PRESENT STATUS OF
ENGLISH IN INDIA
English
occupies an important place in educational system and life our country. Before
independence English occupied a privileged place in India. It was the language
of administration, a compulsory subject at school and college and a medium of
instruction for some subjects at the school and for all subjects at the
university level. It opened the doors of employment and a person who did not
know English was not considered educated in the true sense of the word.
Knowledge of English was a must to climb the social ladder.
After
Independence there was rethinking on the place of English. The constitution of
India adopted in 1950 gave a lease of 15 years to English as the official
language of the country. The union government took upon itself the promotion
and the development of Hindi as the medium of expression during the period of
15 years. Later on, however it was realized that Hindi could not replace
English by this deadline as it was not understood by the people in the south of
the country. There was considerable opposition to Hindi from the south and as a
result, the parliament passed in 1963 a Bill declaring English as the Associate
Official Language of India till an indefinite period.
English
is the language that continues to dominate the national scene. It is taught
compulsorily in most of the states in the country although the class from which
its teaching is started differs from state to state. In the Union Territory of
Chandigarh, for example, the teaching of English is started from the third
class. In Punjab and Haryana, its study is commenced from the 6th
class, but in Gujarat the teaching of English is delayed up to the 8th
class so far as the government schools are concerned.
As
a medium of instruction at the school stage, it is now followed only in public
schools. Most of the universities in the country have in addition to English.
Switched over to regional languages as the medium of instruction at the college
level. Some universities, for example, in Uttar Pradesh, conduct even post
graduate studies in the regional language i.e., Hindi.
English
exercises a great influence on the educated classes of the country. It
continues to be the medium of instruction in technical, medical, law and other
institutions. It is the language of communication between the Union Government
and state Governments. It is the language most used in parliament and State
Legislatures. It is the language of the high courts and the Supreme Court.
The
English press in the country is very powerful and enjoys not only more
circulation but also better influence than the vernacular press. The number of
creative writers in English is increasing gradually.
English
has been rightly described as the language of opportunity. Knowledge of English
is a successful passport for employment. Above all English is the means of
Interstate communication. Persons from different states converse in English.
The
National policy on education adopted by the Government of India in 1968
stressed the importance of the study of English in these words: “Special
emphasis needs to be laid on the study of English and other international
languages. World knowledge is growing at a tremendous pace, especially in
science and technology”. India must not only keep us this growth, but also make
her own significant contribution to it. For this purpose, study of English
deserves to be specially strengthened.
Prof.
Ghosh and others have summed up the present state of English in India in these
words, “The fact is that in India English is something more than a foreign
language and something less than a second language. It has many more users, and
many more uses, than a foreign language has. At the same time, the predominant
role which English had in many areas of communication is gradually being taken
over by other languages.
AS MEDIUM OF
INSTRUCTION
In
recent years, there has been a lot of controversy regarding the medium of
instruction at the higher level. So far as medium of instruction at the school
age is concerned, there is no dispute. All are agreed that the mother tongue
should be the medium at this stage. But opinion is divided regarding the medium
of instruction at the university level. Whereas some educationalist and
politicians press the claims of the mother tongue, there are others who favor
the retention of English as the medium of instruction. The recommendations of
the Kothari Commission in this regard are worth quoting: “Mother tongue has a
pre-eminent as the medium of instruction at the school and college stages.
Moreover, the medium of instruction at the school and higher education should
generally be the same. The regional language should, therefore, be adopted as
the medium of instruction at the higher stage”.
Calling
upon the University Grants Commission and the universities to work out a
program for the adoption of this recommendation, the commission said that
change over should be completed within 10 years. It desired that the
universities should produce books and literature, particularly scientific and
technical, in regional languages.
Regarding
all India Institutions, the commission said that they should continue to use
English as the medium of instruction. The eventual adoption of Hindi, should
however be considered in due course, subject to certain safeguards.
Some
educationalists are opposed to a changeover will adversely affect the mobility
of students and teachers from one university to the other. They are afraid that
such a step might result in the deterioration of educational standards and lead
to the Balkanization of the country. But by and large opinion in the country is
in favor of replacing English by regional languages as media of instruction.
The
National policy on Education 1968 observed, “The regional languages are already
in use as media of education at the primary and secondary stage. The National
Policy on Education 1968 also emphasized the adoption of regional languages as
the media of instruction at the university stage.
