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Study Skills Training for the New Millennium Learners of ESL
Dr Varalakshmi Chaudhry
Associate Professor (English), NC College of Engineering, Israna (Panipat)
Abstract: The basic argument of the paper is that training in Study Skills is necessary for the
autonomous learners of the new millennium who are techno addicts. Study Skills trigger cognitive
processes that facilitate text input processing; which in turn promotes second language acquisition. The
study skills that are focused upon are: Skimming, Scanning, Note-taking and Note-making. The subjects
(72 in number) for the study are students of B. Tech first year in an autonomous engineering college in
Israna, Panipat of Haryana. The study skills discussed in this paper are a part of the course,
Communication Skills in English, taught in the first and second semesters of the four-year B. Tech course.
The experimental data are from Study skills Tasks. The Comparative data are from the conventional
tasks. The data are analyzed both quantitatively and qualitatively. The results are discussed in detail. The
theoretical background for the paper is based on Chaudhry (2010; 2013); Narang (2013); Jo Mc
Donough et al (2013); Ellis (2005); Van Patten (2004); and Mesthrie (2000).
1. Introduction
The theme of the conference is to analyze the positive and powerful impact of society on the
status of English in India over the past hundred years. The situation of English language teaching in an
autonomous engineering college in a village Israna of Panipat district, Haryana is presented in this paper.
Haryana has evolved, over a period of ten years, as a very powerful State – with technology centers,
educational institutions, premier research institutes, women empowerment and many more. The change in
the social and mental makeup of the society towards education, globalization, women empowerment,
literacy, industrialization and entrepreneurship – all have contributed directly to an increase in the
importance of communication skills and soft skills in English. The subjects in the present study are from
an engineering college in this setting. The autonomous status of the college allows the design of syllabus
as per the global market demands of the graduates who apply for jobs in the corporate, industry, software
sectors; or even go in for an entrepreneurial venture of their own.
2. The Methodology
The study is focused on the following Study Skills: Skimming, Scanning, Note-taking and Note-
making. The subjects (72 in number) for the study are students of B. Tech first year in an autonomous
engineering college in Israna, Panipat of Haryana. The study skills discussed in this paper are a part of the
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course, Communication Skills in English, taught in the first and second semesters of the four-year B.
Tech course.
The experimental task is a written exam (ref Appendix for Question Paper) – Mid Term III (of 90
minute duration and for 40 marks) – towards the end of the semester and covers the syllabus covered in
the last month of teaching before the final exams. The study skills were taught during this month along
with the conventional topics like reading comprehension; vocabulary (Phrasal Verbs & Words often
Confused); and Grammar (Primary and Modal Auxiliary verbs).
The experimental data is from the following tasks (14 of 40 marks) in the written exam paper:
Make notes on the following paragraph; Write the following words in dictionary order using scanning
technique; and Write the central idea stated in the passage. The comparative data is from the following
tasks (26 0f 40 marks): Read the following passage carefully to answer the questions given below it;
Differentiate between the following pair of confusing words by using them in sentences; Use the
following phrasal verbs in sentences; Fill in the following blanks with suitable modal verbs; Fill in the
blanks using primary auxiliaries: (be/have/do and their various forms).
The data are analyzed both quantitatively and qualitatively. The Quantitative analysis involved:
A. Set I - categorization of the 72 (S1 - S72) subjects into four levels based on their performance in the
written exam. The categorization was as follows:
i. High level performers: 31 - 40 marks in the exam – S42 (33) & S54 (31) – 2 subjects
ii. Above average performers: 21 - 30 marks in the exam – 40 subjects
iii. Average performers: 11 - 20 marks in the exam – 25 subjects
iv. Low level performers: 1 – 10 marks in the exam – S27 (10); S31 (10); S32 (6); S67 (10); S70
(6) - 5 subjects
B. Set II - comparison of the scores in the experimental task with those in the conventional task to
understand and highlight the need for study skills training to the new millennium learners
C. Set III - comparison of the scores in the reading comprehension task with the scores of note-
making and skimming in an attempt to substantiate the impact of text input processing on the performance
of the subjects based on the type of task – study skills task versus reading comprehension task.
