DESIGNING OF ENGLISH CURRICULUM FOR QUALITY AUGMENTATION AT SECONDARY LEVEL IN ASSAM (Pages 64-74) by Ms. Nibedita Phukan in THE INTERNATIONAL RESEARCH SPECIALIST / ISSN: 2350-1499 (Online); 2350-0751 (Print)

Curriculum is the resources of learning and sites for inculcating creativity and self-learning. Teaching of the English language at secondary level is to enable students to use the language and to learn about literature in that language. Curriculum in this level is formulated after the recommendations of the National Curriculum Framework (2005) to make a link between students’ life at school and their life outside the school. One objective is to direct education towards child-centered system after the National Policy of Education (1986). National Knowledge Commission (2009) defines that understanding and command over English language can create an inclusive society in India. As ‘learning English’ and ‘learning in English’ are two objectives of education at this level, students need for acquiring the four basic skills of language learning. Grammar, vocabulary and communicative skills are the most sought after sub-skills at this level. This paper is part of a broad research work based on empirical study, tries to find out the effectiveness of the English language curriculum at the secondary level in Assam. Data were collected from state run Assamese, Hindi and Bengali medium high and higher secondary schools of rural and urban areas of Dibrugarh district. There were two phases for data collection: one through questionnaire from teachers, parents/guardians and students of twenty schools and the other is testing of the language skills of students of two Assamese medium schools. As Board of Secondary Education, Assam, provides education to students from different economic categories from both urban and rural areas, it is important to select the text suitable for all types of students lacking of which may lead to difficulties in learning of the language. Regular in-service trainings for teachers can bring quality education developing their teaching methodologies.As ‘learning English’ and ‘learning in English’ are two objectives of education at this level, students need for acquiring the four basic skills of language learning. Grammar, vocabulary and communicative skills are the most sought after sub-skills at this level. This paper is part of a broad research work based on empirical study, tries to find out the effectiveness of the English language curriculum at the secondary level in Assam. Data were collected from state run Assamese, Hindi and Bengali medium high and higher secondary schools of rural and urban areas of Dibrugarh district. There were two phases for data collection: one through questionnaire from teachers, parents/guardians and students of twenty schools and the other is testing of the language skills of students of two Assamese medium schools. As Board of Secondary Education, Assam, provides education to students from different economic categories from both urban and rural areas, it is important to select the text suitable for all types of students lacking of which may lead to difficulties in learning of the language. Regular in-service trainings for teachers can bring quality education developing their teaching methodologies.Keywords: Curriculum, ‘learning English’, ‘learning in English’, child-centered, four basic skills.