Objectives of teaching English skills and their assessment in Indian schools: A study on the divergence

Abstract

Listening and speaking are active language skills, and need special attention in English language pedagogy, especially in ESL/EFL contexts. In India, where English is taught as a second language in majority of Indian states, the secondary education boards stipulate the teaching of all the four language skills as the objective of teaching English, yet teaching and assessment system is only read-write intensive, and the active language skills, i.e., listening and speaking, are neglected in teaching as well as in assessment. The present paper is the result of a survey of the language teaching objectives, learning outcomes and assessment policies of two secondary education boards in India to investigate whether there exists any divergence between the stated objectives regarding teaching English language skills, and the testing pattern followed. The findings of the study suggest that there exists a divergence between the objectives stated by state level secondary education boards and their assessment patterns set for English language. The study recommends there should be a uniform standard of teaching and assessment of English for secondary school students in India, and there should be more research studies on the potential negative impact of the neglect of teaching and assessment of speaking and listening skills.