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Unit 5: Teaching of Regional Language

5.1. Role and importance of teaching regional language in daily life.
5.2. Approaches and techniques of teaching regional Language based on the prescribed curriculum of
elementary classes.
5.3. Study skills and reference skills

5.4. Language games in teaching language especially with vocabulary and grammar, appropriate use of TLM
and technology
5.5. Facilita ng learning regional Language for children with ASD, SLD and ID

5.1 Role and importance of teaching regional language in daily life

Recently, the Chairman of the University Grants Commission (UGC) emphasised that early ini a on of learning a mother tongue is important for
a child’s crea ve thinking.
Regional language is a term used to refer to a language that is spoken by a sizeable number of people but is not the de facto language of
communica on in the rest of the country.
· A language is considered regional when it is mostly spoken by people who reside largely in one par cular area of a state or country.
· Ar cle 343(1) of the Indian Cons tu on states that the official language of the Union shall be Hindi in Devanagiri Script.
Need for Regional Language
Remove Dilemma:
§ To remove the dilemma regarding giving preference to English language rather than any vernacular language and let the child think naturally
in their own mother tongue.
Colonial Mindset:
§ There was a need to change our a tudes, so that when someone asked a ques on in a class in a regional language, they should not feel
inferior.
Benefits:
§ Subject-Specific Improvement: Several studies in India and other Asian countries suggest a posi ve impact on learning outcomes for students
using a regional medium rather than the English medium.
§ Performance in science and math, in par cular, has been found to be be er among students studying in their na ve language compared to
English.
§ Higher Rates of Par cipa on: Studying in the na ve language results in higher a endance, mo va on and increased confidence for speaking
up among students and improved parental involvement and support in studies due to familiarity with the mother tongue.
§ Poor grasp of English has been ed by many educa onists to dropout rates at the premier engineering educa on ins tu ons as well as poor
performance of some students.
§ Addi onal Benefits for the Less-Advantaged: This is especially relevant for students who are first-genera on learners (the first one in their
en re genera on to go to school and receive an educa on) or the ones coming from rural areas, who may feel in midated by unfamiliar
concepts in an alien language.

Regional Language be Promoted in Educa on

Either regional languages would be adopted by educa onal ins tu ons as a medium of instruc on, or they would be used as a learning tool for
English-medium students who might not be fluent in the language.
§ Technology: In the future, real- me transla ons in classrooms would be possible thanks to ar ficial intelligence-based technology.
§ Na onal Educa on Policy: The Na onal Educa on Policy 2022 places a strong emphasis on strengthening the mother tongue, which should be
used as a language up to at least the fi h or eighth grade.
§ Addi onally, it exhorts academic ins tu ons to create study materials in local languages.

Education is something that has the unique juxtaposition of having an industrial scale in structure, while at the same time being highly personal by
nature. This causes cognitive dissonance among learners, especially in students who might not be comfortable with the medium of education
being English. Regional language can fill this gap with the teacher explaining the subject in the language so that the student can understand the
basic concept behind the subject and reproduce it in the exam in their own words.

5.2 Approaches and techniques of teaching regional Language based on the prescribed curriculum of
elementary classes.

In a scenario where the entire world is rapidly globalizing, what significance does regional language have? Shouldn’t we be focusing on teaching
students and making them fluent in global languages like English and Spanish? This is quite a compelling question, but the answer to it requires
careful pragmatic analysis of the spread and reach of those languages in the inner workings of a country and how much effort needs to be put into
retraining the majority of the working population in that language - which not only requires an additional blog but a lot of linguistic and cultural
research put into studying this subject, which is not the subject of this blog.

This is presented not as a counterargument to the claim mentioned above, but rather as an alternative approach to its opposite paradigm - what’s
the advantage of learning regional languages?