The qualitative analysis was done by comparing the actual processing done, by 1 subject at each
level of performance, in the reading comprehension task with that of:
Set I - Note-Making Task
Set II - Skimming Task
3. Data Analysis and Interpretation
I. Quantitative Analysis
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The quantitative data – Set I & II & III: Four types of performers based on written test scores;
and Comparison of scores in Study Skills Task & Conventional Task; Comparison of Reading
Comprehension Task & the Note Making & Skimming
High Level Performers: 2
Subject Note
Mkg (6) Scan
(4) Skim
(4) Study
Skills Task
(14)
Vocab
(8) Gr
(12) RC
(6) Conventional
Task (26) Total
(40)
S42 5 4 3 12 6 12 3 21 33
S54 5 4 3.5 12.5 5.5 9 4 18.5 31
Above Average Performers: 40
Subject Note
Mkg (6) Scan
(4) Skim
(4) Study
Skills Task
(14)
Vocab
(8) Gr
(12) RC
(6) Conventional
Task (26) Total
(40)
S1 4 4 2 10 0 8 3 11 21
S2 6 4 4 14 0 10 3 13 27
S5 5.5 4 3 12.5 2.5 8 2 12.5 25
S7 2.5 4 3 9.5 2.5 10 2 14.5 24
S8 5.5 4 3 12.5 2.5 8 3 13.5 26
S10 4 4 2 10 4 8 1 13 23
S11 5 4 4 13 2 9 3 14 27
S12 4 4 4 12 4 9 4 17 29
S14 3.5 4 3 10.5 4.5 7 3 14.5 25
S15 0 4 3 7 3 9 5 17 24
S19 6 4 3.5 13.5 4.5 7 4 15.5 29
S20 5 4 3 12 3 9 3 15 27
S21 5 4 3 12 3 10 3 16 28
S24 4.5 4 2.5 11 2 9 2 13 24
S25 3 4 4 11 3 7 2 12 23
S26 5 0 3 8 2 10 2 14 22
S29 6 4 3 13 4 5 2 11 24
S30 5 4 3 12 3 7 3 13 25
S34 4 4 2 10 5 10 2 17 27
S35 3 4 3 10 4 5 2 11 21
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S36 3 4 2 9 1 9 3 13 22
S37 3 4 2 9 1 7 4 12 21
S39 4 4 1.5 9.5 4.5 10 4 18.5 28
S40 3 4 2.5 9.5 .5 10 2 12.5 22
S43 6 0 3 9 5 9 3 17 26
S44 3.5 4 3 10.5 4.5 6 1 11.5 22
S47 0 4 3 7 5 7 4 16 23
S48 3 4 3 10 0 10 4 14 24
S50 3 4 2 9 4 0 4 18 7
S53 0 4 2 6 5 8 4 17 23
S55 5 4 3 12 2 8 3 13 25
S56 3 4 2 9 2 9 2 13 22
S57 4.5 4 3 11.5 .5 8 2 10.5 22
S60 3 4 2.5 9.5 1.5 8 2 11.5 21
S61 5 4 3 12 1 6 3 10 22
S62 5.5 4 3 12.5 1.5 7 3 11.5 24
S63 5 4 3 12 1 5 3 9 21
S65 3.5 4 2 9.5 1.5 7 3 11.5 21
S66 2 4 3 9 2 7 3 12 21
S72 6 4 2.5 12.5 6.5 5 2 13.5 26
Average Performers: 25
Subject Note
Mkg
(6)
Scan(4) Skim
(4) Study
Skills Task
(14)
Vocab
(8) Gr
(12) RC
(6) Conventional
Task (26) Total
(40)
S3 3 3 3 9 2 5 3 10 19
S4 1 0 3 4 2 6 4 12 16
S6 3 4 1 8 1 7 3 11 19
S9 2 4 1.5 7.5 .5 8 3 11.5 19
S13 3 4 1 8 1 8 1 10 18
S16 2 4 2 8 0 5 2 7 15
S17 4.5 4 1.5 10 0 7 3 10 20
S18 4 4 2 10 0 1 2 3 13
S 22 0 4 0 4 1 6 3 10 14
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S23 0 4 3 7 1 7 4 12 19
S28 4.5 4 2 10.5 1.5 6 0 7.5 18
S33 1.5 4 1.5 7 0 3 1 4 11
S38 3 4 2 9 2 4 3 9 18
S41 4 4 3 11 0 4 3 7 18
S45 2 4 0 6 1 7 2 10 16
S46 3 4 2.5 9.5 .5 5 2 7.5 17
S49 0 4 2 6 2 8 2 12 18
S51 2 4 2.5 8.5 1 6.5 3 10.5 19
S52 3 3.5 2 8.5 2.5 4 1 7.5 16
S58 3.5 4 0 7.5 .5 5 2 7.5 15
