COLLABORATIVE TEAM IN THE MANAGEMENT OF DYSPHAGIA

Dear Editor, Swallowing is an essential requirement for life. Eating is not only a practical act (i.e., obtaining the nutrition necessary for survival) but also involves social interaction. Having meals with family and friends is almost universally necessary for personal interactions1. Dysphagia is derived from the Greek Language "Dys" which means “difficulty or dysfunction" and "Phagia" means "to eat". However, it is defined as difficulty in processing or swallowing food from mouth to stomach2.

An Exploration of Motivation and Attitude of Teachers Towards English As Medium of Instruction in Rural Pakistan.

History of medium of instruction in Pakistan is marked by alternations mainly between two languages i.e. Urdu and English, the former being its national while the latter official language. Lately, the government of Punjab took an ostensibly decisive step in this regard by imposing EMI (English as Medium of Instruction) for content subjects in all public sector schools of Punjab. It led to a complex situation because the teachers, expected to use EMI, are in no way different from EFL learners of any level in their proficiency. In view of this situation, the current study was designed to explore the motivation and attitude of the teachers of rural areas towards EMI policy of the Punjab government. A survey from six districts of Punjab (selected on the basis of Human Development Index) was conducted using triangulation as a data collection technique. Following convenience sampling 100 questionnaires were distributed among the teachers from each of the selected districts making it thus a total of 600 questionnaires overall. Interviews of 25 pricipals/incharges of the schools were conducted with at least three from each of the six districts. A hybridization of socio-educational model of R. C. Gardner and WTC (Willingness to Communicate) model by MacIntyre was used for theoretical grounding and for the purpose of instrumentation. Percentages and chi-square were used to find variation on the basis of gender, age and qualification. Correlation and regression analyses were used to discover the nature of relationship among the selected variables. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was used to confirm the path from motivation to WTC as hypothesized (but found not confirmed) by Yashima (2002). The path from motivation towards WTC was confirmed through SEM. Qualification was found to be the most important predictor of motivation. The teachers were discovered not to be motivated by any means at present. However, a predominantly optimistic view was found existent among the participants about the future of EMI. Training was pointed out as one of the most important requirements by the teachers. Therefore, it is strongly recommended that these teachers should be provided intensive language training to develop adequate proficiency.