Sneha Jose
Abstract
This study seeks to examine the use of question tags among secondary school students. It defines what question tags are, the significance, the roles and functions of question tags in oral communication and the different kinds of interrogative statements. The study is done based on the results of a survey conducted among the students of standard 8 in Mount Carmel Vidyaniketan Kottayam. The study finds the need to improve the communicative skills of student and their knowledge in basic grammar. The study also makes the suggestions to improve the same.
Keywords: communication, grammar, interrogative statements, question tags
Introduction
All people use language to express their feeling, ideas, opinions and desires. English language plays a crucial role to weave world to a single thread. The need for learning a language arises from the point of view of its adaptability, productivity, utility, universality and teachability. Communication is a sharing of feelings, ideas and opinions with others. It becomes effective when a communicator is effective enough to communicate competently, simply, clearly and dynamically. The use of questions during conversation and small talks helps to convey and convince the idea effectively. Question tags are effective tools to help in oral communication.
Statement of the Problem
The study that the investigator has undertaken is titled “A Study on the Use of Question Tags Among Secondary School Students”
Need and Significance of the Study
The primary need to conduct the study is to improve the communication skills of students of secondary level. Through the study the investigator tries to find out the difficulties faced by the students using question tags. By analyzing and finding the problems faced by the students the teacher will be able to take up measures and find solutions to solve the problem. So this study gains much events based on this aspect. The study also tries to identify the grammatical aspects that children find difficult to understand while using question tags and to take corrective measures to help out the students.
Objectives of the Study
The main objectives of conducting the project are as follows:
● To identify the students understanding about the various types of questions in English language
● To find whether the students are aware about the use of question tags
● To suggest situations to use question tags in oral communication
● To recommend opportunities for students to form question tags to maintain democratic nature in communication
● To provide ways to increase the grammatical sense of students while using question tags
Methodology and Procedure
As part of the project data collection was done through two different ways. A questionnaire was administered to the students to understand their knowledge and frequency of using question tags. Ten questions were added in the questionnaire which was done using google forms. The questionnaire had to be answered according to the individual reflection of the person.After administering questionnaire a worksheet was provided to the students that included task to form question tags based on the sentences given.
Analysis and Interpretation
The sample selected for the study was 20 students of class 8th at Mount Carmel Vidyaniketan Kottayam. Only one student was able to score 80 percentage in the test. 5 students scored 40 %, three students scored 30 % and 4 students scored 20 percentage. 8 students were scored below 20 percentage. To calculate in general, 80 percentage of the class scored only below 5 marks.
The worksheet was followed by a questionnaire. 45 percentage of the students know what interrogative statements are. 90 percentage of the students are familiar with the different types of questions. Only 30 % of the students know the grammatical rules to form question tags. But 90% know what positive sentences are.85 percentage of the students think that question tag help in effective communication and to form effective questions. Though the students are aware about the significance of question tags they did not clearly know the basic grammar to be followed.
The students struggle to find out the auxiliary verb used in the statement though they were able to find out whether the statement is positive or negative. The students are confusions with using dummy auxiliaries to form question tags. The lack of oral communication in English could be the reason for the plight of the students as question tags are generally used in oral conversations.
The survey was really beneficial to the students. Question tags is a sure question in all the competitive examinations including the secondary level exams in which the candidates have to find out the right question tag from the given options or fill in the blanks by themselves. Hence the survey helped the students to understand better about question tag as the it was followed by a brief class on the topic question tag taken by the investigator.
Findings
Though the students know what question tags are they are not clear with the basic grammar rules to form question tags. They know what positive sentence are but have confusions with the right auxillary verb to be used especially in statements in which the auxiliary verb is not explicitly present. Moreover it was found that many students have no idea about the different kinds of interrogative statements. The students do not know the purpose of writing question tag. Hence the students must be made familiar with the use of question tags through classroom communication especially in the oral form. The students must be encouraged to use question tags in their day-to-day interactions.
Suggestions
Based on the study it was found that:
● The students should be aware of the basic grammar principles
● The teachers should encourage more classroom communication
● The students should be encouraged to speak English
● Grammar related activities should be included in every class
● Students have to be familiar with question tags
● The student should develop critical thinking
● The reading and listening comprehension of students must be improved to use question tags
Conclusion
The importance of the ability to speak or write English has recently increased significantly as English has become the de facto standard. English is no more confined to classroom learning alone. It has been used now as a measuring rod in most of the jobs. Children of today become acquainted with computers and internet as exposure in English.
English language communication is the most common problem faced by students. No effective training is imparted to the students who are very poor at communication. No one can get mastery over communication skills in a day or two. The teachers, parents and students must also pay attention to the spoken language and oral communication as well. The simple grammatical items like question tags can help to have effective communication and make communication dynamic and reassuring.
Reference
1. Ahmed, Riyaz Shaik, “importance of English Communication Skills”, International Journal For Applied Research,2016.2(3),pp.478-480.
2. Ashraf, Rizvi M., Effective Technical Communication, Tata McGraw, 2006.
3. Raman Meenakshi Raman, Sangeeta Sarma. Technical Communication: Principles and Practice. OUP, 2004.