S59 2 4 3 9 1 7 3 11 20
S64 0 4 0 4 0 6 1 7 11
S68 2.5 0 0 2.5 .5 7 3 10.5 13
S69 0 0 1 1 1 6 5 12 13
S71 4 4 0 8 0 6 4 10 18
Low Level Performers: 5
Subject Note
Mkg (6) Scan
(4) Skim
(4) Study
Skills Task
(14)
Vocab
(8) Gr
(12) RC
(6) Conventional
Task (26) Total
(40)
S27 3 0 2 5 0 2 3 5 10
S31 0 0 0 0 3 6 1 10 10
S32 0 0 0 0 0 5 1 6 6
S67 4 0 0 4 1 3 2 6 10
S70 2.5 0 0 2.5 .5 3 0 3.5 6
Interpretation of the Quantitative data
High Level Performers: The scores were 33 & 31 out of 40 in the written test. These two scores
are the highest among the 72 subjects. The scores in the Study Skill task were higher than those in the
Conventional Skills task. The scores in the note-making, scanning and skimming were higher than those
of the reading comprehension task.
Above Average Performers: There were 28 subjects who got scores between 21 and 25. The
scores of 12 subjects were between 26 and 30. There were 36 subjects had higher scores in Study Skill
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Task than those in the Conventional Task. There was only 1 subject whose RC score was more than that
of the Study Skill.
Average Performer: There were 17 subjects with scores between 16 and 20. 8 got scores between
11 and 15. The scores in the Study Skills were lower than those of Conventional task in 15 of 25 subjects.
7 had higher scores in Study Skills; and 3 had equal scores. Even though RC scores were lower than those
of Study Skill in 19 subjects, 4 had high scores in RC and 2 had equal scores.
Low Level Performers: There were 3 subjects with a score of 10 and 2 with a score of 6. The
score of 4 subjects in the Study Skill were lower than those of Conventional Task; and 1 subject had equal
scores. There were 2 subjects whose RC score was high; 2 whose RC score was low; and 1 with equal
score.
II. Qualitative Analysis
High Level Performer: S42
Note- Making:
Title: Television
1) Introduction:-
(i) same with most of invt of science
2) Television – a bane or boon:-
(i) Real Problem:-
(a) problem is the att of man to his crt.
(ii) If used jud., becomes boon
(iii) irrationally, becomes bane
3) As per survey and Research:-
(i) It is more a boon than bane
(ii) several aspects of dependence on it, would be harmful
(iii) Benefits can’t be overlooked
Abbreviation used:-
Invt -> inventions
Att -> attitude
Crt -> creations
Jud -> judicially
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Skimming:
Overeating is mostly done by those who can afford it, who can get as much as they desire. Hence
they overeat to their disadvantages. Dinner should not be taken shortly before retiring. It should not be
heavy. It should be light and taken three or four hours before retiring. This prevents overeating and
reduces lost of food.