The
views of Gandhi and Tagore against retaining English as the medium of
instruction are well known Gandhi says, “In my opinion this is not a question
to be decided by academicians. They cannot decide through what language the
boys and girls of a place to be educated. That question is already decided for
them in every free country”. The obvious choice for the medium of instruction is
the regional language.
It
is wrong to believe that adoptions of regional languages will disintegrate the
country. We are not discarding English altogether. Even the Kothari Commission
which recommended this change desired that university graduates should be well
conversant with English. Thus English will continue to be a means of interstate
communication till Hindi replaces etc.
It
is interesting to note that some state governments and universities, in their
anxiety and haste to switch over to regional languages as the medium of
instruction adopted this measure without even offering English to the students
as an alternative medium. This led to widespread resentment among the students
and their parents, who sought legal remedies. It happened in the case of Tamil Nadu
and the Punjab Universities. In both cases, the court allowed the students the
freedom to choose their medium of instruction and examination.
In
all countries of the world there is a trend to teach foreign languages. As
educated Indians already know English, which is an international language, it
is convenient and more useful for a pupil to read English. Besides, knowledge
of English will help a person in interstate communication. It may also help in
getting a job in another state.
ASSOCIATE OFFICIAL
LANGUAGE
After
Independence there was a lot of national thinking over the choice of an
official language for our country. Mahatma Gandhi proposed Hindi to be our
national language. He raised the argument that Hindi has been an indigenous
language, the single language, knowledge for the major section of the people.
That is around 30 percentage of population and easily accessible to known Hindi
speaking people. He was also against educating our people in English because it
would deprive them of their national pride and it would result in slavish
behavior. But Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad, C. Rajagopalachari and Pandit
Jawaharlal Nehru were anxious about the adverse consequences of setting our
face against English.
The
official language problem became intense in 1950, the year of commencement of
our constitution. Articles 343 to 351 of part XVII of the constitution deal
with the issue of official language. Clause 2 of Article 343 states: “For a
period of 15 years from the commencement of the constitution, the English
language shall continue to be used for all purposes of the union for it was
being used before such commencement”. The speculation that Hindi would develop
to substitute English did not manifest in reality. Protests from some non-Hindi
speaking states remarkably Madras and West Bengal resulted in a setback to the
development of Hindi. As provided for in the constitution, the official
languages commission was appointed in 1955. The commission strongly recommended
the continuation of English. The members of commission had no consensus over
the issue on official language being switches over to Hindi. Later in 1966 the
Kothari Commission also resisted the idea saying that the adoption of Hindi as
a common medium of education was not possible for some years to come. The
Central Advisory Board of Education and the chief ministers’ conference 1961
devised the Three Language Formula for schools in which English had an
important place.
Though
in 1950, there was speculation about developing Hindi during the 15 years to
come, there were no signs of it being realized. And there was opposition from
non-Hindi speaking states. Therefore the parliament, by an Act (1965) decided
to accord English, the status of Associate Official Language of India for an
indefinite period. This position continues still and it will be too difficult
to relegate the status of English as Associate Official Language.
NCF AND KCF REPORTS ON
ENGLISH LANGUAGE
Education
is an important factor both in the day to day development of the child and in
contributing to the personal, social, cultural and economic fulfillment of the
future adult. The state of Kerala today occupies an inevitable position in
terms of several indicators of social and human development. It is the spread
of general education that has made this possible. Kerala’s performance in the
field of general education has been so impressive that it could receive the
distinctive acclamation as the ‘Kerala Model’.
SIGNIFICANCE OF
CURRICULUM REVISION
Changes
occur every minute in all fields of life. The latest findings and practical
experiences in pedagogy and educational psychology have enabled the development
of learning materials and the transaction of learning experiences in a better
way. These are aimed at the overall improvement of learners. “It must be
ensured that children who have different physical, psychological and cognitive
abilities can learn and achieve success at school. To overcome the limitations
that develop from differences in gender, caste, language and physical disabilities,
policies and projects will not alone serve and design suitable teaching methods
and learning objectives right from childhood”. (NCF 2005, page 27)
Thus,
as pointed out by NCF, the perspective should be to adopt minute as well as
scientific strategies to provide the desired learning outcome to children from
all sections of society. This can be achieved only if curriculum revisions are
carried out periodically and the system is always kept active. The existing
curriculum is revised based on this vision by imbibing the experiences findings
and research of those who constantly intervene in the field of education. The
scientific approach of proceeding from what is good to what is better is
adopted here.
