11 Teaching of English as a Second Language in India

Dr. Neeru Tandon

Learning outcome:

This module deals with the Teaching of English as a second language in India. Multiple-choice exercises will help students in assessing their knowledge and understanding of the work. Bibliography, list of websites and PPT will help them in their in-depth study and further reading. Critical quotes and quotes from the book will also help them in understanding various aspects of the module.

Introduction:

The fundamental principles of language acquisition do not change with the language, however, the political economy of English in India is quite a different matter. The teaching of English therefore has to be planned far more carefully. It is on the one hand the language of opportunity, social status and increasing social elasticity and on the other hand, in glove with the developments that constantly expand the distance between the elite and the ostracized. We therefore need to guarantee that children achieve a respectable level of competence in English without misplacing their mother tongue.

English as stated by Timothy J. Scrase “is not only important in getting a better job, it is everywhere in social interaction. If you can’t speak it then you are a nobody”.

History of TESL in India:

Teaching of English in the Pre Independent India

“Since the days of the British Raj, English remained the language of domination, status and privilege in India. The hegemonic colonial project in India was to create and maintain a class of administrative officers, clerks and compliant civil servants to carry out the task of ruling the vast and expansive subcontinent” —Timothy J. Scrase.

Britishers felt, that western education would empower Indians to challenge the foreign rule and due to political prerequisite they started encouraging Indians to continue with their native culture and education. They adopted orientalism or encouragement of classical learning for their educational policy, which was opposed by the missionaries like Charles Grant (1746-1823) whose plan was to teach English to the people of India.

Raja Ram Mohan Roy desired English for academic, scientific and other international reasons for Indians. He along with other thinkers not only felt the superiority of English education, they even expressed the view that “the teaching of mere Hindu or Mohammedan literature meant the teaching of a great deal of what was frivolous, not a little of what was purely mischievous and a small reminder indeed in which utility was in any way concerned”.

Macaulay’s motives in spreading teaching of English in India were just to create a group of Indians who would be the interpreters between their rulers and the ruled. An official resolution endorsing Macaulay’s policy of modern education through English medium was passed. But the teaching of English in systematic way started from the declaration of Wood’s Dispatch of 1854, which has been called the ‘Magna Carta’ of Indian education. In Wood’s Dispatch it was declared: “The English language is to be the medium of instruction in the higher branches, and the vernacular in the lower.

English is to be taught where there is demand for it, but it is not to be substituted for the vernacular languages of the country.’’

English then gradually spread wider in India and gained roots in the educational system. In 1857 and just after, five universities at Bombay, Calcutta and Madras Punjab and at Allahabad were setup. The foundation of these universities marked a new era in the history of Indian education. This resulted into the spread of schools and colleges, which ultimately resulted in the increase of more number of Indians who achieved mastery in English language.

In the pre independence era Gandhi ji expressed his views mentioning the effects of English education.

“…English today is studied because of its commercial and so called political values. Our boys and girls think that without English they cannot get government services. Girls are taught English as a passport to marriage…I know husbands who are sorry that their wives cannot talk to them and their friends in English. I know families in which English is being made the mother tongue. All these are for me signs of our slavery and degradation.”

But at the same time Gandhiji also appreciated the importance of a foreign language especially English. He says: “I don’t want my house to be walled in all sides and my windows to be stuffed. I want the cultures of all the lands to be blown about my house as freely as possible. I would have our young men and women with literary tastes to learn as much of English and other world languages as they like and expect them to give the benefits of their learning to India and to the world”.

The Post-Independence Period:

The foreign language status of English in India thus appears to have remained for a shorter period initially, and it gradually seems to have acquired the status of a second language. Prof. V.V. Yardi gives clear distinction between a ‘foreign’ and a ‘second’ language status as: “English as a foreign language refers to a situation where it is taught for certain specific purposes viz… reading scientific works, translation, communication at certain levels and for certain purpose only. English as a ‘second’ language refers to a situation where English is used widely for purposes of administration, education and as a common link-language”. Prof. Yardi further asserts:“in India until recently, English was a ‘second’ language. It is now in the process of acquiring the status of a compulsory ‘third’ language”.

Observing the rapid change in the place of English in post independent India Scrase remarked: “English is recognized as an important global or international language, essential for professional employment and significantly, a key component of the cultural capital of middle class Indians”.

Agarwal points out the status of English in the post-independence period as: “a link language among the educated people and the few elites. In spite of the introduction of the Hindi as the official language English still played an important role. But in this way, it did not bring about any significant change in the status of English on the contrary, it resulted in the creation of a class of vernacular-educated native to occupy lower position both in education and administration”.

