Implementing Sociocultural Approach in Teaching English as a Second Language in Pakistan: Challenges and Remedies

Abstract

It has long been established that teaching of English in Pakistan, especially at school and college level, does not provide the learners with communicative competency generally, thus, the majority of our learners cannot speak English effectively. Sociocultural theory offers a radical perspective of teaching English as a second language, turning this whole teaching-learning process into a collaborative endeavor. This study aims at experimenting this innovative approach in our context to see if this approach is practical or not, and what are the challenges and their remedies in doing so. To carry out this study, experimental research was employed including pre and post-test design. The data collected quantitatively at first, was evaluated qualitatively, later. The findings of the study clearly demonstrate that speaking skill of learners improved significantly when English was taught under the sociocultural guidelines making the learners to reach to their maximum potential by learning and developing collaboratively. However, there were certain challenges in implementing sociocultural language teaching which need to be overcome to make this teaching learning process more effective and constructive. The study suggests that English language teaching approaches, textbooks and examination system should be language oriented and speaking skill enhancement supportive to enable the learners to perform as confident and efficient English speakers.

Keywords: sociocultural, implementation, challenges, remedies