Teaching English in Multilingual Contexts Selections from the Fifth AINET International Conference, Hyderabad, 10-11 January 2020 Krishna Dixit Vivek Joshi Ravinarayan Chakrakodi Nadeem Khan Kuheli Mukherjee Milind Mane AINET Association of English Teachers www.theainet.net Teaching English in Multilingual Contexts Editors Krishna Dixit Vivek Joshi Ravinarayan Chakrakodi Nadeem Khan Kuheli Mukherjee Milind Mane © 2021 AINET ISBN 978-81-930684-1-0 Published by AINET Association of English Teachers The views expressed in the articles contained herein are the personal views of the respective authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the editors or of AINET. The authors have confirmed that the articles are their original work. Foreword We are pleased to bring to you this collection of papers presented at the 5th AINET International Conference held on 10-11 January 2020 at Vasavi College of Engineering, Hyderabad (India). This is the third in the series of conference selections published by the AINET after English Language Education: Understanding Change (2015) and Exploring Learners and Learning of English (2016). Built around the theme of English in Multilingual Contexts, the conference attracted over 400 delegates and saw over 125 paper presentations and 30 workshops. The multilingual board placed at the conference venue, inviting delegates to mention their languages, showed the presence of 100+ languages – Indian and non-Indian – at the conference. The collection is noteworthy as it presents what occupies teachers’ minds and hearts – opportunities for innovation and change, constraints and challenges, and strategies to overcome them. One common theme across all papers is the concern for learners and their effective learning. The recurrent themes in this collection include teacher research, catering to learners’ need effectively, willingness to innovate, and teacher development, to mention a few. The contributors include teachers working at primary to tertiary levels. In a sense, the collection offers a glimpse of ELT in the Indian education context in terms of teacher thinking and their concerns, methods, materials, assessment, and the role of technology in teaching and learning. The collection is divided into two parts – Explorations and Experiences. The ‘Explorations’ section presents studies that were planned and executed systematically and presented formally, whereas the ‘Experiences’ section, as the name denotes, presents teachers’ experiences of their experiments carried out equally sincerely and with enthusiasm, but presented less formally or ‘academically’. The Explorations section, consisting of 17 papers, begins with a paper by Bhavna Rai on the potential as well as problems in using multimedia activities in teaching English literature at the undergraduate level. The role and impact of culture is explored in the content of the Class 1 textbook (of the Maharashtra State Board of Education) by Darshana Bapat. Harisimran Singh Sandhu presents a case for a neuroscientific approach to vocabulary acquisition through spaced repetition systems. Jason Anderson discusses the beliefs of Indian teachers about ‘effective teachers’ and suggests some prototypical features of an abstracted effective teacher profile. Meenakshi Kharatmol presents an interesting study on the use of technology by teachers working at the primary level. Miazi Hazam argues in her paper for a rethinking of canon in teaching English literature at the tertiary levels. The effective use of mother tongue in supporting English language learning with information about available resources is discussed by Michelle Bambawale. Mirza Mohammad Borhan’s paper is a study of the influence of Persian on marginalization of the Shughni language in Afganistan. Nadeem Khan and Manoj Zade report on an ongoing study focused on the role of blended digital content in personalizing English language learning. Prithivirajsingh Thakur discusses English language education through the lens of post-truth. In a detailed exploration Purna Bahadur Kadel discusses self-regulated learning strategies for teachers’ professional development. Renu Dhotre and Rohini Sankpal report on experiences and learning through their mentoring activities aimed at facilitating teacher research. Ruth Hauzel succinctly presents a study about the effects of using Moodle on the teaching and learning of English language. Suyog Dixit presents a case for a novel translingual approach for teaching English to tribal students of class 1 and 2. Syed Irshad Ali shares the experience of his exploratory action research study targeted at developing speaking skills of students. The use of multiple scaffolding for effective teaching and learning through an action research study is presented by Voleti