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Teaching and Research Trends in English Language Education in Nepal: Past Experiences,
Present Realities, and Future Directions-An Interview with Prof. Dr. Laxmi Bahadur
Maharjan

Prof. Dr. Laxmi Bahadur Maharjan is a Professor of English at Tribhuvan University,

specializing in linguistics, English Language Teaching (ELT), and academic writing. He is the
Founder of Kirtipur Research Point, where he actively supports research capacity-building in
Nepal. He has authored several textbooks, including Foundations of Language and Linguistics
and A Comprehensive Coursebook in Linguistics in Application. He currently serves as the
Editor-in-Chief of the Mangal Research Journal (MRJ). Our NELTA ELT Forum Deputy Editor-
In-Chief, Gobinda Puri has interviewed him on his experiences, observations and insights into
English language teaching and research trends for the January Issue, 2026. This interview
reflects Prof. Dr. Laxmi Bahadur Maharjan’s lifelong journey in English language teaching and
research in Nepal. Drawing on five decades of experience, he discusses past ELT practices,
present challenges, and future possibilities, emphasizing research, pronunciation, intelligibility,
and teachers’ professional responsibility in strengthening English education in Nepal.
Gobinda: Warm Greetings and thank you sir for agreeing to share your experiences,
practices and perspectives on teaching and researching English language education in
Nepal with our NELTA ELT Forum readers. To begin with, could you briefly share your
past experiences on English language teaching and learning?

Dr. Maharjan: First of all, I sincerely thank you and the NELTA ELT Forum for this
opportunity, which has taken me back to my school days. I was a final-year S.L.C. student in
2027/28 B.S. (1970/71 A.D.), a time when learning English required strict discipline, patience,
and hard work. My schooling took place in an adult school in my village—not by choice, but by
compulsion—because educational options were extremely limited. In Kirtipur, there were only a
couple of educational institutions, leaving students like me with almost no alternative. Although
I was still a teenager, many of my classmates were adults much older than me. Studying with
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them was not easy at first, but it created a deep sense of seriousness, maturity, and shared
responsibility. Despite many constraints, we were committed to learning, and that environment
strongly shaped my early relationship with English.

Gobinda: Great! How was the practices of teaching and learning English in your schooling
days?

Dr. Maharjan: English learning in those days happened in silence rather than speech. We
almost never spoke English in class—not even a simple sentence. Learning meant translating
Nepali into English and English into Nepali, memorizing rules, and completing written exercises.
Speaking was neither encouraged nor expected; correct written translation was taken as proof of
learning. Yet, within this rigid system, a strong desire began to grow in me—to speak English. It
was an inner excitement, mixed with curiosity and frustration. That urge slowly pushed me
toward unfamiliar and challenging contexts where English felt alive, not just translated. Looking
back, I realize that this suppressed desire to speak became a turning point—one that quietly
guided my later journey as both a learner and a teacher of English.

Gobinda: It is really interesting to know that you were intrinsically motivated to learn
English. Could you also share with us what really motivated you to pursue English
language teaching as a profession? To what extent was this decision shaped by personal
choice, professional aspiration, or circumstantial factors?

Dr. Maharjan: Thank you for this question. There are multiple factors which led me to English
language teaching as a profession. Among them, let me share my personal choice, professional
aspirations and circumstantial factors. I was brought up and educated in a home that often
became a small learning centre for the village. People from the community used to come to our
house carrying letters sent by their family members from far away. They would ask my brother
—the only graduate in the community—to read and explain those letters to them. Watching this
from a young age, I slowly began to understand the value of literacy and language. I also realized
how English, in particular, helped connect people’s lives across distance and separation.

Now I can say that teaching English as a profession was my personal choice. After completing
my S.L.C., I started teaching informally in the community, mainly helping my brother support
villagers in reading and understanding letters and other written messages. Later, after completing
my Intermediate level, I joined the profession formally as a schoolteacher. I chose English as my
major subject at the Intermediate level and continued the same subject during my Bachelor’s
degree. Although I studied Science and Health and Physical Education up to the Bachelor’s
level, I continued teaching English in schools and colleges. I enjoyed teaching all the subjects
assigned to me during those years.