§ Helps People Connect With The Language’s Culture

§ Easier Communication for Education
§ Knowing an Extra Language

While most of us are familiar with the language teaching methods used in educa on, there is a huge variety of language learning methods available
and some of them are be er suited to certain learners than others.
The Direct Method
In this method, the teaching is done en rely in the language being learned. The learner is not allowed to use his or her original language. Grammar
rules are avoided and there is an emphasis on good pronuncia on.
Grammar-Transla on
In this method, learning is largely by transla on to and from the target language. Grammar rules are to be memorized and long lists of vocabulary
learned by heart. There is li le or no emphasis placed on developing oral ability. This method is most commonly used in secondary educa on.
Audio-Lingual
The theory behind this method is that learning a language means acquiring habits. There is much prac ce of dialogues in every situa on. New
language is first heard and extensively drilled before being seen in its wri en form.
The Structural Approach
This method sees language as a complex of gramma cal rules which are to be learned one at a me in a set order. So for example the verb “to be”
is introduced and prac ced before the present con nuous tense which uses “to be” as an auxiliary. This method of learning is common in language
learning apps.
Total Physical Response (TPR)
TPR works by having the learner respond to simple commands such as “Stand up”, “Close your book”, “Go to the window and open it.” The method
stresses the importance of aural comprehension and the importance of kinesthe c learning.
Communica ve Language Teaching (CLT)
The focus of this method is to enable the learner to communicate effec vely and appropriately in the various situa ons she would be likely to find
herself in. The content of CLT courses are func ons such as invi ng, sugges ng, complaining, or no ons such as the expression of me, quan ty,
loca on. Much like The Structural Approach, this method is commonly used in language learning apps.
Task-based language learning
The focus of the teaching is on the comple on of a task which in itself is interes ng to the learners. Learners use the language they already have to
complete the task and there is li le correc on of errors. The aim here is to highlight the importance of learning the language by making it vital to
task comple on.
The Natural Approach
This approach, propounded by Professor S. Krashen, stresses the similari es between learning the first and second languages. There is no
correc on of mistakes. Learning takes place by the students being exposed to language that is comprehensible or made comprehensible to them.

As you can see, regional languages have, are, and always will play an important role in the socio-economic and political situation of a nation as well
as the educational advancement of a country’s society. It can really bring together people of a community and help them connect with each other
better.

This is not an attempt at glorifying a particular regional language or playing down the importance of national languages but is rather a reminder to
connect with one’s roots and understand the cultural relevance and historical significance of something that is simply considered one’s mother
tongue - there is a lot more power to knowledge than meets the eye.

5.3 Study skills and reference skills

STUDY SKILLS
Note-taking, shortening and transfer the informa on involving graphic and pictorial material, charts, tables, maps, etc., the library prac ce is loca ng
the sources of informa on; make into summaries, etc., these are the ‘survival-kits’ or the ‘tool-kits’ that are necessary for successful and informed
living in the compe ve world of today.
REFERENCE SKILLS
While referring dic onaries, ‘words’ books and encyclopaedia are important. Dic onaries are the most instruc ve tool for the learners’ nowadays
dic onaries are giving guidance for not only the pronuncia on, spelling and meanings but also examples of usage with illustra on, difference in the
Bri sh and American spelling, colloca ons, excep ons and a whole informa on are necessary to learn English. Learners must have been taught how
to use such dic onaries.
In very simple terms, 'study skills' may be defined as skills which help learners to study more efficiently. When we teach study skills to our learners, we
achieve two purposes: (a) Directly- We help the student to increase higher knowledge of the subject ma er. b) Indirectly -We improve higher ability to
learn other subjects independently and at will. In other words, we enable him/her to 'learn to learn'.
We must be careful to dis nguish linguis c skills from study skills. Linguis c skills help learners to 'communicate'; study skills, on the other hand,
enable the learners to 'study'; and the process of study involves four opera ons: percep on, comprehension, reten on and retrieval. In other words,
the student should first perceive what is relevant to higher needs, and select only those areas which are important. S/he cannot study everything
available in every book s/he can lay hands on. Once s/he has decided on areas significant to him/her, s/he has to read and understand - or
comprehend - the material that d he has selected, for no learning can take place without comprehension. What is not understood is not learnt.
Comprehension thus cons tutes an important stage in the process of learning. However, mere comprehension does not guarantee mastery of the
subject; for human memory is so transient, that, what is understood, may easily be forgo en, hence the learner has to make special efforts to retain
what she has learnt. Different students adopt different means towards reten on. Very weak students blindly memorize the whole lesson; brighter
learners, however, try to remember the basic principles in the form of short notes, which could be paraphrased later. The last stage in the learning
process involves the retrieval of what has been learnt. When required, for example, in the examina on hall, the learner should be able to retrieve all
that she has learnt throughout the year. We shall look at each of these sub-skills of study in greater detail.
The process of meaningful study undergoes mainly four opera ons/processes:
1. Percep on (perceive what is relevant or significant)
2. Comprehension (understanding in the short term memory)
3. Reten on (the comprehended material enters long term memory)
4. Retrieval (ge ng into use whenever needed)
In other words the learner should first perceive what is relevant to his/her needs and select only those areas which are important. Next he/she
has to read or comprehend the material. Comprehension cons tutes an important stage in the process of learning. Whatever the learner understood
may be easily being forgo en hence the learner has to make special efforts to retain what he/she has learnt. As the part of that learners adopt
different means towards reten on. Very weak students blindly memorize the whole lesson, and brighter learners try to keep short notes which could
be paraphrased later. Retrieval involves retrieving the stock of informa on and knowledge whatever learnt at the me of need.
There are three types of study skills corresponding to the four opera ons in the process of study. They are:
1. Gathering skills (Percep on, Comprehension)
2. Storing skills (Reten on)
3. Retrieval skills (Retrieval)

