"If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his own language, that goes to his heart."
- Nelson Mandela
- Nelson Mandela
Human beings are linguistically adaptive to receive and to convey the message, and the process of communication takes place; thanks to the system of language. Language doesn't only help in transmitting the information but also enables people to share their emotions. In the context of India, multiple languages are spoken. In such arena, teaching English language is also a challenging task. In this country, people know more than one languages. If an individual is from Kerala, it might be knowing a regional language of Kerala and English language also. If one is from Maharashtra, it might be knowing Marathi, Hindi and English also.
So, This above quote directly connects to the bilingualism and multilingualism. If you are visiting a place where your native language is not spoken and still you find a speaker who knows multiple languages, and talks in your language, how would you feel ? Of course it's a feeling of getting water in the desert.! (not oasis obviously !!!) It's a feeling of meeting someone of your homeland.
Ganesh N Devy, a renowned literary critic has studied languages and also talked about how languages generate, sustain, submerge into another language and die. It is necessary to know languages first, then we can come to a particular one. Here is the video, in which G N Devy explains the language as a system of communication. Watch time 19 minutes.
In this blog, some questions are answered as a part of a reflection of learning experience during the sessions of ELT lectures.
1. What is the role of English Language in India according to you with reference to any one essay discussed in the class?
* English language, in light of India, plays a very significant role. Because it doesn't only makes an individual globally connected but also enables it to elaborate and explore more in almost all the fields.
According to the essay by
2. What are the challenges you faced while learning English Language as?
* During the primary years of my schooling, I didn't face any challenges while learning English language. Though I have studied in a regional medium language school, but I got the hold on this language very early. Specifically in terms of grammar-composition and reading comprehension. I was also good at remembering spelling because I used to practice the vocabulary by speaking it aloud. I could relate my vocals directly to the spelling. Such mental exercises made me a good learner of English language. But, I started speaking English language naturally, much later, when I was in 12th standard. This much gap between learning the language and speaking, is only because of lack of environment. Being a multilingual individual, I lacked the oneness in the linguistic environment. But I would state that my LSRW skills are still developing.
3. Write your reflection regarding the classroom activities. What challenges you faced in doing the activities as teachers.
* As all the ELT sessions were conducted in an online mode due to the COVID19 pandemic, classroom activities were less interactive. But still there was a lot of learning while participating in the activities such as planning a lesson for learners, introducing them a new vocabulary etc. Here, a detailed blog post about these activities is mentioned. Have a quick view on it. Click the link below.
In order to study this ELT paper one has to think like a language teacher. So as a teacher, when I prepared any lesson plan, I was quite confused about the methods, that which methods would be better to introduce a topic to the learners? How can the age group of learners I had selected be well versed with the flow of teaching I have?
While doing the activity of selecting a profession and finding registers and sub-registers for that field, it was quite difficult to think outside the preset box of vocabulary. Because EST - English for Science and Technology is quite unexplored part for me in terms of terminology.
4. How do you see your future with the English Language?
* I see many opportunities and better prospects with the English language. It may help me understand any culture I am in. It will open many doors to some of the fields such as teaching and content creation, where language plays a very vital role. Nowadays, much emphasis is laid on the linguistic perfection, as it is the time of post-truth, misinformation and fake narratives. In such environment we require a dedicated, enthusiastic human resources which can curb any such linguistic plague in short period of time. Hermeneutically also, we require better interpretation of various things. Even in the 21st century many blurred pictures are yet to be cleared through firm and authentic arguments. All this can happen if the language is filtered from higher strata to lower strata of classes. In order to meet the demands of the upcoming time, one will have to work with English language. I also see better opportunities where the gaps of languages are yet to be filled. English language has the ability to carry almost every discourses and thoughts of other languages. I also see a beautiful blend of multilingualism in India. It would definitely lead me to the areas which I want to explore.
Thank You!
No comments:
Post a Comment