Uzma Khan writes

I am from Pakistan and I teach at a public school named Islamabad Model College for Girls. It is located in a rural area of Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan. I have been teaching in this school since 2008. My institute comprises 3 sections: Elementary school, High school and Higher secondary school. I teach English Language to different levels from elementary to college level. It is an under-resourced school and most of the students are from low socio-economic backgrounds. Students' ages range from 4 years to 18 years. It is co-educational at elementary level only. Classes are both teacher-centered and student centered. The number of students in each class is different - from 35 to 50 students. My teaching method is grammar translation method at elementary level because it is easy for students to comprehend in the national language, Urdu. At secondary level I mostly use the direct method in my classroom. As for my teaching environment, broadly speaking It is conventional examination-oriented education instead of a really interactive process. In this teacher-centered scenario, the students depend on the teachers to provide the information from the textbooks. The teacher occupies the classroom and selects teaching strategies that favor his/her own teaching style but which do not ensure the active participation and engagement of students. The cognitive skills of students are not fully developed, as thinking, sharing and working in groups and pairs is always discouraged. This practice restrains the problem solving ability and creativity of the students so they are unable to cope with the challenges inside and outside the classroom. The field of education in Pakistan especially calls for comprehensive reforms.The major source of learning English Language in Pakistan is our school classrooms where, ironically, teaching is limited to English spelling drills, some formal grammatical constructions, and precise definitions. There is a lot more to English language teaching than merely focusing on grammar or cramming vocabulary for the sake of learning it. The same is done in my classrooms. Being a language teacher, I have come across different problems such as shortcomings in the curriculum, inefficient teachers, methods and techniques most Pakistani teachers incorporate, teacher-centered classes etc.