Gathering skills
These are also known as reference skills and enable a learner to gather informa on as quickly as possible. This requires two sub-skills: loca ng
and comprehending informa on. Informa on is to be gathered quickly for which the learner has to locate what is needed and then comprehend.
Knowledge of what to refer to or the sources available is a pre-requisite. The learner should know how to make use of a dic onary, library catalog or
how to get informa on from a computer etc. once he locates the source by glancing through the ‘contents’ or index he can skim through them and
perhaps scan only those sec ons which are useful for his study. The gathering skills may be summed up as follows:
Loca ng informa on - through reference to dic onaries, library catalogues, tables of content, index etc.
Comprehending informa on - through mastering the sub-skills of reading, like skimming, scanning etc.
Storage skills
What is comprehended is to be stored for ready use. All that we listen to or read will not be stored automa cally. It needs an effort from the
part of the learner. The relevant informa on which will have to be used later can be stored on a permanent basis in the brief form. While listening to a
lecture talk etc. the listener can involve in ‘note-taking’ and while or a er reading, the reader can do ‘note-making’. Later he will have to refer to these
notes alone and needn’t go over the original source again.
Thus storing skills have two major categories: Note-taking and Note- making.
Note-making and Note-taking
The process/sub-skills involves-
a) Comprehension of content material (text, lecture)
b) Iden fica on of main points
c) Dis nguishing main points
d) Deciding order of priority of points
e) Iden fying the organiza on of points
f) Organizing the points into notes (visual display)
Note-taking
Note-taking involves taking down notes while listening to the teacher, radio or such other sources. It is a very important skill to be developed
because this will help a learner at higher levels.
For concentra on, one should plan the me, set the goal in mind, create conducive atmosphere and have the right a tude to listening piece. For
developing note-taking skill one should need:
§ A end the class faithfully
§ Make use of abbrevia on
§ Be on the lookout for signals of importance
§ Write examples
§ Write connec ons between ideas
§ Review notes a er the class
§ Get down record of each class
Note-making
It is a technique to store informa on for ready retrieval and use. Note-making means making notes while or a er reading. The speed,
meaningfulness etc of the note is highly individualis c. As the first step, the reader has to comprehend the text, iden fy the main points, dis nguish
main points from minor ones, and organize the points.
Retrieval skills
The skill will be reflected when the student summarizes what he has stored or reports what he has comprehended and stored. Here the
student will have to analyze, judge and present the material with clarity, brevity etc. The length of a summary may vary depending on the purpose for
which it is intended. A summary must be coherent, logical piece of discourse in the form of a con nuous paragraph. It must be comprehensive and
should include the relevant points.

