years of the University course and this was reduced to one yearin 1977 with the introduction of the Regional College system. However, after discontinuation ofthe system, it became a compulsory subject that was taught for four years and for a further yearin the Honours class. In professional institutes the duration of English Language courses varies fromone institute to another. At the Yangon Institute of Technology, English is taught for four years anda further one year in postgraduate courses which is similar to the system practised in the Instituteof Economics. At the Institutes of Medicine it is taught for just one and a half year and at theInstitute of Agriculture and the Institute of Veterinary Science, English is taught for two years.

With the reintroduction of English as the medium of instruction in Higher Education,the functions of the English Department have come to include the conducting of Service EnglishCourses for staff of the other departments to build up their confidence in using English in theirteaching. This service may well have to be continued for some time to come as the Englishproficiency of new recruits appears to be on the decline.

The Course

The materials in use in First and Second Year classes are selections from a locallyproduced text Reading English. The main aim is to develop the reading skill of the student and theyinclude a selection of functions and structures which students will come across in reading theiracademic texts.

The Third Year and Fourth Year materials are more traditional in nature. Theyconsist of a reading passage and comprehension questions and a section on structure which dealswith a pot pourri of language items such as the use of model auxiliaries, tense and sentenceconstruction. The materials are teacher biased in .the sense that they require very little effort fromthe teacher and are easily adaptable as 'chalk and talk' material. With the introduction of Englishas the medium of instruction the need for a more English for Academic Purposes oriented course,has arisen and the Reading English for Academic Purposes Programme (REAPP) was initiated at theDepartment of English, Yangon University in 1986 to prepare teaching materials that would aidstudents in pursuing their field of specialization. They include skills, structures and functionsimportant to the understanding of academic prose anp include note-taking and communicativeactivities and tasks. In deference to the prevailing teaching conditions such as large classes, moreemphasis is given to individual than group work or pair work.

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The Practitioner's Viewpoint

The In-Country English Language Teaching Programme (INCELT) held recently atthe Institute of Foreign Languages, Yangon was a gathering of senior staff members ofDepartments of English from various institutes, colleges and universities, 120 scholar returneesfrom abroad and observers. One of the aims of the programme was to optimise the training in ELTreceived by the scholar returnees for more ELT undertakings in the country. During the discussionsessions, teachers expressed the opinion that the new reading materials developed by REAPP didnot go far enough with regards to developing communicative skills and suggested that acommunicative dimension be added to both English for Academic Purpose (EAP) and English forSpecific Purpose (ESP) courses. The recommendations in the final reports submitted by the themegroups ELT Methodology, and Curriculum Development and Syllabus Planning contained thestatement that communicative activities be included at all levels.

A Questionnaire on the teaching of English at various Agricultural, Vocational andTechnical Schools and Institutes and Universities and Professional Institutes sent to Heads ofEnglish Departments elicited similar responses. The following is a sample:

More emphasis should be given to listening and speaking (communicative) Skills asthe country has introduced the Market Economy and quite a number ofgraduateshave come into contact with English speaking foreigners and the need tocommunicate in English is urgently felt by these graduates.

The following assessment of the present course made by the same person appearsto be Quite fair.

The current course is Quite relevant to the future needs of the graduates only toa small extent in that they can read and comprehend little and write a little.

It is obvious that there is a general consensus among teachers of English at thetertiary level that communicative skills should be taught to students. Whether it can be actuallyimplemented in the class remains to be seen as the average class size is 100 + and there is alsoa shortage of ELT teachers.

CHAPTER V

CONCLUSION

The study has identified three issues which are felt to be the key ones in EnglishLanguage Teaching (ELT) in Myanmar. These are related to the reducing of the huge backlog ofuntrained primary assistant teachers, the teaching of communicative skills and the introduction ofEnglish from Kindergarten.

