Different Strategies for Increasing Higher education Access

 

Different Strategies for Increasing Higher education Access

*Dr. Mohammed A. Al Saleh

Asst. Professor Department of Higher Education & President of the Department of Curriculam & Teaching Methods, College of Education Al Jouf University, KSA.

Box3085@gmail.com

Introduction

Morley, Leach and Lugg (2009) argued that value to the society is added by higher education as they both serve as ‘‘both a public and private good – public because it contributes to society and private because it has potential to benefit the individual.” The importance of higher education with respect to the society cannot be assumed as it acts as an economically developed feature for the community and provides the individual with personal benefits. Higher education is needed in order to generate and produce productive citizens (Giroux, 2002). Higher education enables individual and communal development and provides an individual awareness of social issues and is considered to be an effective source in order to address the related issues of nation-states.

There is an article related to the enhancement of higher studies in the 24^th Report of the Investment Climate in Arab Countries (2008), which explains the significance of higher studies of Arab citizens. It identifies that there were only two hundred and thirty three universities in 2003 which have been raised to three hundred eighty five in 2008. This figure includes one hundred and fifteen private universities which is 4. 4 times greater than the number of private institutions in 1993. It is understood that the private institutions have been developed and their figure is equivalent to that of government institutions. But this growth can’t represent their facilities, as most of these institutions have low facilities. The report suggested that the enhancement of employment in the private institutions will increase the number of pupil in the private higher institutions equivalent to that of government institutes. This decision is based on the idea of many Arab countries, which would like to reduce the expenditure on higher studies and to reduce the number of pupil enrolled in government institutes.

This paper delves into aspects which identify possible measures associated with provision of strategic access to higher education in Arab countries in general and Saudi Arabia in particular.

Need for better strategies in Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia is a nation which was established in 1932 by King Abdul Aziz. It has an area of 900,000 square miles. The country is inhabited by 26 million people and is today sending more than 80,000 students to different countries like Australia, Europe and United States in order to pursue their higher education. They are investing more than 50 billion in order to completely revamp their higher education system and their currently existing 25 universities.

Saudi Arabia has invested more than one fourth of its budget during 2009 for education and training. This was done in order to highlight the investment made on the human resource development to be a key aspect for the knowledge based development in the country. Saudi Arabia has been estimated to be investing rapidly on higher education for past few years under the control of King Abdullah. From the yearly budget one fourth of the investment are made for education and training. In 2010 the investment was estimated to be increased to 36.5 billion USD which represents a 12.4% increase when compared to that of 2009.  Under the influence of King Abdullah Scholarship Program, more than 90,000 Saudis were presented with opportunities to pursue their graduate studies abroad.

The main objective of the development plan is to increase the number of university students from 860,000 to 1.7 million within 2014. The king and his fellowmen provide high importance to the higher education to be provided to the students of Saudi Arabia. Most of the students of Saudi universities pursue their graduate studies in various fields like social studies, religious, history, and literature regardless of the labor market being saturated with social science and humanities majors.

Importance Of Identifying Strategies For Higher Education

In recent years, the stratification researchers are attracted towards understanding the impact of structural characteristics of educational system on outcomes and results of students (Kerckhoff, 1995; Treiman & Ganzeboom, 2000). Most of the studies and research consider for the cross-national studies that deals with relation between educational system and labor market. There are studies that compare the educational system of Japan and America that reveals that students’ job attainment and obtaining features are influenced by separate relationship with respect to labor market (Rosenbaum & Kariya, 1989; Rosenbaum, Kariya, Settersten, & Maier, 1990).

From the comparative research conducted by Shavit and Muller (1998) it is evident that there is variation in educational qualification based on occupational outcomes based on countries. The variation is detailed by the characteristics features of educational system. For instance, the magnitude of educational effects on occupational outcomes is influenced by stratification and vocational specificity of educational system in Arab countries. At the same time these effects are overcome by the number of students in tertiary education. Shavit and Blossfeld (1993) made an analysis in 13 different countries in order to determine if the expansion of educational system reduces the gap in educational achievement of students from different socioeconomic context. The study of Shavit, Arumand Gamoran (2007) analyzed the impact of characteristics of educational system on higher education entrance and particular types of institutions in it. By analyzing 15 countries Arum, Gamoran and Shavit (2007) concluded variation in distinct educational structures based on access to higher education that is determined as binary, stratified and unitary. The study also emphasizes the importance of differentiation and privatization in structuring access to higher education.  Thus it can be established that there is a definitive gap in access to higher education. The following sections detail the main challenges which Saudi Arabia currently face in order to implement strategies which improve access to higher education.

