| Abstract: |
The present study aims at evolving an effective instructional strategy for teaching English at the secondary level in Burdwan district, West Bengal. English, being a global lingua franca, demands innovative pedagogical approaches that transcend traditional grammar-translation methods prevalent in rural and semi-urban schools. The researcher adopted a mixed-method design encompassing both quantitative surveys and qualitative observations across 30 secondary schools in Burdwan district, involving 120 teachers and 600 students. A structured questionnaire, classroom observation schedule, and pre-test/post-test instruments were employed for data collection. The findings revealed that the prevailing instructional practices are predominantly teacher-centred, with 68% of teachers relying on the grammar-translation method. Through systematic experimentation, an evolved instructional strategy integrating communicative language teaching, task-based learning, and technology-aided instruction was developed and implemented. Post-intervention results demonstrated a statistically significant improvement in students' reading comprehension (45.4% gain), written expression (48.1% gain), oral communication (70.8% gain), and grammatical competence (40.3% gain). The study concludes that the evolved instructional strategy, which blends interactive, collaborative, and technology-integrated approaches, holds substantial promise for enhancing English language proficiency among secondary-level learners in Burdwan district. The paper provides actionable recommendations for curriculum designers, teacher educators, and policy makers to restructure English language instruction in similar socio-educational contexts. |
