Aug 2026· A Peer Reviewed Journal on Social Sciences· 0 citations
Abstract
Nepal’s English classrooms are linguistically and culturally diverse, yet English-only orientations continue to influence English language teaching. This study explores how secondary-level English teachers negotiate learners’ first language (L1) and local cultural knowledge in English teaching and how they perceive the contribution of these resources to learners’ comprehension, participation, interaction, and meaning-making. A qualitative narrative inquiry was conducted with three experienced secondary-level English teachers from public schools in Nepal. Data were generated through three in-depth narrative interview sessions with each participant, conducted mainly in Nepali, transcribed, translated into English where necessary, and analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis while retaining attention to the narrative context of teachers’ accounts. The findings show that teachers used L1 selectively according to learners’ English proficiency, lesson difficulty, pedagogical purpose, and classroom circumstances. Nepali was used to explain difficult concepts, clarify linguistic differences, check understanding, facilitate interaction, and encourage participation. Local cultural knowledge, including familiar foods, festivals, community practices, and everyday experiences, was used to connect unfamiliar English content with learners’ prior knowledge and create meaningful opportunities for English communication. Rather than viewing L1 as an alternative to English, teachers described it as a temporary and purposeful mediational resource that could facilitate learners’ engagement with English. However, they also recognized that excessive reliance on L1 could limit learners’ opportunities to encounter and use English. The study thus conceptualizes multilingual English teaching as a process of pedagogical negotiation rather than adherence to a fixed English–L1 ratio. By bringing together L1 use, local cultural knowledge, and teacher agency, the study contributes a context-sensitive account of how Nepalese English teachers mobilize learners’ existing linguistic and cultural resources while maintaining English as the principal target of instruction. The findings underscore the importance of teacher education that develops teachers’ capacity to make purposeful, context-sensitive linguistic and cultural choices in linguistically and culturally diverse classrooms.
Despite the growing recognition of multilingualism as a pedagogical resource in English Language Teaching (ELT) settings, English language teachers in Nepal are still in a dilemma in the implementation of multi/translingual pedagogical practices in their classrooms. The study aims to explore Nepalese secondary-level English language teachers' beliefs on linguistic hybridity along with their experiences of navigating sociopolitical and institutional constraints in practice. The study employed narrative inquiry as a research design. Two secondary-level English language teachers teaching at the multilingual public schools of Itahari sub-metropolitan city, Sunsari, were selected as a sample by using a purposive sampling strategy. Using in-depth interviews as a research tool, the participants were interviewed individually. The data was recorded, transcribed, coded, categorized, and thematically analyzed. The study revealed a complex tension between multilingual pedagogical realities and monolingual institutional expectations. The study further explored that English language teachers perceived translanguaging as a practical, inclusive, and context-responsive pedagogy that enhances comprehension, engagement, and confidence. However, teachers experience guilt, self-doubt, and professional insecurity due to internalized monolingual norms that equate English-only instruction with quality teaching. Furthermore, the study found that systemic barriers such as lack of policy clarity, institutional support, parental aspirations for English, prescriptive curricula, and lack of training remain barriers in the implementation of multi/translingual practices in ELT classrooms. The study concludes that linguistic hybridity functions both as a pedagogical resource and an ideological site of struggle in Nepalese ELT settings. The study calls for policy reform, multilingual teacher education, and assessment practices that legitimize multilingual teaching strategies in the classrooms.
Khem Raj Rauteda· Journal of Janta Multiple Ca...· 0 citations
This study investigates how Vietnamese culture is integrated into English Language Teaching (ELT) by examining teachers' perceptions, classroom practices, and the challenges they encounter in Vietnamese English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classrooms. Drawing on individual interviews and classroom observations with 10 Vietnamese EFL teachers, the study found that teachers viewed local culture as a valuable pedagogical resource for connecting English learning with students' identities, experiences, and everyday lives. Integrating Vietnamese culture encouraged learner engagement, enabled students to express their own cultural knowledge through English, and supported teachers' understanding of learners' sociocultural backgrounds. Classroom practices included using local festivals, authentic cultural materials, stories, and role-playing activities to make English learning more meaningful and contextually relevant. However, teachers also faced challenges related to cultural sensitivity, limited access to locally grounded English-language resources, and difficulties in translating culturally embedded meanings across languages. The findings further indicate that although Vietnamese culture was regularly incorporated into lessons, classroom discussions often emphasized cultural description rather than interpretation and critical reflection. The study argues that the value of local culture integration lies not simply in including local content but in promoting intercultural learning through dialogue, interpretation, and engagement with multiple cultural perspectives.
Jasmine Sapul, M. Ulla, S. Busbus· Intercultural Communication...· 0 citations
English-medium instruction (EMI) has expanded across Bangladeshi higher education as a marker of academic quality, internationalisation, and graduate employability. Yet the institutional promotion of English does not necessarily translate into sustained English-medium classroom interaction or improved opportunities for students’ language development. This qualitative multiple-case study examines how EMI is interpreted, negotiated, and enacted across three private universities in Bangladesh. Data were generated through semi-structured interviews with six teachers of content-oriented English-department courses and 18 final-year undergraduate students, three student focus-group discussions, and three classroom observations. The dataset was analysed using reflexive thematic analysis, supported by iterative coding, memo writing, within-case analysis, and cross-case comparison. Findings indicate that EMI functioned less as a stable English-only instructional model than as a negotiated bilingual practice shaped by uneven English proficiency, time constraints, and institutional expectations. Teachers used Bangla to clarify difficult concepts, sustain interaction, and support comprehension, while students valued English for its academic and professional benefits but often experienced English-only instruction as limiting confidence, participation, and access to disciplinary knowledge. Bilingual mediation, however, rarely formed part of a systematic approach to academic-English development. The central tension therefore lies not simply in teachers’ departure from English-only instruction, but in universities’ expectation that EMI will deliver both disciplinary learning and English proficiency without adequate linguistic, pedagogical, and assessment support. Conceptualising this tension as the EMI institutional promise–practice paradox, the study argues for a linguistically responsive model that combines planned bilingual scaffolding, explicit disciplinary-language development, language-sensitive assessment, and sustained teacher support. By showing how bilingual mediation both sustains and complicates EMI, the study contributes to debates on multilingual pedagogy, linguistic equity, and institutional responsibility in multilingual higher education.