Relevance of the study

Education has been represented as a drive to speed up the alterations, improvement and advancement and it is responsible for ‘‘a radical revision of education systems in Arab countries” (United Nations Development Program’s Arab Human Development Report, 2002). This report represents the deprived value as ‘‘the Achilles heel of education in the Arab world”. This article also insists to implement the remedies like ‘‘enhancing human capabilities, creating strong synergy between education and the socio-economic system, and formulating a programme for education reform at the pan-Arab level.” Though there is an elevated proportion of spending on education, many of the higher education institutes are running out of money. There is a relationship between the inadequate facilities in the higher education institutes of Saudi Arabia and restricted expenditures of government. As the country is found to have one of the largest youth population and because of the enduring technical rebellion around the globe the problems in higher education are becoming worse. As the number of youngsters is high, the necessity to focus on higher studies is also high.

Challenges faced in identifying access to higher education Quality

Over the years it is observed that a large number of students who have identified the need to enter the higher education system have faced a large amount of pressure. This is because the system is absorbing a large number of students into their folds when compared to the previous decade. This has therefore resulted in increasing pressure across all universities across the country to focus on improving the number of seats available. However this had strained the availability of resources for focusing on measures related to promotion of quality. There has been effort made which help in improving the overall rates of higher education enrollment there is a big gap in the development of life skills among personnel. Hence one big challenge which needs to be acknowledged and dealt with in terms of promotion of strategies is to identify measures which help in increasing the quality of education which when compared to standards at an international level are not up to the mark.

The large number of students who have sought entry into the tertiary system in the last decade has put incredible pressure on higher education systems across the region. Efforts to absorb these students and to widen overall access have strained government resources and led to a focus on expanding quantity rather than quality. Despite successful efforts to increase higher education enrollment, enrollment ratios are still low in Saudi, and the regional average is still low by international standards.

There is a great deal of need for better information with regards to the actual process which happens in education. This involves identifying possible methods of data collection by which information from different institutions across the country is collected. This involves starting and identifying possible profiles of students who are graduating in a manner that progress can be assessed. There should also be measures implemented in order to benchmark the results which are arrived at. These results should be taken into account when future education strategies are implemented and arrived while promoting higher education.

The second aspect which needs to be concentrated on is identifying strategic measures to improve the method of evaluation among universities. When higher education is considered it can be seen that monitoring and evaluation of higher education should be presented in a manner that outcome measures can be identified. It is important for faculty to be evaluated by peers as well as students.

The most important challenge which institutions would face is to identify the possible impact quality would have on cost. If the higher education providing institutions are public institutions then governmental funding becomes vital to promote internal quality assurance.

Governance

One challenge which prevents access to higher education is related to structures of governance. The higher education institutions in this country are run as extensions of governmental organizations. There is lack of autonomy and transparency in educational institutions in the country. The governance measures associated with regulation of public sector institutions is found to highly rigid in nature. This makes it difficult for universities to present measures which respond to the needs of students, faculties as well as those desiring access to higher education.

Another problem associated with implementing better access to higher education is related to lack of measures to implement changes. The government run bureaucracies are in control of instructional and curriculum design, increasing the availability of seats, teacher certification, examination patterns and approving new degrees.

Opportunities in the job market:

Perhaps the biggest challenge any country faces identifies with possible outcomes of the higher education. It is well established that the linkage between higher education access and the subsequent availability of possible employment in the local employment market is very important. Despite the growing attention given in Arab higher education system on importance of relevance of education in improving real life skills and knowledge and research to be implemented in labour market, there is still a gap. If this challenge is addressed then it becomes possible to ensure access to more students who are willing to wait to get into better jobs.