RELEVANCE OF KERALA
CURRICULUM 2013
Several
innovative ideas were presented in the field of education over the years. With
the implementation of the Right to Education Act in the year 2009, quality
education has eventually become the right of the child. The curriculum for
schools has to be raised to an international educational standard to implement
such a right based comprehensive school development vision. The expert
committee constituted by the government for curriculum revision stressed the
necessity of revising the curriculum with time. Besides, during curriculum
revision, it is essential to consider the postulates concerning curriculum and
assessment in the Right to Education.
CHARACTERISTICS
·
Learner centered, process oriented,
activity based and value oriented
·
Emphasis is on the learning outcomes
that a learner imbibes at the cognitive, social and emotional levels.
·
Focuses on the skills to be attained by
the learners in values and attitudes
·
Based on the philosophy of
constructivism.
·
Teachers enjoy the freedom to choose and
employ logical and varied learning strategies for the transaction of
curriculum.
·
Flexible to implement various
teaching-learning strategies recognizing the learning outcomes, nature of the
content and the different levels of the learners. Discovery learning concept
attainment model, inductive method, metacognition, co-operative learning,
collaborative learning, reflective learning and giving opportunities to
individuals and group learning etc. are taken into consideration.
·
Ensures free and universal education to
all learners.
·
Comprehensive and takes into
consideration the various stages from the pre-primary level to the secondary
level.
·
Used as an effective tool for the
transaction of various subjects.
·
Designs innovative learning strategies
as well as assessment activities for children with special educational needs.
·
Ensures a continuous and comprehensive
evaluation focused on learning outcomes.
·
Stresses, health and physical education,
art education and work education.
CURRICULUM APPROACH
New
thoughts in educational psychology and philosophy have been incorporated while
developing the new curriculum. The idea of constructivism put forth by the NCF
2005 serves as a basis for the Kerala school curriculum 2013 too.
Constructivism that looks upon learning as an active mental process that provides
for construction of knowledge.
Every
child is born with the natural ability to learn from the surroundings through
sense organs. Through formal education the learner gains the possibilities to
view the world from a fresh perspective and to understand, mingle with and
access it. The features of the curriculum-transaction approach:
·
Activity based.
·
Process related.
·
Ensuring learning.
·
Sufficient to attain learning outcomes.
·
Environment friendly.
·
Considers area of development.
·
Suitable for the nature of the learner.
·
Integrates teaching and evaluation.
GENERAL OBJECTIVES OF
LEARNING ENGLISH-AN EXCERPT FROM NCF 2000 AND 2005
Language
education must aim at encouraging independent thinking, free and effective
expression of opinions and logical interpretation of the present and past
events. It must motivate learners to say things their way, nurture their
natural creativity and imagination and thus make them realize their identity.
The
changed perspective:
·
The national curriculum framework – 2005
·
The baseline study conducted by the
Focus Group on English for the revision of state curriculum.
THE FINDINGS OF THE
STUDY ARE:
·
The study on the materials reveals that
majority of the materials used in the field belong to the behaviorist paradigm.
The insights derived from current understandings on language and language
acquisition is not reflected in them. They do not treat language as discourses
but focus on fragments of language. Though a variety of discourses are
introduced, the treatment is seen invariably at the sentence level or word
level.
·
The study on the prevailing classroom
processes reveals that most teachers still take resource to mother tongue
translation. The classrooms continue to be teacher dominated. Discourse input
and output are by and large neglected.
·
Learners at all levels seem to enjoy
learning English. The constructivist even in evaluation tools in classes 8,9
and 10 has made the learning of English more enjoyable through the materials
used in these classes continue to be the behaviorist paradigm.
·
The majority of the parents in Kerala
are in favor of introducing English in class 1 itself. Parents welcome
learner-friendly materials and evaluation in English. There is a demand for
supplementary reading materials too.