Increased English language proficiency was considered instrumental in fetching well- paid job opportunities. The language, thus, got recognized as an important link language for national and international purposes. Despite the hard and sincere efforts of the central and the state governments, Hindi could not yet become the link language in India. In view of the strong opposition to Hindi in the southern states, Hindi in ‘Deonagari’ script was declared as the official language of the Union and English also was given the status of the ‘subsidiary’ official language of India in the Official Language Act 1965. It was also decided that either Hindi or English could be used for proceedings of the parliament.

Owing to the increasing importance of English, in the changing times, various states in India gave the language a respectable place by making it a compulsory language in their educational setup.

“…English in India is what it is because of its functions which are controlled by its sociocultural setting and by its interaction with the major Indian languages. This approach to English in India is designed to show how the lexico-grammatical systems of a language get shaped and reshaped by its functions. There is, therefore, no feel that English in India is or will be less effective or less efficient as a system of communication, but there is every reason to say that it has and will continue to have a marked Indian flavor”.-verma

l 3 Indianization of English in India:

We all know about varieties of English. Indian English is one such variety. The “Indianisation of English” involves adaptations of existing features of British English and the use of transferred mother-tongue items where British English is ‘deficient’

It is a linguistic variety with its own grammatical, lexical and phonological norms. It has developed its own varietal characteristics through the interaction of Indian languages and social behaviours with those of English.

GRAMMER

Under the influence of traditional Hindi grammar, speakers often use progressive tenses in statements, such as I am believing you or she is liking music.
Zero article: the indefinite article, a or an, or the definite article, the, are often omitted.
Zero past tense marker: verbs are left unmarked for tense, although other signals (adverbs of time, such as yesterday, last week etc.) often give linguistic clues about the timing of an event.
Declarative word order in interrogative construction: ‘normal’ subject + verb word order is retained in statements using the question words who, what, when, where, why, how etc.
Plural uncount nouns: litters, luggages, furnitures, woods can be found.

LEXIS:

Code-switching: the occasional or even frequent use of a Hindi (or Urdu, Punjabi, Gujurati etc.) word or expression within an English sentence can communicate a great sense of shared identity or solidarity with other speakers.
Extensive compound formation: English-speaking classes, cousin-brother / cousin-sister, chalk-piece, key-bunch, meeting notice, pindrop silence, time- pass.
Shortening of words: ‘enthu’ for enthusiastic/enthusiasm or ‘fundas’ for fundamentals
Acronyms: MCP = Male Chauvinist Pig – FOC = Free Of Charge MPK = Maine Pyar Kiya (a popular movie) ILU = I Love You (from a song; pronounced ee-lu) ABCD = American Born Confused Deshi (native of India)

USAGE

What’s your good name?”
“Dear sir, with reference to your above see my below” – popular opening line in official
“Pritam Singh has left for his heavenly abode” – a death
“She freaked out last night” – she had a good
“Kindly please advise ”
“Thank youji, Doctor ”
“Namaste, how are you?”
“Will you take tea?“
“To give a test”

11.4 Multi skill approach: Lack of fixed methodology: A need was felt to develop oral proficiency in other languages. Language teachers had already found Grammar- translation method inadequate and ineffective in developing communicative ability in learners. The direct method has been strongly favored among language teachers for many years now. The direct method utilizes L2, employing visual aids and role-playing extensively, and encourages students to use an inductive approach to discover the rules of the target language. The ELT exponents and practitioners believed in the natural method and asserted that a foreign language can be taught without the translation or the use of the mother tongue. It attempts to simulate the conditions through which we acquire our native language and, therefore, heavily discourages the use of the mother tongue.

Problems for TESL in India

Very large population does not use English in daily life
Those who come through the RL medium find it difficult to cope with English medium at higher levels
There is a need for creating effective intermediate language courses so that the shift in medium at any stage doesn’t remain a major hindrance
Need to perceive English as a functional language rather than as an elite language that creates socio-political conflict.

Benefits

It is quite interesting to note that India, a multilingual nation, is the third largest English-speaking country after the US and UK. In India, it is increasingly being perceived as a ‘must-know’ language. The University Education Commission headed by S. Radhakrishnan in 1950-51 reported: “…the English language has been one of the potent factors in the development of unity in the country. In fact, the concept of nationality and the sentiment of nationalism are largely the gift of English language and literature to India”. The commission further observed: “English should be the most useful ‘library’ language in higher education and our most significant window on the world.’’

English is a highly developed language and is at present best suited for the country’s industrial and scientific progress
English is less divisive because of its neutral character
English enables the educated Indian to move about inside and outside the country
English brightens the students’ prospects of getting prestigious jobs
English is still the language of administration at the Center and in many States.
Beneficial for good effective education
Helps the country in maintaining a competitive edge in the production technical manpower

Place Of English In Indian Society: English occupies a place of prestige in our country. People belonging not only to a different language groups but also to the same speech community make use of English in their inter-personal Communication. In big metropolis of India, it is really difficult to come across any educated person who can speak any Indian language well without avoiding the use of English words. Its importance is not just in how many people speak it but also in what it is used for. It is the major language of trade and commerce, news and information in this world of globalization. It is the language of higher education and research, maritime communication, international air traffic control and it is used even for internal air traffic control in countries where it is not a native language. Thus it has attained the status of a global language in the ever-changing economic context.