Strategies to improve access to higher education:

Strategies to improve faculty:

Traditional faculty roles are shifting or ‘‘unbundling’’

There is huge variation in the task completed by the faculty of modern world and professors of past years. Instead of assigning the task to particular person or employee, the universities are attempting to segment the task to certain specialized groups or team (Paulson, 2002). The process of segmentation of employees or labor makes use of non tenure track in order to determine the positions in different methods. Generally graduates are determined to occupy the position and in some cases undergraduate assistants enabling the highly trained faculty to increase their focus on areas of research (Paulson, 2002). In order to satisfy the responsibility of their roles, distance education faculty are considered to be involved with instructional designers, assistants, technologists, graphic and media artists, and other faculty (Miller, 2001). Hence the professors should be able to adapt to a more industrialized, educational model. If this happens there is availability of greater number of qualified personnel to teach making it easier for universities to increase the number of seats available.

The need for faculty development, support, and training is growing

In order to promote access to higher education there is a need for faculty development, support and training. The adaptation from a traditional to a modernized instructional method would definitely promote ease of access. Therefore it is vital for faculty to identify and develop new competencies. This can be carried out by ensuring that there is extensive and continuous training. One effective measure in this regard would be the integration of technology with the instructions presented. Green (2002) identified that the promotion of strategic education access to students is strongly dependent on the integration of technology into instructional design. He further adds that this is the largest disadvantage which is currently faced by different universities.

Another study by the Educause Current Issues Committee (2003) identified that to improve the degree of education and the accessibility of students faculty support is vital. The support and training of faculty in IT related issues was found to be one of the highest strategic concerns for universities. There has been reluctance among faculty in a number of regions across the world with regards to use of these modern tools. Dasher-Alston and Patton (1998) identified that most faculty in developing and developed regions across the world preferred methods of teaching involving traditional face to face measures. This has made a number of them feel distance education training is unnecessary. This is not true. Today if better access needs to be provided to more number of students for higher education modern day tools and technologies need to promote in order to reach students in remote corners of the country.

Campus strategies

The following strategies can be adopted to promote better access to higher education:

     •      Academic/Instructional strategies: A number of academic strategies can be promoted by using measures promoting peer tutoring and mentoring. Apart from this the colleges can make an effort to present educational coaching by promoting implementation of universal design for learning. It is also important to provide support in the form of advisory functions related to the product. It is also vital to present measures to share information using databases which would help promote better professional development (Hart & Grigal, 2010).

     •      Employment/Career strategies: This is an important strategic maneuver to be adopted. When students are aware that practicum and internships are available it would raise awareness of available career options and will also ensure that students are willing to present better efforts towards improving their grades. There should be a system maintained which presents access and roles for employers, business leaders and others in the business arena (Hart & Grigal, 2010).

     •      Social Strategies: This revolves around identification of measures to inform existing students and potential students about information on campus clubs and social activities. This will motivate students to join universities to gain the experience (Rose & Meyer, 2002). There should also be promotion of students to serve in leadership positions in clubs and organizations. These students can then make academic outreach programs and arrive at possible measures to invite diverse range of students to participate in academic programs.

     •      Transitional program related strategies: For academically challenged students who enter the university there should be promotion of transitional programs. These programs will ensure that the students do not feel out of place at universities. This should be presented in a social and academically integrated manner (Zeff, 2007). It should also be done by providing students with possible choice of enrollment in classes which are organized at time which enables them to work. The presence of possible methods like presentation of educational support by including universal course design, academic and social mentoring and peer tutoring will help in facilitation of student retention and advancement (Thoma et al.، 2009).

Conclusion

Hence from the discussion one can arrive at the conclusion that there is a need for greater autonomy and independence among institutions to react more rapidly and effectively to demands of the market and enhance new and strategic thinking that are important to high quality institutions. Limited public policies and management practices suppress autonomous thinking and limit the significant involvement of higher education to the public. Systematic factors involve public policy and governance issues. When these are considered together with assessment, accreditation and regulation, and facilitation of quality and access to higher education reform efforts can be increased or obstructed by how governments support policies to present better access.

References

- Arum, R, Gamoran, A & Shavit, Y 2007, ‘More inclusion than diversion: Expansion, differentiation, and market structure in higher education’, In Stratification in higher education: - A comparative study, ed. Y. Shavit, R. Arum, and A. Gamoran, Palo Alto, CA: Stanford University Press, pp. 1–35.

- Dasher-Alston, RM & Patton, GW 1998, ‘Evaluation criteria for distance learning’, Planning for Higher Education, vol. 27, no. 1, pp. 11-17.

- Giroux, HA 2002, ‘Democracy, freedom, and justice after September 11th: Rethinking the role of educators and the politics of schooling’, Teachers College Record, vol. 104, no. 6, pp. 1138- 1162.