OVERVIEW
OF THE CURRENT STATUS
There have been positive changes in the
profile of the English classrooms in Kerala since the introduction of the
revised curriculum and textbooks in 2007, based on the Kerala curriculum
framework. The confidence level of learners in using English has gone up considerably.
The Children across the state have started producing their own writing in
English in the form of stories, poems and other language discourses. By and
large the general proficiency of teachers has also improved. However, a large
number of learners are found struggling to use English for real life purposes,
even after a faulty long period of language learning.
It has been noticed that the linguist
and conceptual growth which the learners should attain in constructing language
discourses across different stages is not discernible, as envisioned. English
requires intensive focus in the process of its teaching and learning. Learners
should get optimum meaningful exposure to English.
The existing approach treats language at
the discourse level, which means that language is not viewed as a set of
disconnected sentences but as a set of linguistic discourses such as stories,
songs, conversations, narratives, slogans etc. but most of the teachers,
especially at the primary level, find it a difficult to evaluate the quality of
language produced by their learners. The editing process by which the learners
need to be scaffold to refine their language is proved to be another challenge
for most of the teachers. This results in the learners not getting the expected
quality of language and learning outcomes.
There is a slot for self-assessment
questions based on the most important features of the task at hand. The
mechanical repetition of constructing language discourses without taking care
of the quality of languages, which should be reflected in them, has adversely
affected the organic and vibrant nature of language learning experience.
A learner who undergoes a particular
curriculum process or tasks in textbooks needs to be aware of the conventions
of speaking and writing a language. Knowledge about language elements will work
as a conscious monitor once the acquisition stage is completed. Teachers have
to ensure that learners acquire the concepts, skills and attitudes envisioned
for a particular level. The learning outcomes may be stated clearly and care
should be taken to ensure that learners achieve these outcomes before they
proceed to the next level.
NATIONAL
CURRICULUM FRAMEWORK 2005
The National Curriculum Framework 2005
is a country wide agenda for activated school education formulated by NCERT in
2005. Its purpose is to evolve a national system of education capable of
responding to India’s diversity of geological and cultural milieus while
ensuring a common core of values along with academic components. It’s a means
of modernizing the system of education.
GUIDING
PRINCIPLES
· Connecting knowledge to life outside the
school.
· Ensuring that learning is shifted away
from rote methods.
· Enriching the curriculum to provide for
overall development of children rather than remain textbook center.
·
Making examinations more flexible and
integrated into classroom life.
· Nurturing an over-riding identity by
caring concerns within the democratic policy of the country.
NEW CONCERNS OF THE
FRAMEWORK
·
Building a cohesive society based on
pillars of relevance, equality and excellence.
·
Integrating indigenous knowledge and
recognizing India’s contribution to the world civilizations.
· Inculcating and nurturing a sense of
pride in being an Indian, patriotism and nationalism tempered with the spirit
of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam.
·
Universalizing elementary education and
linking education with life skills.
·
Value development at all stages of
school education.
·
Meeting the challenges of information
and communication technology and globalization.
·
Reducing the curriculum load.
·
Using culture specific pedagogy.
·
Viewing the child as a constructor of
knowledge.
·
Recognizing the interface between
cognition, emotion and action.
·
Empowering teachers for curriculum
development and implementation.
·
Co-ordinated decentralization of the
process of curriculum development.
SAILENT FEARURES OF
NCF-2005
·
The NCF encompasses all the stages of
school education from the pre-primary to the higher secondary.
·
It reaffirms faith in the constitutional
visions of India as a secular egalitarian and pluralistic society founded on
values of social justice and equality.
·
It addresses the challenges of quality
in a system that seeks to reach every child the exclusive triangle of equality,
quality and quantity.
·
It takes the following aims of education
into account:
a) To
build a commitment to democratic values of equality, justice, freedom,
secularism and respect for human dignity and rights.
b) Fostering
independence of thought and action.
c) Sensitivity
to others well-being and feelings.
d) Learning
to learn and unlearn.
e) Ability
to work for developing a social temper.
f) Inculcate
aesthetic appreciation.
·
It focuses on the primary of the
learner.
·
It recognizes the need for developing
and enabling a non-threatening environment for learning.
·
The framework highlights the value of
interaction with the environment, nature, things and people in enhancing
learning.