5.4 Language games in teaching language especially with vocabulary and grammar, appropriate use of TLM and
technology

Learning a language requires a great deal of effort. Games help students to make and sustain the effort of learning. Games provide language prac ce
in the various skills – speaking, wri ng, listening and reading. They create a meaningful context for language use. Here I am going to describe a few
games to teach and prac ce vocabulary.
Psychological Aspects Displayed by Language Games
· Learner-centric approach
· Learning by doing
· Learning at one‟s own pace
· Involvement of more than one sense
· All domains of knowledge – cogni ve, affec ve, psycho-motor
· Acceptance of diversified thinking
· Immediate feedback – reinforcement
· Importance of individual par cipa on
· Extended concentra on and reten on
· Habit forma on

As Jacobs states, “Tradi onally, games have been used in the language class as warmups at the beginning of class, fill-ins when there is extra me near
the end of class, or as an occasional bit of spice s rred into the curriculum to add variety.”
Games give meaningful prac ce of language. Therefore, they can be exploited as the follow-up ac vi es of the presented teaching material for
prac cing and reinforcing the required skills or knowledge. They can also be used for revising and recycling the already acquired skills or knowledge.
Quali es / Features of Language Games
Games chosen for the students must be –
· Relevant to the topic as well as for the students
· Having genuine pedagogical value
· Having appropriate difficulty level
· Neither too complicated nor too simple for them
· Interes ng and entertaining
· Challenging and rewarding
· Limited to specific me dura on
Criteria for Choosing Language Games
Games can be framed or chosen or modified keeping in mind the following points:
· The number of students
· Proficiency level or previous knowledge of the students
· Cultural context or background
· Time alloca on
· Learning topic or material
· Classroom se ngs
Classifica on of Language Games
It is difficult to classify games into water ght compartments as the categories greatly overlap. Two ways of classifying language games are offered by
Hadfield. According to her first classifica on, the language games are of two types: linguis c games focusing on accuracy and communica ve games
focusing on successful exchange of informa on and ideas. The former gives importance to correct language usage and the la er, to communica ve
goal.

Benefits of Using Games in the Language Learning

Games are used as a technique or method to engage learners in learning a new language with fun and easy. Well selected and premeditated games
are helpful as they provide learners a break and simultaneously allow them to prac ce language skills. The benefits of games from the percep ve
feature of learning to more co-opera ve group dynamics and as a result games are very mo va ng at the same me challenging.
These are some advantage of using games in teaching and learning:
1. More Mo va on
Playing games in the classroom increase mo va on, students become more mo vated to learn, pay a en on and take par cipate in the task. Games
enable students to become a part of the team and take responsibility for their own learning. They can also be used as a classroom management tool
to mo vate a class.
2. Spirit of Compe veness
Games inspire the student to be more compe ve in the classroom. Games are a great way to control the compe veness of peers. With the spirit of
compe veness, it has been easy to learn a new language. Students talk to each other during their language learning ac vi es.
3. Improve Memory
Learning with a range of language learning specific games can improve your memory. While playing a game, students need to remember important
informa on about a specific topic and also use their working memory to think and act swi ly.
4. Class Coopera on
With learning, games are also increasing coopera on in the classroom. Students’ play language learning games with whole class or teacher or small
groups, it teaches them to listen to others, build respect and play fairly. Games are used as a team-building exercise by teachers.
Some Games for Language Learners
For memorizing vocabulary words and mastering your grammar, here is a list of some best language learning games:
1. Language by Lyrics
Memorizing words and phrases in your target language is easier with the help of rhyme and rhythm. With this fun app, you can select songs in the
language of your choice, see the translated lyrics and learn to sing along.
2. Star Languages
For more advanced and comprehensive prac ce, this app allows you to choose from a variety of learning games like crosswords, spelling tests, and
hangman. In this game, you can apply your knowledge of vocabulary, spelling, sentence structure and more.
3. Vocabulary Games
There are a huge number of vocabulary games available on the internet. These vocabulary games are a great way to enhance your memory skills. You
can choose from a large variety of games comprising Unscramble, Le er Blocks, and Slang Game. You can learn a new language from anywhere at a
laptop, a mobile or a tablet.
4. Lingo Arcade
This app is perfect for those learners who like visual learning. It will help you to iden fy words and sentence structure with more than 3000 visual
aids.
5. Scrabble
It is a fantas c way to prac ce your spelling and vocabulary skills. You can join a friend in this fun learning game. Different le ered les are placed on
a board to form new words. The app is available in different languages and keeps you mo vated while you learn.
6. Drops
With this applica on, you get an opportunity to test your knowledge of vocabulary by matching words and swiping as you learn. As you increase your
speed and accuracy, you will find more new and advanced words.
7. Guessing Games
These games can support language learners prac ce making yes or no type ques ons. The students can work or in groups. The teacher provides one
student a character, the other students can ask 20 yes/no ques ons to figure out who the person is.
8. Search Games
These games give the opportunity to prac ce providing and seeking informa on in the target language. During these types of games, each student
has a chart and with a set of categories. For example, musician, an athlete, vegetarian, mul lingual etc. They need to walk around and ask ques ons
un l they have a name under each category.
In short, games are proven to be a useful tool in teaching and learning language. Games mo vate learners and create a friendly atmosphere, the
objec ve of games is to develop all language skills. As a result, games can inspire, promote interac on of learners, improve their acquisi on and
increase their achievement. Games are based on specific me limit and have a clear relevance to the material and thus the enjoyment of the learners
is increased ul mately through their ac ve involvement with the language. Games are entertaining, lower anxiety levels, educa onal and give reasons
to use the target language to learners.
V. Lukianenko rightly comments, “Games can be a very worthwhile teaching element. A successful game is successful because of the reason that it is
based on specific me alloca on, it has clear relevance to the material, there is appropriateness to all members of the class, and ul mately, the
enjoyment of the learners is increased through their ac ve engagement with the language.”