Sultana Jahan· ICRRD Quality Index Research...· 0 citations
Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) has been widely promoted as an approach emphasizing communicative competence and purposeful language use. Despite its prominence in English language education, a persistent gap exists between teachers' awareness and classroom implementation of CLT principles, particularly in non-native contexts such as Oman. While previous studies have quantified teacher awareness, limited qualitative research has explored how teachers interpret and adapt CLT within their specific classroom contexts. This qualitative case study investigated how six Omani English teachers in government post-basic schools (Grades 11–12) conceptualised and interpreted CLT within their classroom contexts. Semi-structured interviews were conducted and analysed using the Codes–Categories–Themes (CO–CAT) framework to identify patterns in teachers' perspectives. Teachers associated effective implementation of CLT with supportive classroom environments that foster confidence and communication. Teachers also viewed CLT as context-dependent, influenced by learner proficiency, lesson focus, instructional time, and classroom conditions, resulting in selective and adaptive implementation practices. Teachers conceptualised CLT not simply as a collection of communicative techniques, but as a set of interconnected conditions that support classroom communication, including learner participation, authentic language use, emotional support, and contextual adaptation. The study contributes to understanding the theory–practice gap as a process of professional judgement rather than a failure of implementation. The findings may inform teacher professional development, curriculum implementation, and communicative language teaching practices in Oman and similar EFL contexts.
Amal Salim Alhanashi, Paolus Sulaiman· International journal of res...· 0 citations
Background and Aim: In multilingual educational settings, English language teachers often encounter challenges in ensuring students’ comprehension when instruction is delivered solely in English. Limited exposure to English outside the classroom may hinder learners’ understanding, participation, and confidence in language use. Consequently, teachers frequently utilize the vernacular as a pedagogical resource to facilitate learning and bridge communication gaps. Grounded in Translanguaging Theory, this study explored teachers’ experiences in using the vernacular as a contextualization strategy in English language instruction. Specifically, it examined teachers’ perceptions of vernacular use, the challenges they encountered, the coping strategies they employed, and the lessons they learned from integrating the vernacular into English classrooms.
Materials and Methods: This study employed a qualitative case study design conducted in a private secondary school in Pagadian City, Philippines. Seven English teachers were purposively selected based on their experience in using the vernacular during instruction. Data were gathered through semi-structured interviews, classroom observations, and field notes. The collected data were analyzed using thematic analysis to identify recurring patterns, categories, and themes related to teachers’ experiences and instructional practices.
Results: The findings revealed that teachers perceived the vernacular as a valuable instructional support that enhances students’ comprehension, promotes classroom participation, increases learner comfort, and facilitates the explanation of complex concepts. However, teachers also encountered challenges, including difficulties in translating technical terms, students’ dependence on teachers for language equivalents, and persistent comprehension difficulties among some learners. To address these concerns, teachers employed various coping strategies such as utilizing external resources, translating explanations, adjusting language use according to instructional needs, providing contextualized examples, and using alternative explanations to clarify concepts. Furthermore, teachers learned that the strategic and balanced integration of the vernacular improves communication and learner engagement while maintaining opportunities for English language development.
Conclusion: The study concludes that the vernacular serves as an effective contextualization tool in English language teaching when used purposefully and in moderation. A balanced application of both the vernacular and English promotes meaningful learning, supports comprehension, and contributes to the gradual development of students’ English proficiency in multilingual classroom settings.
Jimmy Federicos II, Leadean Jay A. Capacio· Journal of Education and Lea...· 0 citations
Classroom interaction plays a central role in facilitating language development in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) contexts, particularly where learners have limited exposure to English outside the classroom. However, previous studies have shown that classroom discourse in Indonesian EFL settings is frequently dominated by teacher talk, which restricts students’ opportunities to negotiate meaning and participate in meaningful communication. While negotiation of meaning is widely recognized as an essential process in second language acquisition, existing research has rarely examined how interactional features of teacher talk simultaneously initiate and constrain negotiation during classroom interaction. This study aimed to investigate how negotiation of meaning was constructed through teacher talk and how interactional features either sustained or restricted interactional development in EFL classrooms. The study employed a qualitative multiple case study design involving three English teachers and nine students from two junior high schools in Makassar, Indonesia. Data were collected through classroom observations, video recordings, and semi-structured interviews, and analyzed using Walsh’s Self-Evaluation of Teacher Talk (SETT) framework and thematic analysis. The findings revealed that negotiation of meaning was frequently initiated through referential questions, clarification requests, and scaffolding strategies. However, interaction often failed to develop into sustained meaning-making sequences because teachers tended to close interaction through immediate evaluation, teacher echo, and rapid turn transitions. As a result, negotiation remained episodic rather than cumulative, limiting students’ opportunities to elaborate responses, justify ideas, and participate in extended discourse. The study concludes that the effectiveness of negotiation of meaning depends not only on the presence of interactional features but also on how teachers sustain interactional space through follow-up questioning and elaborative discourse moves.
Nurkhaira Ariendita Fortuna, Sunra La, Rosmayanti Vivit· International Journal of Lan...· 0 citations