Use of mother tongue in English classes at basic level in community schools

Abstract

This research entitled Use of Mother Tongue in English Classes at Basic Level in Community Schools was conducted to explore the roles of mother tongue instruction in English classes and challenges faced by Basic level English teachers.I used survey research design to carry out this research work. The population of the research included all the Basic Level English teachers of Community schools of Bardiya District. In addition, thirty English teachers were selected as the sample for the study by using non-random purposive sampling.I used a set of questionnaire which consisted of close and open-ended questions to collect the data. The data were analyzed and interpreted descriptively with the help of tables. The study showed that teachers used mother tongue for various purposes namely for giving complex instruction, cooperation, teaching difficult vocabulary, for motivation and providing feedback, for reducing inhibitions. Similarly, students from Tharu community used Tharu language; when they could not understand the meaning and concept of certain words, for asking questions, describing pictures and they also used mother tongue for promotion of cognitive development, building rapport with students, increasing students’ participation in activities. Additionally, it was found that the overuse of mother tongue in English classes reduced exposure, made the students lazy and hampered the learning, cannot pronounce English words correctly, lack of confidence to speak, reduced students’ opportunity to practice English speaking and listening. This thesis consist of five chapters. The first chapter is introduction including background of the study, statement of the problem, objectives of the study, research questions, significance of the study, delimitation of the study and operational definition of the key terms. The second chapter deals with review of related literature and conceptual framework which consist of review of related theoretical literature, review of related empirical literature, implication of the review for the study and conceptual framework. Similarly, the third chapter deals with method and procedures of the study, design of the study, population, sample and sampling strategies, research tools, sources of data which includes primary sources and secondary sources, data collection procedures, data analysis and interpretation procedures and ethical considerations. Likewise, the fourth chapter includes analysis and interpretations of data and results.The fifth chapter includes conclusion and recommendations. Finally, the references and appendices are included at the end of this work.