Professional aspirations equally contributed to come to this profession. My parents wished that I
would become a respected English teacher. As I began teaching English privately in the
community, people gradually started trusting me in that role and came to see me mainly as an
English teacher. While doing my Bachelor’s degree, I also started teaching at the campus level
and continued my studies alongside teaching. I completed my Master’s degree while remaining
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actively involved in teaching. A clear turning point came during my Master’s level, when I
started teaching English more seriously and with a stronger sense of professional identity.

Circumstantial factors were also the contributory for my teaching profession. At that time, there
was a shortage of English teachers in schools and campuses across the country. This situation
created opportunities as well as responsibilities for young teachers like me. The need of the time,
the trust of the community, and the available teaching spaces strongly supported my journey.
While my decision was largely guided by personal interest and professional aspiration, these
circumstances played an important and enabling role in shaping my path toward English
language teaching.

Gobinda: Based on your professional experience and scholarly engagement, how do you
perceive the current state of English language education in Nepal?

Dr. Maharjan: As I mentioned earlier, I started teaching from my very youth time, and I taught
with sincerity and commitment, which gradually helped me earn the trust and recognition of
being a good teacher. I had the opportunity to teach in reputed schools in Kathmandu and to
work closely with students from different educational, social, and linguistic backgrounds. Over
more than five decades of teaching in schools and colleges, I have taught countless students and
closely observed their learning processes, strengths, and difficulties. During this long journey, I
also worked with many teachers of different subjects and became close friends and colleagues
with them. By observing their classroom practices and professional struggles, I developed a
broader understanding of teaching beyond my own subject. These lived experiences, gathered
over decades, strongly shape how I view the present state of English language education in
Nepal.

From my experience, it is not enough, and an EFL teacher in Nepal has very little ground to feel
satisfied with the profession. An English teacher passes through many struggles—struggles
related to one’s own classroom delivery, limited resources, and also the unfulfilled commitments
of the government. If one closely observes the realities of teaching English in remote schools—
the conditions of the classrooms, the status of students and teachers, and the level of government
responsibility and support—one can clearly understand the real scenario of English language
teaching in Nepal. In many rural areas, the situation is so poor that it is difficult to claim that
effective English language teaching is taking place at all. Of course, reports often show that the
EFL status of Nepal is higher than that of many other South Asian countries. However, this alone
should not be enough to maintain or celebrate the status of Englishness in the country. It is also
not enough that a few thousand students, or a limited number of learners in urban areas, speak
English very well.

There definitely exist possibilities to improve the ELT situation in Nepal, as teachers and
educators are already committed to working hard. It is therefore important to remind local,
provincial, and central governments that strengthening English language teaching is also their
shared responsibility and duty. Real improvement can take place only when all of us—teachers,
institutions, communities, and the government itself—work together with equal commitment and
accountability.
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Gobinda: Thank you for sharing your observations and possibilities to improve the ELT
situation in Nepal. As you spent many years teaching and researching English Phonetics
and Phonology, what are your observations regarding research in phonetics and phonology
in the Nepalese context?

Dr. Maharjan: Research should not be underestimated. From my own teaching experience,
every teacher, while entering the class, is doing some kind of research, even if we do not realize
it. Phonetics is always there in our delivery, because every teacher speaks and teaches sounds in
his own way. The medium of delivery is phonology, and this clearly differs from one teacher to
another due to background, training, habit, and exposure. Because of this, students hear English
differently, and they learn sounds differently in different classrooms. Therefore, it is very much
needed that teachers formally research their own classroom practices, especially in phonetics and
phonology, with a broader and realistic sense of research in the Nepalese context.

In reality, however, research in phonetics and phonology in Nepal is still very limited. Most
teachers teach pronunciation based on their own learning experience, not on research-based
knowledge. Many teachers themselves were never properly trained in phonetics and phonology,
so they feel hesitation and lack confidence in teaching sounds, stress, rhythm, and intonation. As
a result, pronunciation teaching is often ignored or treated very lightly in classrooms.

Gobinda: To be specific, what challenges do Nepali students/teachers/researchers

encounter when learning, teaching and conducting research in English Phonetics and
Phonology?

