TEACHING ENGLISH LANGUAGE & LITERATURE:INNOVATIVE

METHODS AND PRACTICES

ENGLISH LANGUAGE TO ENHANCE EMPOWERMENT

R. Ragalatha

Asst.Professor of English,Sri Indu College of Engineering &Technology,Hyd

Introduction

English is the language of technology, science, business and commerce,journalism and media,the
internet and IT enabled services. If one is proficient in communicative English and if the accent
is internationally intelligible the market is wide open. The gist of the gab in English can take one
to all corners of the world.

Like the microchip and petrol English has become an international commodity. Almost 85 % of
the computers use English. English has become the language of the media, both electronic and
print whether it is Europe or China, Russia or South America English is the language that is
heard and understood throughout the world. English is no longer the language of the British or
Americans. It has become truly global.
As a result of globalization and information explosion the English language has become very
native and innovative. Many new words have been borrowed and absorbed in English. This has
enriched English vocabulary and has enhanced its value.
Since it has become a global language it has a worldwide market. The career prospects of
English knowing people are also global. With multinational companies opening their branches all
over the world and diversifying their interests English knowing people are in great demand. If
one is professionally competent with a command of English the world market is wide open, that's
why English knowing Indians are able to find lucrative jobs in the USA, in Europe and in several
technologically advanced countries.
English is used at least by seven hundred and fifty million people, and about half of them speak
it as mother tongue. English is more widely scattered, more widely spoken and written than any
other language has ever been. It has become the language of the planet, the first truly global
language. It is rightly said that the sun never sets on the English language.
Three quarters of the world's mail and its telexes and cables are in English; 85% of the Internet
transactions are in English. So are more than half the world's technical and scientific periodicals;
it is the language of technology from Silicon valley to Shanghai. Nearly half of all business deals
in Europe are conducted in English; The European common market has adopted Euro English as
its common language.
English is the language of Sports and glamour: The official language of the Olympics and Miss
Universe competition. Five of the broadcasting companies in the world BBC, CNN, NBC, ABC,
CBC transmit in English to audiences that exceed one hundred million. The United States has
become the commercial and industrial super power mainly because it uses English.
All these will ultimately mean that English is the language of communication-spoken and
written. English language has the market value so the multinational companies, outsourcing
centers like call centers ask for competence in everyday English.
Communicative English concentrates on one's ability in using English in everyday context like
the following-
1. English for social roles-greetings, introducing in social contexts etc.
2. Doing things in English-interviews, asking for information, narrating, requesting, ordering,
explaining, placing an order etc.
3. Expressing attitudes-agreeing, disagreeing, apologizing, arguing, expressing one's point of
view etc.
4. Participating in meetings, seminars, conferences, turn taking etc.
5. Accent sensitizing- listening and understanding English spoken in different ways like British
accent, American accent, the Indian accent etc.
6. Note making or note taking-form filling, writing letters, preparing notes, memos, orders,
writing e-mail etc.
7. Writing slogans, advertisements, conducting campaigns, arranging events etc.
8. Reference skills-looking up dictionaries, encyclopedias, railway timetables, directories etc.
The ability to use skills like the ones mentioned above are asked for in the market
Communication skills in English have a worldwide market because it is the language of science
and technology.
Three important aspects must be the guiding principles in formulating the programs for teaching
English in India. They are
1. The market-driven utilitarian function
English is necessary for mobility, social and economic purposes, for job opportunities; English is
the language that opens the doors of a global market. As an international language, English has a
lot of 'surrender value' throughout the world and learners of English can cash in on that . That is
why there is a great demand for courses in Spoken English, , Effective writing, Business English,
Management English, English for Information Technology, Technical writing, Medical
Transcription etc.
Taking into account the global market English must be taught and learnt for mobility and
utilizing opportunities.
2. The welfare -driven social function-
Learners of English in India have realized that English is a ' window of the world ' -an access to
the growing fund of knowledge in science and technology. The English language has all the
necessary information in any branch of knowledge - agriculture, economics, commerce,
business, stock markets, consumer products, history, space technology, bio technology etc-which
is readily available at the click of the mouse on the Internet. We need to use the resources of
English to enrich the major Indian languages; we need to activate the 'process of percolation'
from 'lab to the land' by using English as a source language. English should play a catalytic role
or a social welfare as well as a social transformation role.