- Green, KC 2002, Campus Computing 2002: The 13th national survey of computing and information technology in American higher education. Encino, CA: Campus Computing.

- Hart, M & Grigal, M 2010, ‘The spectrum of options: Current practice’, In M. Grigal & D. Hart, Think college: Postsecondary education options for students with intellectual disabilities, Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co, pp 49-86.

- Kerckhoff, Alan 1995, ‘Institutional Arrangements and Stratification Processes in Industrial Societies’, Annual Review of Sociology, vol. 15, pp. 323-347.

- Miller, GE 2001, ‘General education and distance education: Two channels in the new mainstream’, The Journal of General Education, vol. 50, no. 4, pp. 314-322.

- Morely, L, Leach, F & Lugg, R 2009, ‘Democratising higher education in Ghana and Tanzania: Opportunity structures and social inequalities’, International Journal of Educational Development, vol. 29, pp. 56–64.

- Paulson, K 2002, ‘Reconfiguring Faculty Roles in Virtual Settings’, Journal of Higher Education, vol. 73, no. 1, pp. 123–131.

- Rosenbaum, James, E & Takehiko Kariya 1989, ‘From High School to Work: Market and Institutional Mechanisms in Japan’, The American Journal of Sociology, vol. 94, pp. 1334-1365.

- Rosenbaum, James, Takehiko Kariya, Rick Settersen & Tony Maier 1990, ‘Market and Network Theories of the Transition From High School to Work: Their Application to Industrialized Societies’, Annual Review of Sociology, vol. 16, pp. 263-299.’

- Shavit, Yoshi, Richard Arum & Adam Gamoran, eds 2007, Stratification in Higher Education: A Comparative Study, Palo Alto, CA: Stanford University Press.

- Shavit, Yossi & Hans-Peter Blossfeld, Eds 1993, Persistent Inequality: Changing Educational Attainment in Thirteen Countries, Boulder (Colorado): Westview Press.

- Shavit, Yossi & Walter Muller 1998, From School to Work, Oxford: Clarendon Press.

- The Arab Investment & Export Credit Guarantee Corporation 2009, ‘Higher Education in Arab Coun-tries: Data and Facts, Challenges and Opportunities’, In  Investment Climate in Arab Countries2008 Annual Report, Assafa, Kuwait: AIECGC.

- Thoma, C, Bartholomew, CC & Scott, LA 2009, Universal design for transition, Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co.

- Treiman, Donald, J & Harry BG, Ganzeboom 2000, ‘The Fourth Generation of Comparative Stratification Research’, In The International Handbook of Sociology, edited by S. P. Quah and A. Sales. Thousand Oakes: Sage Publications, pp. 123-150.

- Zeff, R 2007, Universal design across the curriculum, New Direc­tions for Higher Education, Wiley Periodicals, Inc, pp. 137.

From Local Culture into Globalization: Applicable Theories In the Process of Transference

*Dr Norah Hadi Q. Alsaeed

* Assistant Professor, Department of English Vice Dean College of Administrative & Humanities, Al Jouf University Sakaka (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia).

 norapoetry74@hotmail.com

Abstract

Teaching English has become a major necessity for developing areas in Asian countries due to globalization. The general purpose of this paper is to discuss the problems related with the novel tendency of teaching English for Asian educational system. This paper discusses the requirements of educational system in Asia for teaching English as well as on the mode of training English applicable skills. It also discusses the qualification and improvement of teachers’ ability to teach literature which helps them change the educational system ensuring that studies are more enjoyable. The current study presents various trends in English literature that could be employed by both the teachers and the students.

Introduction

English as a global language was not completely perceived in the early 1950s to the 1970s, but the prominence of English language as a global one came to be known only in the 1980s. There was a growing perception of the language becoming a universal language which resulted in famous authors making daring proclamations like ‘‘English is the global language” (Crystal, 1997, p. 1). A questionnaire was presented to various people from all over the world by the British Council in the year 1995 (Paul Iles, 1995). Of the 1,398 respondents who undertook the survey almost 96.3% of them suggested that they either strongly consented or moderately consent that English was and will stay put in the upcoming years as the most prevailing language of the world communication systems.