·
It recommends significant changes in
Language, Maths, Natural Science and Social Sciences with a view of reducing
stress and making education more relevant to the present day and future needs
of children.
·
It wants to make environment education
as a part of every subject.
·
It recommends that gender, justice,
sensitivity to tribal and Dalit issues and minority sensibilities should inform
all sectors of social sciences.
·
NCF revisits traditional notions of
discipline and discusses the need for providing space for parents and
community.
·
The framework addresses the need for
plurality of material, as also the need for teacher autonomy and professional
independence.
·
It also discusses curriculum sites and
learning resources, including texts and books, libraries, education technology,
tools and laboratories etc.
NCF’S
VISION ON LEARNING AND KNOWLEDGE
Ø In
teaching-learning activities, primary will be given to learner’s experiences,
their voices and their active participation.
Ø Children
will learn only in an atmosphere where they feel they are valued.
Ø In
learning context, the children need to feel that each one of them, their homes,
communities, languages and cultures are valuable as resources for experience to
be analyzed and enquired into a school.
Ø Since
children learn in a variety of ways through experience, making and doing
things, experimentation, reading, discussion, asking, listening, thinking and
learning and expressing oneself in speech, movement or writing – both
individually and with others, they require opportunities of all these kinds in
the course of their development.
Ø Teaching
should be oriented towards the construction of knowledge by the learners. So
schools must provide opportunities to question, enquire debate, reflect and
arrive at concepts or create new ideas.
Ø Learning
takes places through interactions with the environment around, nature, things
and people both through actions and through language. So arrange for
interaction with teachers with peers, as well as with others.
Ø The
quality of the learning task influences its learnability and its value for the
learner. So design the learning task in such a way that it encourages to seek
out knowledge from sites other than textbook.
Ø Teaching
should result in the developing of critical awareness in the learner. So
facilitate collective decision making through open discussion and by
encouraging and recognizing multiple views.
Ø Learning
should be contextualized. Make the boundary between the school and its natural
and social environment porous.
Ø Make
the experiences of the socio-cultural world a part of the curriculum.
RECOMMENDATIONS OF NCF
Some
of the major recommendations made by the NCF 2005 for the qualitative
improvement at the different stages of school education are as follows:
Ø Ensuring
availability of pre-school education to all children in the country and
prohibiting formal teaching and testing of different subjects at this level.
Ø Integration
of environmental education with languages, mathematics and other activities in
the first two years of the primary stage.
Ø Integration
of art education, health and physical education and work education into the
‘Art of Healthy and Productive Living’ at the primary stage.
Ø Education
about religious and inherent values of all religious to be imparted at all the
stages of school education.
Ø Integration
of science and technology up to the secondary stage.
Ø Bringing
mathematics closer to life and setting up of mathematics corner in the existing
science laboratory for practical mathematics up to secondary stage.
Ø Sticking
to the basic policy of three languages formula and emphasizing the teaching of
Hindi as the official language of India and Sanskrit as the language of
traditional wisdom and culture of the country.
Ø Emphasizing
the implementations of semestrisation at the secondary and higher secondary
stages.
Ø Provision
for wide flexibility and freedom in the choice of subjects among the courses to
be offered at the higher secondary stage.
Ø Providing
a strong vocational stream for enhancing employability and entrepreneurship at
the higher secondary stage.
Ø Evolving
a humane, learner friendly, error-free responsive and transparent evaluation
system.
Ø Reducing
the predominance of external examination and removal of the pass and fail
categories up to class.
Ø Use
of different methods of grading scholastic and co-scholastic areas of learning.
Ø Use
of alternative evaluation procedures for learners with special needs.
REFERENCES
·
Techniques of Teaching English-
A.L.Kohli, Dhanpat Rai and Sons.
·
Teaching of English- P.P Khatri, Tandon
publications Ludhiana.
· English language education-
Dr.K.Sivarajan, T.V Ramakrishnan, K.Mridula, Calicut University, central
co-operative stores.
·
English handbook, Std ix, Govt.of
Kerala, Department of education 2010.
·
English handbook, Std viii, Govt.of
Kerala, Department of education 2013.
·
Philosophical and sociological bases of
education, Dr. N K Arjunan, Yuga publications.
·
http://www.ncert.nic.in/rightside/link/pdf/framework/english/nf2005.pdf.
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