Dr. Maharjan: Yes, I am coming to your question. For students, the major challenge is limited
exposure. Outside the classroom, students hardly hear English used naturally, especially in rural
and remote areas. Strong influence of the mother tongue affects pronunciation, but students are
rarely guided on how and why this happens. Students are also afraid of making mistakes and
being laughed at, so they avoid speaking practice, which directly affects their phonological
development.

For researchers, conducting research in this area is also challenging. There is lack of proper
laboratory facilities, recording tools, and software in most campuses. Many researchers depend
only on impressionistic judgment rather than acoustic or systematic analysis. Access to updated
journals, research training, and expert supervision is also limited, especially outside major cities.
Another serious challenge is the examination system. Pronunciation, stress, and intonation are
rarely assessed meaningfully in exams, so both teachers and students give them less priority.
When assessment does not value phonetics and phonology, classroom teaching also becomes
weak in this area. Despite these challenges, there is strong possibility for improvement. If
teachers are encouraged to do small classroom-based research, if training programs focus more
on pronunciation and spoken English, and if institutions and the government provide basic
support, research and teaching in phonetics and phonology can gradually improve in the
Nepalese context.

Gobinda: Thank you. In the context of increasing technological integration, the spread of
Global Englishes, and exposure to multiple English accents, how would you advise aspiring
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English language teachers in Nepal to make informed choices about pronunciation models
and standards?
Dr. Maharjan: There are several varieties of English being spoken across the globe today. In
earlier days, we were clearly instructed to follow either American English or British English, and
teachers were expected to stick to one of these models. At present, however, the situation has
changed. The main purpose of English is communication—being able to express ourselves
clearly and being able to understand others, even when accents and varieties differ. With the
spread of Global Englishes, we are exposed to many accents through technology, media, and
social interaction. There is also a growing trend of naming English varieties after countries, such
as Nenglish, Hinglish, Chinglish, Singlish, or Jinglish. However, in many cases, these labels are
used more as fashion than for strong linguistic reasons. Simply giving a name does not
automatically make a variety suitable as a teaching model.
My advice to aspiring English language teachers in Nepal is to make informed and practical
choices. Teachers are free to choose any pronunciation model or standard of English they feel
comfortable with, but the most important point is that their English should be clear and
understandable to others. Intelligibility matters more than imitation of accent. Of course, there
are degrees of Englishness in spoken language. The closer one follows a well-established
standard variety such as American English or British English, the more confident and systematic
one’s pronunciation may become. However, teachers should not feel pressured to sound like
native speakers. Instead, they should aim for clarity, consistency, and confidence, and help
students develop pronunciation that supports effective communication in real-life contexts.
Gobinda: Finally, would you like to offer any suggestions to our readers, particularly
aspiring teachers regarding English language teaching and learning in general, and the
teaching of phonetics and phonology in particular?
Dr. Maharjan: If your phonetics is good, no doubt you are always good. In our context, people
judge a teacher very quickly from the way he speaks English. Sometimes, it is even connected
with personality and confidence. So, if you want to be a demanding teacher, you should be
familiar with two things: delivery and researching. Delivery means how you teach, how you
speak, and how you present yourself professionally. Researching means how you observe your
practice, reflect on it, and improve continuously. I also feel that getting command over English is
very important. It does not mean you must copy a native accent. Keep your pronunciation clear,
not necessarily “native-like.” Your English should be correct and understandable. This is why
phonetics and phonology matter in real academic and professional life. They are not only
classroom topics or examination areas; they directly shape how teachers are perceived and how
confidently they function as professionals.
Regarding phonetics and phonology, my main suggestion to aspiring teachers is to develop
consistency and awareness in their own spoken English and to take this area seriously as part of
their professional growth. Rather than treating pronunciation casually, teachers should see it as
an important academic domain that deserves attention, reflection, and research within the
Nepalese context. Regarding research, I strongly believe researching adds wonderful credits to
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your career. Even small classroom-based or practice-based research is meaningful. A teacher who
teaches and also researches becomes stronger day by day. Such a teacher is cherished
everywhere, because he is improving both himself and his profession. Moreover, these credits
have direct relation with your professional identity and long-term growth.
Gobinda: Thank you so much for your time and sharing with us.