Apart from this 79.2% responded that they neither consented nor strongly consented for the idea of having another language contesting the role of English as the major language of the world. Fishman (1996, p. 628) suggested that the present world is governed by massive trade, technology and banking systems apart from human sciences and other qualifications, and all these applications predominantly use English for communication so as to ensure participation from the whole world. This is despite how well founded and guarded by the local traditions, languages and cultural identities may be. Crystal, (1997) and Graddol, (1997, 2006) noted that this change has resulted in English becoming the global language. After the proclamation given by Fishman, it has been noted more obviously how the belief has been made more evident all across the globe.

The observed significance of English and also the need to be able to communicate in English language has unfortunately not been reflected on the educational system in the countries of Asia. When students were asked about the teaching and learning methodology of English in classrooms, members of the group disclosed many intricate patterns of the issue. Even though English skills are regarded as extremely beneficial, many people in Asian countries view education only based on examinations point of view. The 400 L. Pan, D. Block / System 39 (2011) 391e402 suggested that the highly ingrained nature of the Asian culture to be examination centric making it hard to make use of the CLT method of educational system which was meant to be followed by the teachers. Hence the general issue was that the Asian educational system viewed their education as examinations instead of seeing it as learning approaches. In these situations, English has been quoted as a unique and integrated system that contained two ideologies which served two different, but interconnected operations in the modern Asian countries.

On one side Block, (2010) noted it as a product, as quoted by examination results that helped provide employment in the job market. From this view, it is not an issue if the examination results included competence in communicative skills and all that the result shows is a certificate of having passed the examination. On the other side it is noted that for those Asian nationals who are in touch with other non Asian nationals, their English skills are more pronounced, compared to the Asian nationals who have no means of communication with non Asian nationals. Hence it is very crucial to note that English becomes a key language for Asians if they wish to play their life in a global scale, especially since the whole world is moving at a global level.

At the upper intermediate and higher levels, students are expected to have a good grip over the language. Similar to the situations in other parts of the world, English literature is taught in Asian countries for many reasons. The most common ones are that literature provides easy access to motivating content material and cultural background, encourages language acquisition, expands students’ language awareness, develops students’ interpretative abilities and educates the whole person (Widdowson, 1975; Mullane, 1984; Brumfit, 1985; Spack, 1985; Akyel & Yalcin, 1990; Carter & Long, 1991; Lazar, 1993). Collie and Slater (1987) say that literature can provide valuable authentic material, cultural enrichment, language enrichment and personal involvement. According to Osburne’s (1987) survey of master’s level English language teacher trainees in a Chinese university, the trainees have more interest in literature than linguistics and methodology. Du (1990) also reported that, in his survey of Chinese students’ attitudes towards the courses offered by a university, 42 out of 58 students (84%) indicated a ‘‘strong liking” for and a ‘‘great interest” in literature. He claimed that in general there is a great potential in all the Asian countries for the use of English, and thus for literature in English.

Rationale

Employment of Asian students has been defined by the growth of the economy through various ways like technology, guidance, testing and standard. It has been suggested that in order to preserve the standard of human resource in professional courses like technological education there is a need for a lot of concentration. This would in turn result in education system for technological studies reaching newer heights.

In the developing world, English has emerged as an essential language to learn and been a common tool to communicate in the world. English is a prime language for expression one’s own feelings and technological usage. The use of literature in this regard may help build up the overall command over the language which may be reflected in technical use.

Teaching of English is a growing field in the training education of Asian students. The vitality of English teaching for Asian students with regards to achievement of goals set by organizational as well as licensed credentials has been discussed and is often linked to the learning outcome of the students. In developing countries like China and India, national level recognized organizations struggle to implement common, open and accurate accreditation models, which has been a problem of English teaching for bright students. Finding the chances of bilateral acceptance and migration of students would assist for international recognition. So, English teachers and researchers should meet with new orientations and teach English differently. Technology students trained well with professional usage of English in schools can be a specialist in technology.