Of the many functions the English language serves - as the language of academicpursuit, as the language of science and technology, as the language of wider communication andas the language of trade and commerce - the first two have been the main reasons for teachingEnglish in Myanmar. However, with the introduction of the new economic system with itsemphasis on market economy, foreign investments is on the rise, joint ventures are being set upand trade with foreign countries has increased tremendously. These have led to a greater publicawareness of the role of English as the language of international trade and commerce. Since'English for commercial purposes' involves not just the skills of reading but also an ability to speakin the language with a certain amount of fluency and write simple letters, there is an increasinginterest among the general population in acquiring the communicative skill in English. The researchshows that among the student population too there is a large number of students who show greatinterest in acquiring this skill. There are indications that a considerable amount of manpower canbe absorbed by the trade sector. It is therefore very important that our learners, both secondaryas well as tertiary, be provided with the ability to communicate in the language in commensuratewith' the level at which they are studying. It is also vital that greater emphasis be given to thecommunicative skill in the instructional materials.

The national figures for untrained primary teachers is 45 per cent. Observationsreveal that most of these teachers were unaware of the techniques and method given in theteachers' guide. Hence they resort to methods with which they themselves have been taught suchas drilling and giving translations of words and sentences in the text. Moreover, as Williams (1990)remarked, most of these teachers are not able to speak the language they teach. There is thereforean urgent need for untrained Primary Assistant Teachers (PATs) of English to undergo training assoon as possible, not just to impart them with the proper methodology but what is equallyimportant to upgrade their proficiency in the language.

Nearly a decade has passed since the introduction of English from Kindergarten butit is still a topic for debate in academic circles. Williams (1990) believes that 'the level of successdoes not justify the time, effort and money which has been invested.' Han Tin (1990) poses thequestion whether the introduction of English at such an early stage has an adverse effect on theequipping of children with permanent skills of literacy and numeracy in their first language. Hesuggests that the teaching of English be introduced only from Standard 3. On the other hand, thereare those who believe that since it has already become an integral part of the primary educationsystem and a course which children enjoy studying, it cannot be said to be an imposition any moreto either the teacher or the curriculum but efforts should be made to make ELT more effective inthe form of readjustment of the syllabus such as reducing the load especially at the lower levelsand adopting a more dynamic and effective methodology. There is also little doubt that there is adefinite public demand to teach it from a very early stage. Of the 357 persons from all walks oflife surveyed on the topic, 77.3 per cent felt that English should be taught from Kindergarten while8.7 per cent said English should be taught from Standard 1. Primary assistant teachers too sharedthe view. Of the PATs surveyed 87 per cent are of the opinion that it should be taught from

14

Kindergarten. It must be admitted that the performance of primary students in English is less thansatisfactory and this certainly necessitates some sort of action. Any decisions taken will have totake into serious consideration two questions. The first is'At which level should we begin teachingEnglish ?' and since it is a medium of instruction for some academic disciplines at the UpperSecondary Level and the Tertiary Level the second Question is 'How many years of study of Englishis needed before it can be used as an effective medium of instruction?

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Basic Education Curriculum and Textbooks Committee. Description of and Justification forTextbook Production Work. English. Basic Education Level. Department of BasicEducation (?). Unpublished Draft.

Department of Basic Education. Curriculum and Syllabuses for Primary, Middle and High SchoolLevel (in Myanmar Language). Department of Basic Education, Ministry ofEducation, Yangon, 1981.

Department of Higher Education. Education in Myanmar. Department of Higher Education, Ministryof Education, Yangon, 1990.

Han Tin. ELT in Myanmar: Key Issues. Keynote Address Delivered at the In-Country EnglishLanguage Teaching Programme (10-14 December, 1990). Mimeograph. Submittedfor Publication, 1990.

In-Country English Language Teaching Programme. Final Report of the Theme Group "CurriculumDevelopment and Syllabus Planning". Unpublished Draft. Department of HigherEducation, Ministry of Education, Yangon, 10-14 December, 1990.

In-Country English Language Teaching Programme. Final Report ot the Theme Group " ELTMethodology". Unpublished Draft. Department of Higher Education, Ministry ofEducation, Yangon, 10-14 December, 1990.

On Pe. Teaching of English in the Basic Education System. Paper read at the Tenth Anniversaryof the Burma Education Research Bureau Seminar. Unpublished Mimeograph., BurmaResearch Bureau, 1976.

