A qualitative case study was employed to explore the assessment practices of English Language Teachers (ELTs) used in assessing the Oral Communication Skills (OCSs) of the students of Grade 5 in Karachi, Pakistan. The study also aimed to explore the factors that facilitate and the challenges that English Language teachers face during the assessment of Oral Communication Skills. The data were collected by using various tools such as semi-structured interviews, Focus group discussion and classroom observation. Through a purposive sampling, participants were selected for semi-structured interview and focus group discussion. Semi- structured interviews were conducted with two English language teachers, a focus group discussion was conducted with 8 students of grade 5 and classroom observations were also conducted for the triangulation of the data.The findings of the study revealed that assessment practices especially-formative assessment - have a positive impact on students’ learning in the area of Oral Communication Skills. Findings show that English Language teachers use various assessment strategies, such as discussions, oral questioning, interviews, role plays, peer assessment, turn and talk and presentation to assess Oral Communication Skills of students which in turn helps students in motivating and building their confidence to participate in the classroom. Teachers were aware of the fact that speaking of English language can be learnt through practice. Therefore, teachers use these assessment strategies to involve the student in the conversation. Several elements such as technology, listening, lesson planning, reading aloud and integration of all four skills assist English Language teachers in the process of assessment of Oral Communication Skills. Results indicated that speaking skill is the most difficult skill to teach and assess. In addition, it also revealed that English Language teachers face several challenges in the implementation of assessment strategies. The major challenges for English Language Teachers were over crowded classes, negligence of Oral Communication Skills in the summative examination, lack of resources and workload. The generalizability of the findings may be limited to the context where this research has been conducted because of small sample size. However, the findings can be transferred to other contexts having a similar background in terms of teaching, learning and assessment. Moreover, future studies can employ different research methods such as action research or a true experimental study to get more reliable results and see the improvement in students’ learning of oral communication skills.
زبان اللہ تعالیٰ کی عطا کردہ نعمتوں میں سب سے بڑی اور عظیم نعمت ہے۔ اس پر سنجیدگی سے غورکرنے کا سلسلہ روزِ اول سے ہی جاری ہے۔ قبل مسیح کےمفکروں اور دانش وروں نے بھی اس پر بہت غور وخوض کیا اور اس کے متعلق مختلف نظریات قائم کیے، اس سلسلے میں مختلف کتب موجود ہیں جو زبان کے متعلق قبل مسیح کے نظریات سے بھری پڑی ہیں۔
اس کے بعد آنے والے مختلف مفکرین نے اس پر تحقیقی کام جاری رکھا۔ اور زبان کے متعلق اپنے نظریات پیش کرتے رہے۔ ان نظریات سے مختلف ماہرین لسانیات نے لسانیات کےمختلف شعبے تخلیق کیے اور ہر شعبے میں خاطر خواہ کام کیا۔
انیسویں صدی میں لسانیات پر باقاعدہ تحقیقی ادارے بننے شروع ہوئے،مغرب نے اس سلسلے میں بہت کام کیا، لیکن یہ بات عیاں ہے کہ بیسویں صدی میں ادب پر جتنا کام ہوا وہ گزشتہ ایک صدی تک نہ ہو سکا، بلاشبہ اس صدی کو ادب کی صدی کہا جاتا ہے اس میں باقی شعبوں کے ساتھ ساتھ لسانیات جیسے اہم مضمون پر بھی بہت زیادہ خامہ فرسائی کی گئی۔
زبان میں لسانیات کے موضوع کے حوالے سے اگر دیکھا جائے تو یہ مختلف عناوین اور اس کےمسائل ومباحث کو سمیٹے ہوئےہے۔ جہاں اس کا تعلق نطق انسانی سے ہے وہاں زبان کے قواعد اور لغتیات پر بھی بحث کرتی ہے۔ اگر لسانیات کی صرف نطق انسانی کے حوالے سے بات کی جائے تو یہ بات عیاں ہے کہ لسانیات کا کسی مخصوص گروہِ انسانی سے تعلق نہیں بلکہ یہ دنیا کی تمام زبانوں کے مسائل کو زیر بحث لاتی ہے۔ مختلف ماہرین لسانیات نے اس کی تعریف مختلف حوالوں سے کی ہے۔ ان میں چند ایک درج ذیل ہیں:
Today’s world is a global village. Societies affect each other far deeper and faster than ever. New problems are sprouting with every coming day. We feel that the cultural issues are the most significant ones in this context. The question is how we should deal with these problems. To us, the solution lies in the concept of Sadd al-Dharā’i‘(prevention), one of the instruments of Sharī‘ah (Islamic Law). Such is its importance as all the four schools of thought are of the same opinion about its scope. A cultural change if drives Muslims away from the objectives of Sharī‘ah, it will have to be stopped or altered to suit the objectives, but if it leads to something good without damaging the objectives of Sharī‘ah, it will be accepted. New problems are multifarious. We need to bring ijtihād into practice and solve such problems. This research article discusses the concept of Sadd al-Dharā’i‘(prevention.), its meaning, definition, and scope. It also discusses different opinions of scholars. The author of this paper, then, deliberates its use for its applications to solve the new problems being faced by the Muslims across the world.
Drought and salt stress are major abiotic constraints affecting crop productivity in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). These are thought to be the most promising traits to improve and stabilize crop yield to meet the demand of increasing population. Wheat like other cereals is recalcitrant to in vitro manipulation. Keeping in view the above mentioned facts, present studies were aimed to develop an efficient reproducible regeneration protocol for gene delivery to develop transgenic wheat lines with improved tolerance against drought and salinity. Different combinations of phytohormones, carbon sources and calli age were evaluated to maximize regeneration. DREB1A transcription factor was isolated from rice and transferred to wheat through Agrobacterium mediate transformation. The ectopic expression of DREB1A in transgenic plants did not result in growth retardation or visible phenotypic alterations. T0 progeny of four transgenic events were exposed to progressive drought and salinity trials in pots and hydroponics respectively. Transgenic lines showed improved tolerance to these stresses as compared to control.