Teaching Multicultural Literature in English Language

Teachers need abundant proficiency on literary theories in addition to the reading techniques when they give lecture about multicultural literature in English language classes. Though they follow classical, new criticism, mythological and archetypal, the formalist, feminish or reader-response methods of literary analysis in their multicultural literature reading, they should have knowledge, for example, on postcolonial criticism when they deal with Eurocentric inclinations. Inadequate knowledge on theoretical contexts between English teachers’ leads their students to study the ambiguous depictions of cultural groups carelessly while they read. So, deciphering multicultural literature with postcolonial literary theory will support the students to consider the problems in Eurocentric illustrations of development. According to Mingshui Cai (2002), we have to take multicultural literature to make the experts in that topic instead of merely conveying information. He indicates that ‘‘when using multicultural literature in the curriculum, it is imperative to move from informing to empowering students. To empower students is to help them develop the ability to identify, critically analyze, and even take action to solve problems related to cultural differences. ’’ (p. xviii)

Students could actively react to the problems of multicultural literature due to transformation from informing to qualifying the students. Students can understand the concepts by appropriate explanations. For example, postcolonial literary theory can be taught by explaining the association between postcolonial and multicultural literatures, which are closely related though they are the same completely. Multicultural literature includes world literatures (translated to or originally in English) like immigrant literature, ethnic (or minority) literature, and Native literature, whereas postcolonial literature is defined precisely as ‘‘writing by those peoples formerly colonized by Britain, though much of what it deals with is of interest and relevance to countries colonized by other European powers, such as France, Portugal, and Spain” (Ashcroft et al.، 1989. p. 1).

Teaching Mechanisms

In 1990s, research started to delineate literature teaching in foreign language classrooms. But those studies were position-based instead of data-based studies, which determine the result of literature teaching on learning a foreign language. Advancer learners of English appreciate good literature even if they are not able to perceive the entire contents (Erturul, 1995). She also pointed out that the students have to improve their literary proficiency, which would help them understand symbolic meanings in the literature. On the other hand, poetry brings the learning of rhythm and sound system among students (Çubukçu, 2001a; Himanolu, 2005) and encourages them to be learners (Erturul, 1995). Though some studies in 1990s encouraged literature usage in EFL classrooms, new curricula reduced the weekly literature courses, which was reinforced by Turker (1998) as to be followed in all levels of instruction. Akyel (1995) commented that the teachers may not like to teach poetry in classrooms due to their lack of knowledge in poetry although poetry provides precious language for EFL students. EFL teachers should be able to differentiate each genre as each genre has its own practical usage. Erturual (1995) reports that while the short stories are short and time saving with less words and imaginations, poetry on the contrary, have in-depth of imaginations, accent and rhythm. She also describes that drama contains dialogues, which would be very useful as they are a part of regular communication. She claims that novels are not applicable in classroom teaching as they are lengthy but they are recommended for reading outside the classroom and called as ‘‘breath reading” or ‘‘extensive reading” for the overall improvement of skills of the student

A study conducted with fourth year prospective teachers of English language revealed that most of the prospective teachers believe that literature courses are important for their English language education curriculum (Arikan, 2005). Novel methods of teaching and learning by using literature are valuable resources of improving language learning in Asia. As an example, literature theory can replace language-based methods for teaching literature (Çubukçu 2001b; Ünlü, 2002; Arikan, 2008). Additionally, computer technology like internet has to be included with traditional classroom-based activities for teaching literature (Kartal and Arikan, 2010; Arikan, 2008). Students have interests to work with tools given in the virtual world for learning American and British literature (Arikan, 2008).

Different models of teaching literature in class

There are various models proposed for teaching literature to students in Asian Countries (Carter & Long, Lazar). The teacher can take literature content according to the type of model they select.

Cultural model takes literary content as a product, i. e.، input information of the culture focused. It is the classical method, usually applied in university courses about literature. The cultural model looks for the social, political and historical background of a content, literary movements and genres. But content specific language work has not been done so far. This method would be completely teacher-centric.

The language model was meant to be highly learner-centric. While going through the content, learners tend to give importance to the pattern of language usage and the meaning through which they understand English. This model lets the teacher focus on general grammar and vocabulary (for example as given in the course books) or go for stylistic analysis in which the students would be able to elucidate the content with the knowledge on linguistic characteristics of the content. This improves the reading and studying ability of the learners.

The personal growth model is a process-based method and tends to be learner-centric. In this model, learners can portray their own views, thoughts and experiences. It tries to provide the content and the reader interactions to build the language thereby making it unforgettable. Learners are promoted to ‘‘make the text their own”. This model identifies the strength of literature which can make the learners implement their learning in the classroom.