It has now become a ladder for upward social mobility and ‘a window to the world’. Such is the demand for learning this language that a variety of English coaching centres and private-tuition shops, English-medium schools which are mushrooming in a large numbers and are easy to spot almost everywhere in our country, even after independence, clearly indicate the respectable position this language enjoys in the minds of the democratic Indians.

Commenting on the increasing popularity which English language enjoys now-a-days Timothy J. Scrase remarks: “English is an international language. You feel humiliated if you can’t speak English. People think you are dumb.”

In fact English language enjoys a respectable position in the Indian context. In India English is seen not only to be the key to economic prosperity, but for the social value as well. Parents, especially, those belonging to the upper and middle classes, expect their children to get the best type of education and they think that it is possible only through English medium. On the other hand, people from the lower classes emulate the model-setting behavior of the upper and middle classes. This increasing demand for English has resulted in the mushrooming growth of English-medium schools all over India.

Still, there was a bitter controversy among Indian educationists with regard to the place of English in system of education and there has been due to this a constant change of decisions as to what position English should hold in the present setup.

The Three Language Formula: Recognizes the following languages:

The first language to be studied must be mother tongue or the regional standard.
The second language : In Hindi speaking states will be some other modern Indian language (MIL) or English, and, in non-Hindi speaking states will be Hindi or English.
The third language in Hindi speaking states will be English or an MIL not studied as second language, and in non-Hindi speaking states English or Hindi not studied as the second language.
Implications: Teaching of the first language commenced from class I, the teaching of the second language was recommended from Class VI or a bit earlier from class III, or at a convenient stage depending upon the resources of a state.
The third language was also recommended to be taught from Class VI (Gargesh 2002: 191-203)
The 1967 Official Language Amendment Act has ensured the continuation of English and this has affected the domain of education.

Socio Cultural Perspectives on TESL : Teaching English therefore involves not only helping the student to use the form of English most suitable for their purposes, but also exposure to regional forms and cultural styles so that the student will be able to discern meaning even when the words, grammar, or pronunciation are different from the form of English they are being taught to Some professionals in the field have recommended incorporating information about non-standard forms of English in ESL programs. For example, in advocating for classroom-based instruction in African- American English (also known as Ebonics), linguist Richard McDorman has argued, “the ESL syllabus must break free of the longstanding intellectual imperiousness of the standard to embrace instruction that encompasses the many “Englishes” that learners will encounter and thereby achieve the culturally responsive pedagogy so often advocated by leaders in the field.”

SOCIOLINGUISTIC SITUATION

India has a population of over a billion people (1.252 billion (2013), 1652 Mother Tongues (1961 Census), 67 educational languages and an area of 3,287,590 SQ KM.

Language use of an Indian businessman living in a suburb of Bombay:

His mother tongue and home language is a dialect of Gujrati
In the market he uses a familiar variety of Marathi, the state language
At the railway station he speaks the pan-India lingua-franca, Hindustani
His language of work is Kachhi, the code of the spice trade
In the evening he watches a film or cricket commentary in Hindi or in English

Language use of a Bengali teacher in the department of English in North India

She speaks English while teaching in the class and in the department.
With the clerks and peons she speaks in Hind.
While interacting with a Bengali student or a colleague she uses Bangla
At home with her mother she uses Bangla

Functional Role of English in Multilingual India

	Auxiliary (1)	Supplementary (2)	Complementary (3)	Equative (4)
Social Function	Library Language	Vehicular Language	Link Language	Alternate Language

for restricted needs – tourism – ‘vehicular language’- ‘unstable’ bilinguals with partial competence
for acquiring knowledge – ‘library language’ – creates ‘passive’ bilinguals
complementary function – ‘link language’- creates ‘stable’ type of bilinguals with partial competence
equative function – an alternate language in all domains – ‘ambilinguals’

English Language For Higher Education:

Education Commission (1948):

“… English has become so much a part of our national habit … English cannot continue to occupy the place of state language as in the past”

2. Kunzru Committee (1955):

(a) Change in the medium of instruction at the university stage should not be hastened;

(b) Even after the change English should continue to be studied by all university students;

3. The Education Commission (1964-66):

(a) Concerted effort needed for Hindi/regional languages as the media of instruction;

(b) The medium of examination should be the same as the medium of instruction;

(d) No student should be allowed to graduate unless he is proficient in English;

(e) The universities should offer special courses in remedial English and English for Special Purposes.

