Classroom Implementation of National Curriculum, through English Textbook at High School in Pakistan

Abstract

The study aims to inspect the content of the 9th grade English book of Punjab Textbook Board, and to examine its implementation in relation to the benchmarks and objectives set by the national Curriculum of Punjab. The ultimate target is to observe the inculcation of the set targets of the national curriculum through a thoroughly designed syllabus. The objectives of this research are to critically evaluate the book, culturally, linguistically, pedagogically, contextually, and grammatically, and secondly to seek out the actual implementation of the designed activities in the classrooms, according to the benchmarks, standards and competencies provided by the national curriculum. For this purpose, the data was collected through 500 students of Punjab, located in different cities, irrespective of their genders through random sampling. The students were from the government and semi government schools. A carefully designed questionnaire was distributed to assemble the results. Further, the opinion of 5 subject specialists was taken into an account to testify the validity and appropriacy of the textbook content of the book. The results concluded that the books contain all features of developing language skills, but has ignored listening skills altogether. Moreover, the content is not diverse in nature, and student reading abilities are not polished and proficient. They are trained for cramping the answers of the questions and are not made expert in developing writing skills. Thirdly, the speaking activities, which are the part of the syllabus and curriculum are not utilized at all in the
classes, owing to the fact that they are not the part of the Punjab board exams. There is a dire need to implement all the activities in the classroom, along with the change in the examination system, which is quite outdated and is not appropriate for the development of all four skills.