Assis ve technology (AT) is available to help individuals with many types of disabili es — from cogni ve problems to physical impairment. This ar cle
will focus specifically on AT for individuals with learning disabili es (LD).

The use of technology to enhance learning is an effec ve approach for many children. Addi onally, students with LD o en experience greater success
when they are allowed to use their abili es (strengths) to work around their disabili es (challenges). AT tools combine the best of both of these
prac ces.

5.5 Facilita ng learning regional Language for children with ASD, SLD and ID

In post-colonial India, more children than ever before are accessing an educa on facilitated by the Indian government’s Educa on forAll program
launched in 2001 and the 2009 Right to Educa on Act. Recognizing English as the language of opportunity and social mobility, parents are increasingly
choosing to send their children to English-medium private schools rather than government schools where the medium of instruc on is in the regional
or na onal language, even though they may speak a regional language at home.
As per the new Na onal Educa on Policy (NEP), the medium of instruc on un l at least class 5, but preferably ll class 8 and beyond, will be
the home language, mother tongue, local language and regional language.
Facilita ng learning regional Language for children with ASD
Language deficits represent the core diagnos c characteris cs of au sm, and some of these individuals never develop func onal speech. The
language deficits in au sm may be due to structural and func onal abnormali es in certain language regions (e.g., frontal and temporal), or due to
altered connec vity between these brain regions. In par cular, a number of anatomical pathways that connect auditory and motor brain regions (e.g.,
the arcuate fasciculus, the uncinate fasciculus and the extreme capsule) may be altered in individuals with au sm. These pathways may also provide
targets for experimental treatments to facilitate communica on skills in au sm.
Au s c children some mes communicate differently from typically developing children. They might:

use language differently

use non-verbal communica on
communicate through behaviour.
Use of language
Au s c children might:

mimic or repeat other people’s words or phrases, or words they’ve heard on TV, YouTube or videos. They repeat these words without meaning or
in an unusual tone of voice. This is called echolalia
use made-up words
say the same word over and over
confuse pronouns, referring to themselves as ‘you’ and the person they’re talking to as ‘I’.
When au s c children use language in these ways, they might be trying to communicate. But it can be hard for other people to understand what
children are trying to say.
For example, children with echolalia might learn to talk by repea ng phrases they associate with situa ons or emo onal states, learning the meanings
of these phrases by finding out how they work. A child might say ‘Do you want a lolly?’ when they actually want one themselves. This is because when
they’ve heard that ques on before, they’ve got a lolly.
Over me, many au s c children can build on these beginnings and learn to use language in more typical ways.
Nonverbal communica on
Au s c children might:

physically manipulate a person or object – for example, a child might take a person’s hand and push it towards something they want
point, show and shi gaze – for example, a child might look at or point to something they want and then shi their gaze to another person,
le ng that person know they want the object
use objects – for example, a child might hand an object to another person to communicate.
Applied Verbal Behavior or VB is the latest style of ABA(Applied Behavior Analysis). It uses B. F. Skinner’s 1957 analysis of Verbal Behavior to teach
and reinforce speech, along with other skills. Skinner described categories of speech, or verbal behavior:

Mands are requests ("I want a drink.")

