Use of Chunking Technique to Assist Pashto Speakers in Determining Grammatical Gender while Learning Urdu

Abstract

The current study focuses on the challenges faced by Pushto speakers who desire to learn Urdu or seek a career in mastering a language. It suggests possible tactics for reducing the level of difficulty in learning grammatical gender through chunking technique by using experimentation method that helps the Pashto speakers in labelling grammatical gender to inanimate objects in Urdu language while focusing on adjective-noun pairs. The research quantitatively collects data from an experimental group of Pashto speakers living in Charsadda-Khyber Pakhtunkhwa through pre-tests and post-tests. The sample size of the study includes eight students of grade 8th of Indus Private School Charsadda, who were selected through purposive sampling. The participants were provided with teaching sessions of 60 minutes’ duration for ten days. However, the teaching sessions were conducted online through Zoom Cloud Meeting application due to COVID19 epidemic situation in the country. The learners were taught by providing the list of masculine and feminine adjective-nouns and the use of prepositions, verbs and possessive pronouns in inanimate objects by exposing the gender. The findings clearly show improvement in the average score of student’s pre-tests and post-tests. As a result, the chunking strategy is recommended for learners who use Urdu as their second language, particularly when the grammatical gender of their first language varies. The study recommends the practice of connecting adjectives with nouns by using the chunking technique as a pedagogical tactic to teach Urdu language to Pashto speakers.