Madhavi. The ‘Experiences’ section begins with a paper by Anagha Kulkarni and Yogeshwari Rao narrating their experiments in fostering the language skills through innovative approaches. Chankeekumar Shahane shares his experience of using gamification approach for teaching English to multilingual learners. Dhanesh Sinha’s paper presents an argument in using non-conventional resources for enhancing learner motivation for communicating in English. An experiment in using phonics to help rural background learners is discussed by Gajanan Tayade. On similar lines, Hansraj Desai shares his personal experience of teaching English through the use of English vocabulary familiar to learners. Harsha Chavan discusses the role of teacher training in helping teachers (by training) to develop learners’ reading skills. Ishita Ghoshal’s paper presents an innovative experiment in assessment involving students. Jayshree Jangale presents her perspective on the changing needs of teacher training in Maharashtra. Class presentations on various topics as an effective method of teaching is discussed by Jyotimani Rocque- Simon. Khandu More shares a narrative about the effective use of technology with rural students in teaching English. Nadini Badgujar discusses a few useful techniques for teaching writing. Ways of self- development for helping students is discussed by Pratima Dewangan. Raghavendra Adoni shares his experience of operationalizing an English club of learners and its impact on student learning. In his brief paper Sameer Deode shares some practical strategies he used to develop various language skills of his students. Seema Dudhagi discusses the outcomes of teacher training in effective teaching. The use of varied strategies for meeting varied learning styles of secondary students is explored by Suwarna Kulkarni. A study on helping slow learners in active participation in group discussion activity is explored by V. Parvathi. In the last paper, Yogita Patil presents her experience of helping students in loud reading. This collection took longer to publish than expected, mainly because of the now all-too-familiar disruptions and unanticipated challenges of the pandemic. We are extremely delighted that we are finally able to place it in your hands and hope that it will stimulate further dialogue, discussion, debate, and networking among us ELT professionals and practitioners! We end with sincere thanks to all contributors for their patience and would also like to thank everyone, and there too many of them to list individually, who provided great support all along in the progress of this collection to its culmination. The Editors Table of Contents Foreword SECTION I: EXPLORATIONS 1 Multimedia in Literature Classroom: Problems and 1 Potential Bhavana Rai 2 Role of Culture in ESL Textbooks: a Case Study 10 Darshana Bapat 3 Introducing Spaced Repetition Software for 17 Vocabulary Acquisition in School Harisimran Singh Sandhu 4 The effective Teacher of English: Beliefs of Indian 21 Teachers Jason Anderson 5 Use of Technology by Zilla Parishad Primary Teachers 37 in English Classrooms Meenakshi Kharatmol 6 The Question of Canon: Teaching English Literature in 41 Multi-cultural Classrooms Miazi Hazam 7 Using the Mother Tongue to Support English Language 47 Learning Michelle Bambawale 8 The Influence of Persia in Marginalization of Shughni 60 Language in Afghanistan Mirza Mohammad Borhan 9 Role of Blended Digital Content in Personalising 69 English Language Learning Nadeem Khan and Manoj C. Zade 10 ELE in the Post-truth World: Exploring a New Context 77 Prithvirajsingh Thakur 11 Is Self-Regulated Learning Strategies Matter for 82 Teacher Professional Development? Purna Bahadur Kadel 12 Change in Perceptions of Teachers on Becoming 96 Teacher Researchers Renu Dhotre 13 Developing Teachers’ Interest and Engagement in 100 Classroom Research Rohini Sankpal 14 Effects of using Moodle in the English Language 106 Classroom Ruth Hauzel 15 Using Translingual Approach for Tribal Students of 1st 113 and 2nd Standards Suyog Dixit 16 Developing Speaking Skills: An Exploratory Action 123 Research Syed Irshad Ali 17 Multimodal Scaffolding for Effective Teaching- 128 Learning: An Action Research Project Voleti Madhavi SECTION II: EXPERIENCES 18 Fostering of LSRW through Innovative Approaches 135 Anagha Kulkarni & Yogeshwari Rao 19 Using Gamification in ELT for multilingual learners 143 Chankeekuar Shahane 20 Non-conventional Resources for Learner Motivation for 145 Communicative English Dhanesh Sinha 21 Using Phonics to Help Rural Secondary Learners in 150 Maharashtra Gajanan Tayade 22 English Language Development with the Help of Familiar 153 English Words Hansraj Desai 23 Mentoring Teachers to Develop Learners Reading Skills 155 Harsha Chavan 24 Customising