Requirements of Asian students’ education for English teaching

Global Technology Excellence states three major points as follows. First, students play a significant role to resolve international issues like constant growth and safety, etc. Second, students have to collaborate in the various sectors in the world because of globalization of technology. Third, Government, industry, academy and other technology based associations need to work as a team to provide training to global students. Training given by the industry would be more useful to the students. Global study has to be conducted on existing technology education system, which would insist the importance of English in education and future careers of the students and increase the needs of English teaching in Asia. It is also understood that any further improvement in technical education in English is dependent on the student command over the English language. Such a command over the language is possible only when there is command over English literature.

Improvement of English applicable skills

In the current scenario, English teaching should develop the ability of the students in listening, speaking, reading, writing and translating. Asian students’ education offers different new opportunities and styles to teachers and students. Developing skills, which need English proficiency, would be beneficial for students particularly in multi-national companies. These skills can be promoted while encouraging teaching of literature with a practical output in mind. Learning and applying informational technology and new applications through English applicable skills brings better convenient openings for advancement in the world. Work place demands English speaking programs and skills. So, we have to enhance the reading skills of students through encouraging them to read more English classical and modern literature which would improve their vocabulary and spoken English skills. Words and phrases used in daily life can be improved by communicating with English speakers in native language. English drama and poetry reading would help improving listening skills. Writing short paragraphs on their own and then lengthy articles with the use of reading materials aid for writing skills. Translation of vernacular literature into English can also be practiced to improve command over the English language

Combination of professional knowledge

Apart from providing basic training, students have to be trained to use foreign language to implement in professional skills, teaching and other applications. This could be achieved by teaching students in the real time environment like asking them to take part in poetry reading competitions, organize plays in order to practice their language skills. By this, students would gain technical knowledge on English language. Following this hands-on training for their job and understanding professional knowledge as well can be made possible if technology students are asked to go work in their industry. In addition, they would be aware of the working environment, problem solving methods, interactions with elder and senior students and team work. Professional knowledge with English teaching gets more importance in Asian students’ education and is appreciated by industries.

 Training ability of self-learning

Learning is a continuous process in life to update our knowledge to understand the advanced technologies and meet the age related demands. We would be able to train students to be imaginative and for continuous growth. Self-learning and long-life learning skills are important for both teachers and students. People who do not updated their skills and knowledge would be out of date and lose their jobs. So, we have to learn new skills and knowledge to keep us updated. Learning should continue after leaving classroom also. We have various resources to read such as professional magazines, journals, papers, internet, and in-service training programs. Joining to the organizations and participating in the conferences would get to know recent developments. Internet, distance education, e-learning and air-class would provide broad and different learning. Self learning increases our knowledge and skills anywhere anytime and is a productive life-ling learning method.

Conclusion

Literature is very important for English programs conducted in most of the non-English speaking countries. But teachers over those countries face problem in literature based teaching of English. A very few well prepared curricula with supporting materials is the first problem with teachers in language classroom. Inadequate preparation for literature teaching in TESL / TEFL programs is the second problem. The third issue is that the role of literature ESL / EFL is not defined with precise objectives. Many instructors implement literature in the classroom with no knowledge or training in that area. The teacher plays a crucial role in literature based teaching of English. When choosing literary contents for classroom teaching, many factors such as language skill of the students, interests, age, sex, etc have to be considered to supply with right materials to avoid students getting bored.

References

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•Akyel, A 1995, ‘Stylistic Analysis of Poetry: A perspective from an initial training course in TEFL’. TESL Canada Journal, vol. 13, no. 1, pp. 63-73.

•Arikan, A 2005, ‘An evaluation of literature component of Hacettepe University English language teaching department’, Hacettepe University Journal of Education, vol. 29,pp. 40-49.

•Arikan, A 2008, ‘Using Internet groups in the learning of literature’, Hacettepe University Journal of Education, vol. 34, pp. 19-26.

•Ashcroft, B, Griffiths, G & Tiffin, H 1989, The Empire Writes Back -Theory and Practice in Post-colonial Literatures, London and New York: Routledge.

•Brumfit, C 1985, ‘Reading skills and the study of literature in a foreign language’, In C. Brumfit Ed, Language and literature teaching: From practice to principle Oxford: Pergamon Press, pp. 105-110.

•Cai Mingshui 2002, Multicultural Literature for Children and Young Adults, London: Green wood Press.

•Carter, R & Long, M 1991, Teaching Literature, Longman.

•Collie, J & Slater, S 1987, Literature in the language classroom, Avon: Cambridge University Press.

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