Williams, A.B. Primary Education in Myanmar Naing Ngan. Proposal for Progress towardsEducation for all. UNICEF, Yangon, 1990.

LIST OF WORKING PAPER SERIES

1. Education Data Review and Analysis

1 .1

1.2

1.3

1.4

1.5

Performance Indicators in Basic Educationby U Saw Win (Institute of Economics).

Performance Indicators in Higher Educationby U Thein Htay (OHE).

Performance Indicators in Technical, Agricultural and Vocational Educationby U Myat Naing (MERB) and U Nyunt Maung (DTAVE).

Quantitative Review of Education Staffby U Tun Hla and U Myint Thein (OBE).

Population Projections (1983-2013) by U Nyan Myint (Institute of Economics).

2. The Quality of Education

2.1

2.2

2.3

2.4

2.5

Teacher Quality by Oaw 00 Khin Hla (Institute of Education).

Pedago,"y by ()aw Nu Nu Win (Institute of Education).

Curriculum by U Myint Han (MERB).

Student Evaluation by Dr. Khin Saw Naing (Institute of Medicine 2).

Student Characteristics by U Maung Maung Myint (OBE).

3. Education and Employment

3.1

3.2

3.3

3.4

3.5

3.6

Manpower Demand and Employment Patterns in a Changing Economyby Dr. Thet Lwin (Institute of Economics).

A Tracer Study of Recent Graduates: Implications for Education and ManpowerPlanning by U Kyaw Kyaw (Department of Labour).

Linkages between Training Institutions and Employersby U Tun Aye (Ministry of No.1 Industry), Daw Myint Myint Yi (Institute ofEconomics) and U Van Naing (OBE).

Education and Work Performance (A Survey'of Employers' Perceptions) by DawHla Myint (Institute of Economics).

Non-Formal Education in Myanmar by Oaw Win Win Myint (Institute ofEconomics) and Daw Lai Lai Yu (MERB).

Labour Market Institutions in Myanmar by U Kyaw Kyaw (Department of Labour).

4. Costs and Financing of Education

4.1

4.2

4.3

Management and Administration of the Education Budget by Or. Khin Ohn Thant(Ministry of Planning and Finance).

Government Expenditure on Education by Oaw Soe Soe Aung (Institute ofEconomics) .

Non-Government Expenditure on Education by U Saw Gibson (Yangon University).

5. Education Infrastructure

5.1

5.2

5.3

5.4

The Construction Sector by U Tet Tun (Ministry of Construction), U Nyi Hla Nge(Yangon Institute of Technology), Oaw Naw Joy Loo (Institute of Medicine 1) andOaw Win Win Maw (Institute of Medicine 1).

A Comprehensive Survey of Education Facilities by U Sein Myint (OBE), U NyiHla Nge (Yangon Institute of Technology), Oaw Win Win Myint (Institute ofEconomics), Oaw Naw Joy Loo (Institute of Medicine 1), U Saw Wynn (OBE) andOaw Win Win Maw (Institute of Medicine 1).

The Provision of Infrastructure by U Nyi Hla Nge (Yangon Institute ofTechnology), U Nyunt Hlaing (Ministry of No.1 Industry), U Tet Tun (Ministry ofConstruction) and U Sein Myint (OBE).

Norms and Standards for Education Facilities by U Nyi Hla Nge (Yangon Instituteof Technology), Oaw Win Win Maw (Institute of Medicine 1), and U Tet Tun(Ministry of Construction).

6. Organization and Management of the Education System

6.1

6.2

6.3

Organization and Management of Basic Education by Oaw Hla Kyu (OBE) and UMyint Thein (OBE).

The Cluster System for Primary Schools by U Myint Han (MERB).

Organization and Management of Universities and Colleges by U Saw Gibson(Yangon University) and U Thein Htay (OHE1.

7. Special Studies

7.1

7.2

7.3

7.4

Economics and Business Education by Oaw Cho Cho Thein (OBE).

The Teaching of Science and Technology by U Khin Maung Kyi (OBE).

The Teaching of English by Or. Myo Myint (Yangon University).

Higher Education by U Myo Nyunt (Institute of Education)