CHAPTER J: INTRODUCTION ELT IN INDIA AND AT THE AML 11. ELT in India: A historical perspective: English is referred to as “global language’, the Jingua franca of the modem times connecting together the masses on one common platform, It has been rightly recognized as the window to the modem world, The status and position of English has evolved from time to time, And this evolution has been increased by the latest advancements in the fields of information technology and education, English is referred to as the world’s most important language due to its communicative and educative value. The written and spoken communication in this language has increased its prominence even more, English has brought together different languages, cultures and countries making the world a global village. No matter which ‘country one belongs to, he/she possesses some knowledge of English to communicate, to survive, Another important advantage of English language is its power of expression and its rich literature, We use this language consciously or unconsciously in our daily lives. Therefore, the English language has become an essential requirement for interconnectedness of people and for a border-free exchange of ideas, cultures and economics and as a lingua franca for communication, business and education, There is another important reason for the birth of English Ianguage; the British colonalization which gave rise to various colonies and the dominance of the English language on the world. English is now used by nearly by 3/4" of the world’s population and India is amongthe countries which have a large number of non-native speakers of English In the next section, the birth and evolution of English in India in different phases: before Independence, after Independence and till date are discussed. The last few decades have witnessed a phenomenal growth in the demand for English in India’s higher education. English is used several times more than the use of Hindi language, be it orally or in the written form. In India, English is considered as a doorway to a better life, better intellect and a better culture. India is a country ofPage |2 diverse cultures, languages and different regional backgrounds and this heterogeneity is conquered by English as it serves as a link among them, ‘The British came, colonized and imposed their language on local Indians. The story of English in India is not so easy as it scems. But the picture is more complicated and has been still unfolding ill today. With the emergence of East India Company in 1759, the education system in India also changed to a large extent. Earlier there were the traditional educators in the Indian society who imparted religious and historical education and this was in the hands of the pundits and the mauanas (the focal Hindu and Muslim religious scholars respectively). As soon as the British took control on the trade and commerce of the country, they neéded employees to leam the local languages so that they could negotiate the best deals and eam more profit in their business, But later, the British crown felt that bringing a whole lot of its employees from England at great costs was quite disturbing. It was at this point that Thomas Babington Macaulay put forward ‘Macaulay's Minutes on Education’. He says: it is impossible for us, with our limited means to attempt to educate the body of the people. We must at present do our best to form a class who may be interpreters between us and the millions who we govem- a class of persons Indian in blood and color, but English in tastes, in opinions, in morals and in intellect. ‘Macaulay felt that the English was the only suitable medium to transfer technical knowledge and scientific mind to Indians. His aim was to bridge the gap between India and the Westem world. Lord Macaulay's Minutes is a landmark in the history of Indian education. His proposal was a success as he stated that Indian languages would be enriched by English, so that they could become vehicles for European scientific, historical and literary body of knowledge. Gradually English became the language of government, education, advancement and self-improvement. Since then English has acquired a prominent place in India, ‘At that time there was much debate on which language will be used as a medium of instruction. This debate further divided the Indian society into two major groups-the Anglicists and the Orientalists. The Orientalists were in favor of the classical IndianPage |3 languages, mainly Sanskrit, Persian and Arabic which were not the native languages as well, The Anglicists, on the other hand, were in the favor of English being the medium of instruction, There was much argument between these groups and it was resolved that the medium of instruction will be the vernacular one. But with the changing period of time, there again arose the need of English in administration and society in the post-Independence era, This problem was due to the insufficient infrastructure of teaching English at that time to the common masses of different regions, Regional differences and different mother tongues were also the reasons for this problem, In 1955, the All India Council for Secondary Education presented a “Three Language Formula” which was accepted by all states, which recommended: ‘+ The regional language, and if mother tongue is different from the regional language, then also the mother tongue; * Hindi in non-Hindi areas , and another Indian language in Hindi areas, and ‘English or another Modem European Language. Another important development that triggered the use of English in the Indian schools and colleges was the Kothari Commission. Kothari commission was set up in 1964 under the chairmanship of Dr.D.S.Kothari, This Commission recommended that English be taught as a ‘Compulsory subject” in class V but this was not possible till class VIII, especially for children living in rural areas. The Commission also advocated command over mother tongue prior to the leaming of English as a foreign language, In the late sixties, the total outlook of the Indian education system changed and English