4. National Integration Council (1962): observed that:

Need to make regional languages as media of instruction at the university stage.

5. The Working Group of the University Grants Commission (1978):

(a) English has the advantage in publications and reference materials over RLs

(b) Employment prospects of students educated through English medium are better

(d) English continues to be the status symbol in society

English in higher education was viewed as India’s window to ‘the world’s technical and scientific information and knowledge’
The Ministry’s document Programme of Action (1992: 178-179) acknowledges that “university teachers having received education through English find it difficult to teach through Indian languages,” and that “Indian language-medium courses are generally not popular amongst the students because of lack of professional comparability and poor employment potential.”It is true that the higher we move in education and the more we aspire for professional excellence the only medium left at the top is English.
English is used throughout the length and breadth of the country
Most significant language for obtaining information
Language of prestige in higher education
Careers in business and commerce, government positions of high rank (regardless of stated policy), and science and technology (attracting many of the brightest) continue to require fluency in English

Aim and Objectives of Teaching English: The objective of teaching English in India, should not be ‘producing bookworms’ or ‘linguistic robots’. What is important is to motivate the students, by creating awareness amongst them regarding the importance of English and then gradually helping the student to attain his goal. The basic objective should thus be, to make the student independent.

The aim of teaching English in India is to help students to acquire practical command of English. In other words, it means that students should be able to understand and speak English, read and write English. These are the basic aims of teaching English. These aims can further be elaborated as:

To enable the learners to speak English correctly. It means that producing sounds with the proper stress and intonation.
To enable the students to read English and comprehend and interpret the text.
To enable the students to write English correctly and meaningfully, i.e. for example writing letters, applications, description and accounts of day-to-day events.
To enable the learners to acquire knowledge of the elements of English.
To enable the learners to develop interest in English
To increase student’s ability to use planning, drafting and editing to improve their work.

English occupies a special place in the domains of education, law and administration. It is widely believed that one cannot become an engineer, doctor, lawyer, scientist, pilot etc. without proven proficiency in English. It has been absorbed in the multilingual fabric of India. Creative writings reveal that English in India is undergoing a process of decolonization.

The main Educational goal is to minimize social and economic disparities and to create a positive discrimination in favor of the weak by giving each person an opportunity to learn this language. Intermediate programs of English need to be created which may enable students to smoothly switchover from a regional language to English as a medium of instruction in higher education.

11.13: REASONS FOR LEARNING ENGLISH

a. Academic:

to pursue degrees or certificates (* only a small portion in fact)

b. Non-academic:

(a) to survive in Target Language community e.g. talking to neighbors, helping children at school, or carrying out daily functions effectively
(b) English for specific purpose (ESP): to learning the lg as to apply in work
(c) Culture: to know about the target community
(d)77% of the informants believe that progress in science and technology will be hampered without English” (ibid: 90)
(e) There is strong parental encouragement for the study of English. The extent of positive attitudes towards English indicates that English is here to stay for quite some time as a valuable tool.

C. Miscellaneous: to learn for pleasure, for integrating into a culture or to be forced to understand

SUMMING UP: New developments are taking place worldwide in the methods of teaching and learning English. These developments have affected the English language teaching in India also English thus became the primary requirement for interconnectedness of people, for free exchange of ideas, cultures and economies and a ‘Lingua Franca’ for communication, business and education. The wide publication of newspapers, periodicals, and magazines in English clearly indicates its increasing use in India. English even today continues to act as an indispensable ‘Link’ language. English symbolizes in Indian minds better education, better culture and better intellect. It is still freely used in administration, judiciary, in education and even for literary purposes in India. It, thus, becomes clear that English by now has become the most significant language in India. This language is not learnt and used now-a-days out of any imposition but through the realization that it has certain inherent advantages. Today the compulsions of learning English are no longer merely political but scientific and technological.

People are aware of the importance of English. They are interested in learning the spoken English. As a result, various courses are developed for teaching spoken English. The use of Language Laboratory and Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) has created new changes in the teaching of English. The audio cassettes and CDs are being used on a large scale to learn the spoken language. Various software of English teaching are developed and used by a growing number of people. There are many private institutions that run the courses of spoken English. Especially in big cities the language trainers are helping the learners to acquire the required proficiency over the communicative skills in general and the spoken skills in particular. Now Television channels are also working towards improving spoken English. NDTV Imagine is running a programme ’Angrezi Mein Kehte Hain’. All of them cannot be termed as cheap. Dr. Deepti Gupta rightly says: The irony of situation is that while academicians label these learning centres’ ‘shops’ or ‘commercial institutes’ it is these establishments that are a major influence behind the changing face of the ELT paradigm in India.