Teaching of listening skills in primary classes in Pakistan

The main purpose of the study was to investigate how teachers in the Pakistani context teach listening skills in an English classroom. What are the methods and techniques used in teaching listening skills and what are their perceptions about the importance of teaching listening skills. The study was conducted in one of the AKES schools in Karachi. Three teachers voluntarily participated in the study. My primary role during the study was that of a non-participator observer. To gather the required information, semi-structured interviews, observations, document analysis and focus group discussion were used. The AKES English curriculum is one of the few curriculums in Pakistan that place some importance on teaching of listening skills. However this is not always translated in the syllabus as teaching plans. The textbooks appear to influence the proportion of listening activities included in teaching. However the influence of the examination system, influence of the textbook listening skills, appears to affect this, which was not been taught in systematic way. The result also indicates the lack awareness of teachers about how to teach listening skills in primary classes. In this study I present the current teaching of listening skills in AKES primary sections (classes III and IV) and discuss challenges faced by the teachers. No intervention was conducted. Although teachers feel listening skills are important to teach they do not know how to teach them