was used as an ofticial language besides Hindi. Various institutions for imparting English language were established in the country then. In 1958, Central Institute of English (CIE) was established which later evolved into Central Institute of English as a Foreign Language and is today known as English and Foreign Language University(EFLU) in Hyderabad. Unlike this institution, many other important instinutions were also established all over the country to expand the horizons of ELT. For instance, EFLU provides ample opportunities to improve the standards of teaching English like organization of research, teacher training, material production and refresher courses also.Page |4 In addition to this, there are other important national agencies like National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT), University Grants Commission (UGC) along with international agencies such as the British Council, Regional English Language Office (RELO) and the United States Information Services (USIS) which hhave been working hand in hand for the continuous expansion and modemization of English language in India. 1.1.2, Evolution and expansion of English in AMU - A historical overview The birth and evolution of English language at the Aligarh Muslim University is the result of the Natives’ efforts in the middle of the nineteenth century. It was felt that small Indian groups demanded English Language Studies. The most prominent names were Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Keshab Chandra Sen, Dwarka Nath, Rajunath Han Navalkar, Mohammed Mobsin and Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, English Studies in AMU started as a backdrop to Lord Macaulay's famous 1835 minutes which stated the aims and objectives of teaching English to the masses to serve as ‘interpreters’ and Sir Charles Wood’s Dispatch of 1854 which stated that English should be the medium of instruction in higher education. Sir Syed Ahmed Khan (1817-1898) wanted to improve the deteriorating condition of Muslims who had been lagging behind Hindus in the fields of education and trade and commerce. Sir Syed wanted to impart Westem education through the English language and so Mohammedan Anglo-Oriental College came into existence in 1875. ‘The centrality of English language and the aim of giving quality education to Indians helped in transforming this college into Aligorh Muslim University in 1920, Although English studies witnessed tremendous momentum in its course, it had four important phases- ‘¢ 1875: The first syllabus of the newly established MAO College included English literature as a core subject. © 1920: The first syllabus of the newly elevated AMU included English literature along with language in its curriculum, © 1965: The introduction of the govemment policies regarding the official language came into play directing the use of English at the primary as wel! as the secondary level.Page 15 ‘+ 1994 -2015: The syllabus of English witnessed dynamic change and constant revision in these two decades. “Sir Syed Ahmad Khan visualized the utilitarian role of English in the courses of studies at MAO College in 1876, Although the purpose was to educate learners through English literature, nevertheless English language and literature were taught with a provision of optional subjects such as Arabic or Persian in the Oriental Department where English was taught as second language.” (Nehal 2003) Since then English is being taught as a compulsory subject in addition to other subjects and features in the curriculum, The Department of English, Aligarh Muslim University is over 135 years old, The first chairman was Sir Walter Raleigh (1885- 1887), There were other professors from England who chaired the department such as ‘Theodore Beck, T. Morrison, A.A.J. Nessbitt, L. Tipping, F.J. Moss, L. Chase, H.O. Lee and M. Collins (Department of English 125 years). When the MAO College was transformed into AMU, English Studies got a new impetus in 1926. English was taught as a compulsory subject in degree courses in both Aris and Sciences. Initially English was taught to promote studies in English literature. But later it stood for teaching literature through language. In the first year of B.A. and B.Sc. primacy over writing and reading comprehension were emphasized and in second year poetry, prose, drama and fiction were prescribed. Gradually, it was felt that ELT- focused relationship existed between UK and India which resulted in providing access of the UK expertise to deal with the current trends and issues regarding the English Language Teaching. In 1950, BLT became a part of the three year course at the undergraduate level. In 1968, National Policy on Education emphasized on adopting ‘the study of English and other intemational languages as the medium of instruction for natural sciences which resulted in the rapid growth in university education. The syllabus reforms committee suggested that English should be taught as a compulsory course for the first and second year degree programs in Arts, Commerce and sciences. Thus, in AMU too English acquired the status of Compulsory English in all the respective streams,Page |6 Later, it was felt that despite training the students to produce error free structures, they were found to be deficient in their communicative skills. This caused dissatisfaction among the teachers and the syllabus designers, In 1988, Munir Ahmad proposed “An Innovative Approach to English Language Teaching’ which suggested the teaching of English to be appropriately pitched at the learners’ level and avoided the problem of one-size-fits-all approach. Ahmad states: “The low standards of students in English are a growing problem in colleges and universities in India. Most of our students are unable to write or speak even simple sentences of English. College and university teachers complain that a large proportion of students find it hard to follow lectures partly in English. They are compelled to deliver lectures parily in English and partly in Hindi. Even those students who came from English medium schools are not able to express