Above Average Performer: S11
Note- Making:
Television
Great invention: - (a) one of the great, finest and creative invention
(b) Refresh us about current affairs
As a boon:- (a) Many TV programmes helps us to know what is going on in our world.
(b) Several T.V programmes helps students to enhance and enrich their creativity
and thinking skills
As a bane:- (a) Our modern generation is dependent on TV
(b) it cause weakness of eye sight
(c) It cause various heart diseases and problems
Conclusion:- We have no substitute for the role that T.V is playing in our life. It might be a
blessing or a curse
Skimming:
In this passage the author want to warn us about the harmful effect of overeating. As nowdays
overeating is increasing which cause deposition of excess fat in body which leads to development of
various diseases and heart problems.
Average Performers: S17
Note- Making:
Title: ``Role of tv in human life’’
(1) Invention of TV
(a) It is most wonderfull or beautiful invention of science
(b) It’s invention is last two centuries
(II) Use of TV
(a) when use TV judiciously it become a boon
(b) when use TV irrationally it become a bane
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(III) role of television in life
(a) TV is more a boon than bane to mankind
(b) we can know about world by TV
(IV) Bad effect of TV
(a) TV become a bane
(b) It can effect in human eyes
Skimming:
"Importance of food in human life’’
Eating is must in our life. A hevy meal at night called dinner. Three to five hour are needed to
digest food. Good meal improve our health.
Low Level performers: S67
Note- Making:
(A) Television
(1) it means both a boon and a bane
(2) inventions of science during the last two centuries
(B) uses of television
(1) the research or surveys done on this debate regarding television’s role
(2) There are several aspects of this modern dependence on TV
(3) it might be a mixed bessing
(C) benefits of television
(1) TV cannot be overlooked simply
(2) they outnumber the negative point
(3) it might be a mixed blessing, but a blessing it is
Skimming:
Central idea:- About overeating or save a great more food
Interpretation of the Qualitative Data
The processing of the text input for Note-Making; Skimming; and Scanning are clearly visible
when one compares the output text in the answers to the input text of the questions. An interesting
observation is that subjects at all the levels tried to process the text input in their own way – either
partially or completely. Some even went beyond the text while writing their answers. This is a proof of
the cognitive processes that are triggered while they tried to tackle the text input for a written task.
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4. Conclusion and Implications for Classroom teaching
The study clearly supports the hypothesis that study skills - rather than reading comprehension
and other conventional tasks - trigger cognitive processes that force a learner to do cognitive as well as
linguistic processing of the text input for better performance.
References
Chaudhry, Varalakshmi (2010) Role of Input-Processing in SLA: A Study of Engineering Undergraduates
Learning ESL Unpublished Ph. D thesis JNU, New Delhi
Chaudhry, Varalakshmi (2013) `` Professional Challenges of Teaching: Learner Perspective’’
International Journal of English Literature Language and Skills 2(1): 75-78 ISSN No: 2278-0742
Ellis, R. (2005) Analyzing Learner Language London: OUP.
Mc Donough, C. Shaw, H. Masuhara (2013) Materials and Methods in ELT: A Teachers’ Guide (Third
Edition) UK: Wiley Blackwell
Mesthrie, R, J. Swann, A. Deumert, W. L. Leap (2000) Introducing Sociolinguistics Edinburgh: Edinburgh
Univ
Narang, V. ed (2013), Contemporary Issues in Learning Theories and Pedagogical Practices Vol I & Vol II
Hyderabad: Orient Black Swan
Van Patten, B. (2004), Input Processing in SLA. In B. Van Patten (ed), Processing Instruction: Theory,
Research and Commentary. New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum
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Appendix
N.C. College of Engineering, Israna (Panipat)
IIIrd Mid-Term (B.Tech 1ST yr.)
COMMUNICATION SKILLS IN ENGLISH
NC-HUM-105
Time: 90min. M.M.: 40
NOTE:
All questions are compulsory.