3. The ideology-driven identity projection function-

Learners of English in India have realized that English is necessary to talk about their own
identity, their languages and literatures, their cultures and values and their land and contributions
so that the world outside may know who these care. This 'projection of one's identity' can be
effectively done only in an international language like English. The 'identity-projection' function,
as was done during the struggle for independence, becomes one of the important objectives of
teaching and learning English in India. We must use English to create a 'window on India' so that
the world can see India in a proper perspective.
English has become the base language for a number of domains like education, bureaucracy,
communication in private companies, print media and electronic media.
We need English to make agriculture in India more technologically modern. That is why we have
retained English as the language of instruction in our agricultural universities though English is
not the language of agriculture in India. In management and technology, we need English that is
why we have retained English as the medium of instruction in our management and engineering
courses in the universities and colleges, IIMs, IITs and IIITs.
The teaching and learning of English in India should become an agent of social change and
produce a class of Indians not only “in blood and colour but in tastes, in opinions, in attitudes
and in intellect-a class of Indians who will be socially responsible, productive and committed to
the cause of nation-building ".
English is an 'exploding language’, in a world of 'information explosion’. We need to profit from
the stock of knowledge and information available in English.
Indians whose English is good, teach English in different parts of the world . Some of them teach
English even in the USA&UK because the written English of even those whose mother tongue is
English is not up to the mark. So there is a great demand for those who can teach practical day to
day communication even in written English. There are other Indians who teach English in Africa,
in the Middle East, in Japan, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore etc.Multinational companies in
India always look for people who are professionally competent and whose English is good. Thus
English has an international as well as a national market.
Language is meant for communication and for a greater understanding among people. The new
information age, driven by the internet and other mechanical gadgets, has, in many ways, made
English a preferred global language. Even countries that had a deep- rooted aversion for English
are now opting for English. Some of the developed Asian economies are realizing the importance
of English. In China, in Japan, Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines, efforts are on to catch up
with English. These countries are justifiably afraid that unless they master
The Chinese government understands the potential demand from global out-sourcing of business
processes through call centers is so large that it could literally wipe out the old disease of
unemployment. Hence, it has adopted a national policy to make every student literate in English
by the year 2008. Other nations have also figured this out and teaching English as a second
language is a huge, multimillion dollar industry across the globe. Outsourcing, call centers,
medical transcription, legal transcription, multinational companies, and such emerging
phenomena have increased the demand for communication skills in English.
Our success in the global economy depends on a good knowledge of English; fortunately Indians
have natural and historical advantage with English. Linguistic experts confirm that Indians find it
easier to learn English than the Chinese because most Indian languages are part of Indo-
European family and share a number of features. This gives us natural ease with English and our
competitive advantage. One can learn to speak English in three months. Many call centers and
English teaching institutions in private sectors are employing these very tools for teaching
English. A child even in a small town with internet access can now learn English from the best
English teachers in the world; suddenly the field begins to look more level between a child in a
small town and a child in a metro's elite public school.
India's information technology men and women have proved time and again the past ten years or
so that a command over English is essential if one is to move ahead in this global village.
Address a letter in English, and the chances are that it will find its destination; address it in Hindi
or Arabic, the postal department may be foxed. English has become an international commodity
like oil and the microchip. Even those who are very enthusiastic about selling India to the outside
world, using commodities like the 'Ayurveda ' or 'yoga' will have to do it only in English.
THE STUDY GROUP REPORT ON THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH (1969-71):
The Study Group on English was appointed by the Ministry of Education and Youth Services,
Government of India, on March 1969 and it is popularly known as the Gokak Committee after its
Chairman Prof.V.K.Gokak.The main aspects of the report are given below:
A General Survey of the Present Position
1. A number of Committees and Study Groups have in recent times given anxious thought to the
place of English in our system of education. The teaching of this language at various stages, its
role in school and at the university, its share in the time tables, and its contribution to the
teaching of other subjects, form part of a problem which has become increasingly important as
well as controversial with the passage of time.
2. Most aspects of the problem were reviewed by the Study Group appointed by the Ministry of
Education in 1964.That Group examined the situation in the light of the changed circumstances
and the changed position of English both as a subject of study at school and as the medium of
instruction at the university stage.
3. Most of these recommendations have yet to be implemented by the authorities responsible for
the making of policies and their implementation at various levels.
4. The 'explosion of opportunity' which forms part of a modern democracy also aggravates the
problems of English teaching and indeed raises many other important problems in our system of
education.
5. Every effort, both at the centre and in States, should therefore, be made to remove the
inadequacies and remedy the defects in the existing structure.
6. As a free nation we are committed to the enrichment of Indian languages so that they may
serve all those purposes for which we now use English. And with our long tradition in the use of
English, we should be able to exploit the richness of this language to the advantage of major
Indian languages.
CONCLUSION
In essence, for some time to come, we must depend on English to provide a 'window on the
world', an access to the growing fund of knowledge in science, technology and humanities.
English is the 'source' and ‘link’ language with the outside world for the acquisition of new
knowledge.

REFERENCES

1. Chatterjee, K.Kalyan "English education in India: issues and opinions." Macmillan India. 1976
2. Aggarwal, J.C. "Landmarks in the History of Modern Indian Education.Delhi: Vikas, 1984
3. Sunder Rajan R. (ed). "The lie of the land English Literary Studies in India. Delhi: OUP, 1992
4. Krishnaswamy, N., and Archana "The Politics of Indians' English: Linguistic
5. 'The Study Group Report ' on the Teaching of English (1969-71)