their ideas with clarity when it comes to writing a few paragraphs. Four out of five students on leaving secondary school are unable to use English with felicity of expressions. They have no idea of syntax or idiom, not to speak of clarity or precision.” (As cited by Nehal) Thus, this problem resulted in the adoption of various useful intensive language courses for the senior secondary leamers, revision of the prescribed syllabus, and innovative use of technology and preparation of material production. In 1999, there n skills h by ‘were two prescribed texts featuring reading, writing and oral communicat were adopted A Complete Course in English and Everyday Dialogues in Es Robert J.Dixon and Write Right by Taya Zinkin, In 1994-95, the Department undertook the revision of syllabus which comprised text free materials based on language skills and these are used till date. Presently, English is being taught in the following set up: «© BA, BSe,, B.Com-Ist and IInd year as a compulsory subject © B,A.(English Literature) and B.A.(Communicative English) © MA(Literature) and M.A.( English Language Teaching) © PhD.Literature) and Ph.D.( English Language Teaching)1.13, The Status of ELT in AMU today AMU is situated in the north of India and in the westem part of Uttar Pradesh in the city of Aligarh, Earlier, Aligarh was famous for its lock industry and AMU. For this reason, trade and commerce of the city developed bringing in people from different regions together. From the education point of view also, many people wanted their children to gain education at such a prestigious university. Like any other state of India, UP also bears a population diverse in culture, language and religion. The basic languages used here are Urdu and Hindi, But at the same time, English holds an important place in academic, administrative and official use. English is a mandatory subject in AMU. Itis taught right from class-I. ‘The Department of English was established in the year 1877. Since then, it has served the country by educating thousands of young people in various fields under the supervision of expert faculty from abroad, ‘The department has been an epitome of excellence not only in teaching and delivering education but also in molding the character of its students and training them in a way so that they can contribute to the nation’s development. The graduates of this university have created a well balanced niche for themselves in their respective fields across the globe. Today, English is being treated as an important element in the academic and professional life of the students. Students entering the university are well aware of the fact that English is important for their academic development, sustenance and future prospects. The teachers teaching English at the undergraduate and post graduate courses are exceptionally good and well qualified in literature, The only thing to be considered here is that teachers are not efficient enough as far as their ELT domain is considered, This deficiency in the pedagogical aspects brings a difference in the overall teaching process. As observed in the survey, it was found that out of 21 teachers, 16 teachers have specialization in English literature and 5 in ELT. There are, however, some teachers bearing literature background who have taken certificate and diploma courses in ELT. But the majority of teachers still need some intensive ELT (raining so that they can deliver the goods. ‘This fact can be verified from the educational qualifications of the teachers available on the university's website, Another important feature of AMU undergraduate course is the leamers? heterogeneous profile, Here in AMU, we see students coming from far flung ruralPage |8 areas who have started leaming English at a very late age, ftom class-V onwards. They lack self confidence and have fear and anxiety towards the language. This anxiety is further increased by the poor evaluation process which does not test the anguage skills. Moreover, these students lack the acquisition power also. They are not able to acquire the system of rules. Besides these are students coming from input- rich environment schools (private schools) who tend to gain their mastery over English language from the very beginning, students coming from government schools (UP board) and students coming from abroad like Middle-Eastem countries etc. Apari from bearing heterogeneity of this kind, the ‘needs’ of the students regarding their English language remains same to a large extent. All of them want to be proficient users of English and use it with full ease and comfort. Thus it becomes important to frame aims and objectives relating to these needs. It can be noted that English enjoys the status of the important need for success and welfare by the students population Therefore, the main aim of the Compulsory English Course should be to develop the following communicative skills: * Listening: This skill need to be taught in such a way that the leamers are able to comprehend English when spoken at normal conversation speed. This would involve engaging students in attentive listening to lectures, radio and TV programmes. * Speaking: This skill should enable the learner to speak fluently, accurately and appropriately in their daily lives. This is a tough task on the part of the teachers as the students need to engage in discussions, interviews, role play, debate etc, with appropriate speaking conventions such as proper intonation, too needs to be taken care of. © Reading: Reading English text at a reasonable speed and with effective understanding of the written discourse in terms of clarity, expression and thought. © Writing: Writing in English requires much attention on the part of leamer as it accent and tone. Pronuncit is a complex process. The learner should be able to write neatly and clearly and should convey his message in an appropriate manner keeping in mind the conventions of the written discourse, to name a few, coliesion, coherence, clarity of thought and expression and correct spelling and punctuntion marks,Page |9 The above mentioned aims need