Teaching English for communicative competence

IT IS paradoxical, that while the importance of English is acknowledged and its study sought after by the majority of the people, administrators decry its use on the pretext that it may undermine the development of our national and regional languages. Those who are affected by this negative attitude are the students coming from the weaker sections of society. These underprivileged students require a knowledge of English in order to compete with those from the affluent classes. In our eagerness to establish an egalitarian welfare society, we seem to be working at cross purposes, when we deprive these students from the weaker sections, of an important tool of advancement, namely, communicative competence in English. Well-to-do parents send their children to English medium schools while the poorer sections send their children to regional medium schools. At the collegiate level the two streams come together and present a sharp contrast. The English teacher therefore, is faced with a difficult three-fold task; (a) motivating the weaker students from the regional medium schools; (b) providing an atmosphere conducive enough for them to overcome their inhibitions, and interact fruitfully with their classmates and with the teacher; (c) and making the classes interesting and challenging for those students whose level of competence in English is comparatively high.

The teaching and learning of English in India is riddled with several inherent paradoxes, contradictions and controversies. A teacher can only facilitate learning. The learner is the nucleus of the whole process of instruction; and his age, previous learning experiences, aptitudes, interests, the time he devotes to the learning of a foreign language and other socio-economic factors determine the suitability of the curriculum, course materials and methods of teaching. Any instruction that does not take into consideration the imperative needs of the learners, fails to achieve the desired objectives. It is therefore obvious, that the decline in the standard of English in India, is the consequence of inadequacies of various degrees and at various levels in our educational system.

Our educationists and teachers are not clear about the specific objectives of teaching English or the methods to be adopted to make English-teaching more meaningul and effective. The so-called foundation course is a misnomer, because it neither lays the foundation, nor aids in the construction of the superstructure. It is only by examining the needs of the learners according to their priorities, that general goals can be translated into more specific claims of what the language course should set out to achieve. In framing a heavily content-based syllabus, academicians seem to be acting on the assumption that teaching literature will automatically help the acquisition of language skills. Here again, we can see that the paradox persists. While the aims of teaching literary master pieces are high, the achievements continue to be low. What is the use of teaching the lofty works of Shakespeare and Milton, when our students are unable to speak or write even simple English correctly?

The term `curriculum' includes the totality of the knowledge that is expected to be imparted to the learner in a school or college. It provides a comprehensive plan on which the entire system of learning and teaching can be based. Students in India spend about 18-00 hours in learning English at the school and college levels. Hence, the curriculum should plan the use of receptive and productive skills, mastery of vocabulary, and acquaintance with the culture and literature of the poeple who use English as their first language. If this is our obejctive, the syllabus that is framed by our universities is least suitable.

The teacher's primary aim in the English class is to complete the syllabus within the stipulated time-frame. But even this can be a frustrating experience. The impressive set of course books prescribed for study, is sometimes neither bought nor studied by the students, the majority of whom consider learning English a big burden and not a pleasurable or profitable activity. The English teacher therefore, is like a coach who is given the task of teaching acrobatics to children who have not yet learnt to walk.

It is thus clear, that there is a serious mismatch between the objectives (inferred, not spelt out) of the foundation course English syllabus, the methodology adopted in the classroom to achieve those objectives and the system of examination. Of the four language skills, writing is not only the most difficult but also the most important. It aids learning as no other skill does. Ironically, however, the most important skill remains the most neglected and the least significant of our pedagogical concerns.

While preparing course books for study, editors should, as far as possible, choose texts which are based on Indian culture and the Indian way of life, so that student's interest is immediately generated by the familiarity of the content or theme of the text. For example, no description, however graphic, can approximate the daffodil to the Indian student. On the other hand, the very word `lotus' brings to mind the real flower and allows the student's imagination fair play. He will therefore, have no difficulty in following the text of a poem on the lotus, except perhaps understanding a few poetic words. A text which is closer to the student in time, place and thought, assists in creating an atmosphere that is conducive to the learning process. This enables the learner to comprehend the text better, gain valuable insights into the creative mind, and ultimately lead him on towards creative writing itself.

By encouraging the use of two languages in conjunction, teachers should be able to help students to find easier ways of comprehension in the classroom. For instance, there is nothing regressive if the English professor teaching Shakespeare to a Tamil medium class, takes the trouble to refer to translations and adaptations of Shakespeare's plays in Tamil. Shakespeare then, will no longer be a nebulous mass of a distant past, but a dramatist who has inspired several Indian writers in different ways.

PARVATHI VASUDEV

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