Viney Kirpal - Unlock Their Future

Teaching and learning are indivisible sides of the same coin. The present scene of the teaching and learning of English in India is in a mess. Indeed, there is too much of teaching of English in India, beginning with Std. I in some states, and Std. V in others, and continuing till graduation. In comparison, the learning of English, seems almost negligible.

This narrative of failure is often masked by the performance of students in school and university examinations. While a good number of students manage to fare well in tests and examinations, most graduates are unable to express themselves in English when applying for a job or facing a job interview. Typically, our graduates cannot comprehend a news broadcast on the radio or television, cannot talk about their strengths or weaknesses. They feel diffident about participating in a group discussion or reading in English and whenever they do, they do so slowly and painfully. They cannot write an effective curriculum vitae! The depressing realisation is that there are lakhs of teachers involved in the teaching of English from primary school to university levels but the teaching of English has resulted in little learning. This story of national waste of time, money and energy has been going on for the last 60 years.

Ideally, not more than three years is required to acquire a reasonable amount of mastery over a language. This is ably proved by reputed institutes teaching French or German in India. English is taught for 15 long years in India and examinations are passed fairly successfully. Yet students seem unable to cope with the reasonable demands of the job market. Obviously, English is being taught in India more from the examination point of view than as a preparation for tangible life skills.

To cover up for their lack of success, teachers often play the blame-game. University teachers blame college teachers, college teachers blame school teachers, school teachers blame parents and so the story goes on. The question is: whose responsibility is it to help students master English? Perhaps the solution to these problems lies not in the quantitative expansion of the teaching of English, but rather in its qualitative enrichment. Do teachers have no option but to perpetuate the history of non-success in teaching students English? Or is it possible to bring about positive changes in this situation slowly and steadily?

The present book has its genesis in the conviction that it is possible and desirable to introduce modifications in the current scene of teaching English in India. Indeed each one of us, teachers and students of English, can contribute to make it more interesting and relevant and participate in the process of its transformation. To do so requires that we first understand some of the factors which work against the goal of learning English.

Many factors seem to work against this objective. First, our students appear to understand the importance of possessing language skills only after graduation when they need to face interviews to find placement or to go abroad for higher studies. Then they enrol for exorbitantly-priced private classes that may help them sail through job interviews or clear English tests that entitle them to study abroad. We cannot say if the teachers of these crash courses are more skilled language teachers than those in the colleges. What we can be sure of is that our students are more motivated to learn English out of college than when it is being taught so readily and inexpensively in our schools and colleges.

Partly this is so because passing the compulsory English course in Indian Universities is ridiculously easy. The pass mark is a low 35 per cent most times even though students have been exposed to similar courses in English at school and college. No wonder our students have acquired the art of getting through the examination without knowing English. Their teachers also seem to collude with them by teaching them only the techniques of passing the examination. Further, the university examination is not aimed at testing particular language skills. Compare it with the SAT or TOEFL tests and you will observe the seriousness with which students approach them because these tests evaluate specific skills and set high standards of passing. Frankly speaking, the purpose of college English courses and the examination system is just not clear.

Secondly, the typical language course is syllabusdriven. Teaching designed to complete the syllabus is unfortunately marks-directed and not competenciesoriented. In the current day professional world which our students join after graduation, the emphasis is on skills and competencies, and not on scores or syllabi. An employee who has to make presentations must show he knows how to organize his matter in a logical and lively manner. They must be able to support it with data and documents and present it with power point slides. One who has to write or speak with customers must know how to understand their communication and respond with correct grammar, apt vocabulary, and appropriate and courteous use of language. In this world, skills, and not grades or mark lists count.