to be considered at present as the prescribed aims and objectives of Compulsory English are poprly designed and need revision. The approach adopted to teach English is more as a tontent subject rather than the mastery of language skills in order to produce efficient users of English, Ithas to be taught for its functional aspects rather than for a cognitive!puxpose of literature. In the survey, it was also observed that the teachers are confronted with a number of problems related to the students. They are as follows: Lack of leamer motivation: Motivation is a process which concerns the student to make certain choices in the leaming process, engage in action and persist in action, It is one of the pre factors on which good and ‘successful learning depends. The tea low levels of motivation in the studenfs, Students skip classes which breaks the continuity of the learning process. When present in the classes, they are not performing up to the mak, It bécomes important for the teachers to induce motivation among students. It is observed that, " extrinsically rs have shown a very grim picture on motivated (learners)... display much higher levels of involvemeat in leaming, engage in more efficient and creative thinking processes, use a wide range of problem-solving strategies, and intetact with and setain material more effectively" (quoted in Lessons from Good Language Leamers). Insufficient time, resources and materials: Compulsory English classes are held four times a week which is insufficient for the teachers to teach the huge bulk of syllabus, comprising writing, reading and grammar sections. These ‘are complex areas and practically it takes time to acquire a fair amount of perfect acquisition in these. The syllabus designed is not cognate to the needs of the learners which in turn affects — of materials. Overcrowded classrooms: This is a complicated issue which baffles syllabus designers and curriculum framers. ¥ ideal class needs to be of 30-40 students and here the classrooms mostly go beyond 80. Thus it becomes important to recruit more efficient English teachers who have competence to teach English language as a source to comprehend it and use it wisely, effectively.Page |10 4.1.4, Future of English in AMU; Aligarh is a city of a heterogeneous and multilingual population. One can witness a variety of dialects in Urdu as well as regional languages here, But one cannot ignore the fact that English holds an important life in the life of Aligarians and will continue to be, There are many admirers of Urdu language also as it the tra mal and the second most used language of the city, Urdu is considered to be the heart of Mustim tradition. But the overemphasizing of English language has made the pcople of Aligarh forget its roots, One cannot deny the fact that without mastering the mother anguage one cannot move forward in the target language. Ajit Mohanty, Zakir Husain Centre for Educational Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University is of the view: “Multilingualism in India is not just a number of languages. It's a way of life. a life in which languages complement each other. Languages ere porous; they move into each other. English teaching cannot be monolingual. ...I1 multilingual societies, multiple languages can be used to communicate in the classroom,.. multilingual method of teaching in classroom where children are encouraged to think it's necessary to use about languages and that reflection or meta cognitive or meta linguistic skill is what makes language teaching more effective... Develop mother tongue competence and then develop English at a later point in time to have a better and faster learning of English. ” Usha Dutta of NCERT also has a similar view: “English does not stand alone, It needs to find its place along with other languages in India so that the Innguages spoken by children strengthen English learning and teaching. Secondly, 1 think it also has to be seen in relation to other subject areas because treating English separately has created a lot of problems in the Indian schools and colleges. A language-across-the curriculum perspective becomes relevant.” ‘Thus, we can see here that the English teaching in AMU tends to be a complex phenomenon. Most of the students are not able to effectively produce the required amount of English as they are required at this level, The above mentioned concept of ‘multilingualism can help in this regard.Throughout AMU, English is seen not just considered as a symbol of a better life, a pi age [Mh as a skill to be acquired, but it is thway out of poverty. This kind of aspiration becomes a burden on the educations institutions as their job to foster the teaching becomes even more difficult, and, infrastructure and manual power. 1.1.5. Needs Analysis in Syllabus design: ‘that too with the limited means, Needs Analysis hold a central place in the present study. In this section, an attempt has been made to study the theoretical backgrot Needs analysis came into light in the field of} {nd of Needs Analysis. The concept of language teaching in 1960. The most prominent linguist who came forward with this approach is Munby (1978). Needs Analysis is a valuable tool to facilitate the Je anticipate learners’ future demands. Students not considered in the universities. Although it prolong/ shorten the course duration but still h encouraging the leamers to set their learning ai analysis techniques are applied at the beginni proper content and structure of the syllabus. ing process at the tertiary level and have their individual needs which are if is not in the hands of the teacher to /she can foster the learning process by ims, It is generally accepted that needs g of the course as it helps to plan a Needs analysis is defined as the study of needs and wants of the students in second language acquisition, Need is commonly referred to as an ability which is important for the person but that person does not has it target needs and leaning needs. “The conceptions of “target needs” and “lear literature. Target needs are understood as ‘whi situation, and learning needs