Practices of English Language Teaching at Government Institutes-Colleges & Universities in Karachi

Abstract

In Karachi (Pakistan), English is taught as a compulsory subject to students at intermediate and
graduate level to enhance and improve their English language skills, but they prefer to go to
private English language institutes to learn English language. This research aims to investigate
the practices of English language teaching at government institutes--colleges and universities. It
is a qualitative research in which the data was collected through the use of semi-structured
interviews followed by non-participant observations. 30 students were selected from three
English language institutes of Karachi for semi-structured interviews through purposive
sampling. Six teachers from three government institutes were also selected for the interviews.
After interviews, 12 classes from three English language institutes and eight classes from two
government institutes were also observed. The findings of this research show that government
institutes do not provide favourable environment; they follow traditional method of teaching,
have untrained and uncooperative teachers, focus on syllabus, use improper aids and have no
use of modern technology, etc. Hence, the results can be useful for language policy makers to
bring great improvement in English language teaching at government institutes.