I.. a) Differentiate between the following pair of confusing words by using them in sentences :
Verses-Versus, Metal-Mettle, Counsel-Council, Canvas-Canvass (4)
b) Use the following phrasal verbs in sentences:
run through, cut down, keep back, rake in (4)
II. a) Read the following passage carefully to answer the questions given below it: (6)
Speech is great blessing but it can also be great curse, for while it helps us to make our intentions
and desires known to our fellows, it can also if we use it carelessly, make our attitude completely
misunderstood. A slip of the tongue, the use of unusual word, or of an ambiguous word, and so on, may
create an enemy where we had hoped to win a friend. Again, different classes of people use different
vocabularies, and the ordinary speech of an educated may strike an uneducated listener as pompous.
Unwittingly, we may use a word which bears a different meaning to our listener from what it does to men
of our own class. Thus speech is not a gift to use lightly without thought, but one which demands careful
handling. Only a fool will express himself alike to all kinds and conditions to men.
i. The best way to win a friend is to avoid
(A) irony in speech (B) verbosity in speech
(C) pomposity in speech (D) ambiguity in speech
ii. While talking to an uneducated person, we should use
(A) ordinary speech (B) his vocabulary
(C) simple words (D) polite language
iii. If one used the same style of language with everyone, one would sound
(A) flat (B) boring
(C) foolish (D) democratic
iv. A 'slip of the tongue' means something said:
(A) wrongly by choice (B) unintentionally
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(C) without giving proper thought (D) to hurt another person
v. Antonym of the term “ambiguous”
(A)clear (B)doubtful
(C)puzzling (D)vague
Vi. Synonym of “pompous”
A) modest (B) simple
(C) dull (D) grand
Make notes on the following paragraph: (6)
Television has meant both, a boon and a bane, to mankind. It is the same with most of the
inventions of science during the last two centuries. Perhaps the real problem is the attitude of man to his
own creations. The main question to ponder over is should we use them or should we be used by them?
When used judiciously, television becomes a boon; whereas when used irrationally, television becomes a
bane. However, as per the research or surveys done on this debate regarding television’s role , it can be
safely asserted that television is more a boon than bane to mankind. As has been pointed out above, there
are several aspects of this modern dependence on TV, which would be categorized as harmful. But the
benefits of T.V. cannot be overlooked simply because they outnumber the negative points. Moreover we
have no substitute for the role that T.V. is playing in our life today. It might be a mixed blessing, but a
blessing it is.
III. a) Do write the following words in dictionary order using scanning technique: (4)
insipid, allegiance, pensive, sporadic, ascetic, boisterous, lewd, rebuke.
Write the central idea stated in the passage: (4)
Over-eating is one of the most wonderful practices among those who think that they can afford it .
In fact, authorities say that nearly all who can get as much as they desire, over-eat to their disadvantage.
This class of people could save a great more food than they can save by missing one meal per week and at
the same time they could improve their health. A heavy meal at night, the so called “dinner”, is the
fashion with many and often it is taken shortly before retiring. It is unnecessary and could be forgone, not
only once a week but daily without loss of strength. From three to five hours are needed to digest food.
While sleeping, this food not being required to give energy for work, is in many cases converted into
excess fat, giving rise to over-weight. The evening meal should be light, taken three or four hours before
retiring. This prevents over eating, conserves energy and reduces the cost of food.
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IV. a) Fill in the following blanks with suitable modal verbs: (6)
He______ not pay unless he is compelled.(shall/will/dare)
You ______ be punctual.(should, would, ought)
______you please help me with this?(shall /should/would)
I was afraid that if I asked him again, he____ refuse.(can/ may/ might)
You_____ light a match-stick; the room is full of gas.(needn't/mustn't/daren’t)
He___ come, but I should not be surprised. (will, can, might)
b) Fill in the blanks using primary auxiliaries: (be/have/do and their various forms) (6)
Oh, ___ come! It’s going to be such fun.
I ____to see him tomorrow.
He ____two daughters and one son.
He ___ speak English fluently.
____courteous to your elders.
Is there a radio station in your city? Yes, there___.