are what the lez analysis of target needs involves identifyis ‘or is not efficient in it, Needs can be : ig needs” have been widely used in tthe learner needs to do in the target er needs to do in order to leam The the linguistic features of the target situation or leamers necessities (what is English needed for, lacks (what learner does not know), wants (what leamer feels s/he needs)" (Hutchinson & Waters, 1996:55). Obviously, an analysis of target situation needs is concemed with the important area of language use, while learning needs cover circumstances of language learning, i.e. why learners take course — optional or compulsory, what they sock to achieve, what their attitude towards the course, ete. (Hutchinson & Waters, 1996:62).Page [12 “Needs are those skills which a learner perceives as being relevant to him; wants are a subset of needs, those which a leamer puts at a high priority given the time available; and the lack is the difference a leamer perceives between his present competence in a particular skill and the competence he wishes to achieve. (Dickinson,1991:91). A very thorough description of needs analysis is presented in (Dudley-Evans & Jo St John, 1998:125) and covers the following areas: ‘A. target situation analysis and objective needs B wants, means, subjective needs C present situation analysis D__keamers* shortcomings E learning needs F linguistic and discourse analysis G what is wanted from the course H means analysis Needs analysis is important as it gives a further direction in syllabus designing and curriculum development, It has been used as a effective tool in language teaching instruction. In other words, we can say that, needs analysis is somewhat similar to industrial mechanism where the input is processed and analyzed before the ouput is obtained, For a successful ELT programme, it is important to develop proper criteria for identifying the leamers and their language needs, selecting proper materials and designing effective classroom activities capable of making learners communicative in all the possible contexts of use they are confronted with.Page |13 Given below is a diagram representing an ideal process of Needs analysis. (as given by Aslam1989) Figure 1 The above diagram provides the basic process needed for analyzing needs of learners. It is a complex process and depends on various factors. These factors can be studied in the Munby’s approach of needs analysis (1978) in which he has introduced an important concept of ‘Communicative Needs Processor’ (CNP). Munby (1978:32) states that, “, participant) or (category of participant) and investigates his particular communication needs according to the sociocultural and stylistic variables which interact to determine a profile of such needs” . here one starts with the person (a languagePage [14 ‘The learners profile consists of two levels- a priori and a postriori. According to Munby, a priori includes parameters such as purposive domain, settings, interaction ete, whereas in a postriori there are parameters such as dialect, target level, communicative event etc, However, Munby’s approach to needs analysis has been criticized over the years on various grounds such as: + According to Coffey (1984), the approach is overcomplicated and static, * According to Berwick (1984), the approach ignores the affective factors and the learner individually is not targeted for analysis * According to Colemon (1988), the language leamers are seen as a homogenous whole which is not realistic in actual terms. Munby modifies his approach: “Some constraints e.g. pol homogeneity of the learner group should be applied at the needs analysis stage. Other factors such as time available for course, state of resources, styles and traditions of | factors affecting the target language and learning, should be applied at the content specification stage.” To apply the theory of Needs Analysis in the current situation of AMU, it becomes important to analyze the two types of needs-objective and subjective needs. Objective needs are those which consider age, nationality, home language etc. and subjective needs include personality, attitudes, wants and expectations, strategies. ‘These needs should be taken together for a successful and meaningful course. A syllabus should be one which is designed not only for some predictable situations which the learner needs, but at the same time should have the potential to take the learners beyond these situations to unpredictable directions which the learner might face in the real world.References: Abmad,Munir. An Inovative Approach to English Language Teaching: Department of English. Aligarh Muslim University, 1988, AMU, Ordinances and syllabi. Aligarh, AMU Press, 1965. Aslam, Mohammad, “Needs-Analysis of the Indian Learners of English” In English Language Teaching in India: Issues and Innovations ed, By R.K.Agnihotri and A.L.Khanna, 152-165, New Delhi: Sage Publications Private Limited India, 1995, Coffey, B. “ESP-English for Specific Purposes”, Language Teaching, 1984. Colemon,H. “Analyzing Language Needs in Large Organizations”, English Sor Specific Purposes. 1988 Dickinson,L. Self-Instruction in Language Learning. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1991. Dudiey-Evans, T. & Jo St John, M. Developments in English for Specific Purposes. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998, English, Dept of, 125 Years of English Department. Aligath, Aligarh Muslim University, 2002, Hutchinson, T. & Waters, A. English for Specific Purposes. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1996. Print. Munby, J. Communicative Syllabus Design. London: Cambridge University Press. 1978. Nehal, Raashid. “English Language Teaching (ELT) at the AMU: Key developments and future directions” In Criticisms and Counter Criticisms , ed, A.R.Kidwai and M.A.Siddiqui . 325-346, New Delhi: Viva Books Private Limited. 2013 Richards, Jack C, Curriculum Development in Language Teaching, Cambridge:Cambridge University Press, 2001. Rizwan, K. Policy and Provision for ESL in India's Higher Education, Kamal: Natraj Publication. 1999.