Echoes are verbal imita ons, ("Hi")
Tacts are labels ("toy," "elephant") and
Intraverbals are conversa onal responses. ("What do you want?")
A VB program will focus on ge ng a child to realize that language will get him what he wants, when he wants it. Reques ng is o en one of the first
verbal skills taught; children are taught to use language to communicate, rather than just to label items. Learning how to make requests also should
improve behavior. Some parents say VB is a more natural form of ABA.

Facilita ng learning regional Language for children with SLD

Learning disability is a general term that refers to a heterogeneous group of disorders manifested by significant difficul es in the acquisi on and use
of listening, speaking, reading, wri ng, reasoning, or mathema cal abili es. These disorders are intrinsic to the individual, presumed to be due to
central nervous system dysfunc on, and may occur across the life span. However in India, there is lack of standardized tests in regional languages to
assess linguis c proficiency, language disorders and specific learning disorders.
Recent bilingual and bi-literacy research has shown the presence of a common neural circuitry in individuals speaking and reading two languages.
With this background a bi-literate child when assessed for dyslexia should be done in both L1 and L2 languages to gain cri cal informa on and for a
comprehensive evalua on. The screening and assessment tests currently available are primarily curriculum-based tools and in few regional languages.
The Na onal Brain Research Centre (NBRC) has developed a screening and assessment test DALI to iden fy reading issues among school children in
English, Hindi, Kannada and Marathi languages. The Dyslexia Assessment in Indian Languages (DALI) contains:
1. Screening tools for school teachers: a. Junior Screening Tool (JST) b. Middle Screening Tool (MST) 2. Assessment tests for psychologists and speech-
language pathologists: a. Indian Language Assessment Ba ery (i-LAB)

Facilita ng learning regional Language for children with ID

It is necessary for children to develop skills for language expression so that they can easily master the curriculum, but also in order to communicate
with the environment, to express their a tudes and needs. Children with intellectual disability (ID) are characterized by many changes in
developmental abili es, one of those changes is the different language development.
The majority of individuals with ID are able to develop func onal communica on skills, though they will o en exhibit delays in reaching the
milestones of communica on development and have some specific difficul es within the different components of language.
Form:
§ Individuals with ID will typically u lize simpler syntax & organiza on of language
Content:
§ Concrete vocabulary is an area of rela ve strength
§ Abstract concepts and figura ve language are areas of rela ve difficulty
Use:
§ Pragma c skills, such as judging an appropriate level of familiarity in a given situa on, are also an area of rela ve difficulty

With the proper support, most individuals with ID will learn how to read and write and will make progress in their literacy skills throughout
elementary and secondary school. Thus, it is important to understand the characteris cs of their literacy development.
Strengths:

Orthographic processing, or the ability to recognize the correct and incorrect use of wri ng conven ons, which includes word spellings
§
§ Rapid automa zed naming, or the ability to automa cally label items on a page such as numbers, le ers, objects, and colors
Weaknesses:

§ Founda ons of literacy, par cularly phonological awareness and le er knowledge

§ This has a domino-like effect on other areas of literacy development, such as
§ vocabulary
§ word decoding
§ word recogni on
§ automa city
§ reading comprehension
§ wri ng skills
§ Because individuals with ID struggle with phonological awareness, this hampers the ability to decode unknown words. This then impacts
their ability to read with automa city, and if they are unable to read with automa city, it is difficult for them to have a high level of
reading comprehension.

Bilingual Considera ons for Children with Intellectual Disabili es

§ Learning an addi onal language does not impede the overall language development of a child with ID!
§ Bilingual children may exhibit delays in expressive language; this does not mean that they will not reach the same level of
expressive language in me
§ As with other bilingual children, the bilingualism of a child with ID should be viewed as a strength
§ Because of the importance of communica ng with one’s family and caregivers, the development of the child’s home language should be
priori zed whenever possible