This study on communicative competence of secondary school students of Bhutan was conducted with the lower, middle and higher secondary school students under four districts Chukha, Samtse, Paro and Thimphu. The study aimed to explore why communicative proficiency was generally perceived low as reported by LaPrarie (2014). Random sampling survey questionnaire was administered to 864 students and purposive sampling interviews conducted with 24 teacher and 2 curriculum developers from Royal Education Council. Other data collection methods included classroom lesson observation and documentary analysis. Simple descriptive analysis for quantitative data and thematic analysis for qualitative data analysis were employed. The study found that majority of the students had low proficiency level in both English and Dzongkha with a few who had higher level. The low communicative competence in both English and Dzongkha has been attributed to the negative influence of social media in which students showed more interested than engaging in academic reading and writing activities. However, the study found the schools organised relevant activities such as literary fest, debates, and speeches, speaking and writing activities to enhance the communication skills. The research recommends activities such as reviewing the curriculum standards, enhancing teachers' skills to focus on the communicative skills to improve students' proficiency in communication.

Novel as a literary genre enjoyed the highest level of glory in the 18 th century. The authors namely Defoe, Richardson, Fielding and Sterne contributed significantly to the development of English novel. They influenced the writers who came after them. The 18 th century coincided with the industrial revolution which sign ificantly contributed to the rise of the novel (with the invention of printing machine). The chain effects of industrial revolution improved people's life and living standard. The rise of the educated middle class people further increased the reading publi c which correspondingly led to demand of novels for reading. Books such as 'Don Quixote', 'Decameron', 'Morte d' Arthur' and 'Pilgrim's Progress' laid the foundations for the development of the novel. 'Pamela', 'Joseph Andrew's, 'Tristram Shandy', and 'Robinson Crusoe' were some of the notable books that became famous in the 18 th century. However, novels continued to evolve in the 19 th and 20 th century giving rise to different genres or classes of novel.

The paper explores pre-service teacher'sawareness, interest, perception, attitudes and the level of knowledge on the Programme for International Student Assessment for development (PISA-D). A mixed method of quantitative research and qualitative research was used in this study. The study was conducted among final year Bachelor of Education (B.Ed) and Postgraduate Diploma in Education (PGDE) students at Samtse College of Education, Bhutan. Instruments such as survey questionnaire and interview were used to collect the data. The survey questionnaire was analyzed using Excel Add-in Analysis Tool Pak and Interview data were analyzed by identifying themes. The results revealed that 72.6% of pre-service teachers were aware of Programme for International Student Assessment for Development (PISA -D). Among them nearly 40% expressed their opinion that PISA has impact on curriculum and quality of education in the country as a whole. However, 60%had limited knowledge of purpose and importance of participating in PISA-D. The findings also revealed that 50% of them were interested to know more about PISA.