Nice observation. English should be taught as a language but in schools it is taught as subject which is very bad. teachers fully depend on contents rather than language
On Sat, Aug 25, 2018 at 11:17 PM RAGHU T R <geetharagh...@gmail.com> wrote: > Good article Sir > > On Thu, Jul 26, 2018, 10:16 AM ITfC Rakesh <rakeshb.gund...@gmail.com> > wrote: > >> Remedy or disease? >> >> The recent proposal of the Karnataka government to open English medium >> sections in 1,000 primary schools has attracted criticism. Primary >> Education Minister N Mahesh has highlighted the step as a response to >> declining enrolment in government schools. Parents prefer private schools >> because they offer instruction in the English medium. Several studies >> confirm that parents see English as the language of the Indian elite. >> Fluency in English offers more opportunities, including good higher >> education and white-collar jobs. Though most schools, including government >> schools,offer English as a subject from Class >> 1, parents feel that for acquiring adequate competency, English needs to >> be the medium of instruction as well. But in most states, government >> primary schools provide instruction in the state language, and other Indian >> languages spoken in their geographies. The Right to Education Act (RTE), >> passed by Parliament in 2009, also requires primary education to be offered >> in the home language, “as far as practicable”. >> >> Language learning >> >> There is a fair degree of consensus among language experts that every >> child is capable of learning more than one language. In many parts of >> India, especially urban locations, people can converse in more than one >> language. However, language experts also assert that initial learning is >> best done using the home language as the medium, since the child being >> admitted to Class 1 is invariably competent in the home language. >> >> Stephen Krashen, an expert in second language learning, suggests three >> important principles that are responsible for the success of learning the >> home language and which need to be followed for effective learning of other >> languages as well. Firstly, an input-rich environment is essential for >> language learning. The infant is constantly exposed to her parents’ and >> siblings’ speech. Secondly, for formal language learning, the focus should >> be on meaningful and comprehensible inputs. Young learners are interested >> in learning if it is a meaningful activity for them. Thirdly, language >> learning should happen in a stress-free environment. In the case of the >> home language, the child is not pressured to speak. >> >> Once a strong foundation is laid in the home language, learning a second >> or third language later is easier as language skills are transferable. Just >> as every child is able to learn his or her home language before he or she >> goes to school, similarly, he or she should be able to learn second and >> third languages in school, including English. Though English is taught as a >> subject in most primary schools, this does not seem to be happening. >> >> The reality is that in most (non-elite) Indian homes, there is little or >> no support for English The school, too, is unable to provide an environment >> where the child has adequate opportunities to listen to English, as most >> teachers do not have proficiency in the language. >> >> Secondly, there is pre-mature pressure on the learner to write, which is >> the most difficult of all the language skills, without adequate exposure to >> listening and reading. Examination pressures also affect learning the >> language. >> >> Thirdly, the teaching of languages in many Indian schools follows the >> method of memorising content for reproducing in examinations. >> The learner has few opportunities to use the content meaningfully to >> build communication skills. All three principles of Krashen thus fail in >> the Indian school environment. Learning multiple languages is more often >> due to peer or mass media influences. >> >> In such circumstances, making English the medium of instruction can >> create a further barrier to learning. Being weak in English would affect >> abilities to learn mathematics, science, social science etc., compounding >> failure in English. >> >> Private schools have cashed in on the desire amongst parents for English >> medium, as it is lawful for an individual or institution to open a school >> and choose the medium of instruction. However, failure of Krashen’s >> principles is not limited to government schools. In addition, the pressure >> to do well in the examination can be higher in private schools, making >> language learning even more difficult. >> >> Also, when we say ‘private schools’, we are masking a wide >> stratification. There is a very small minority of elite affluent schools, >> where it is possible that teachers are able and willing to teach English >> following Krashen’s principles, which are resource intensive. However, a >> large number of private schools are the so-called ‘affordable’ schools, >> funded mostly from the meagre fees paid by students coming from lower >> middle class and poor families. These schools employ unqualified teachers, >> pay them poorly and cannot afford to invest on their professional >> development. Hence their teachers are unlikely to have capability to teach >> English. Thus, ‘English medium of instruction’ in poor private schools is a >> tragic deception of parents. >> >> By announcing English medium sections in primary schools without >> investing adequately in adequate curricular resources, in teacher education >> to strengthen teachers’ ability in English and changing their language >> teaching methods, the Karnataka government is unwittingly perpetrating a >> similar fraud on the children of the poor. >> >> There are other steps that the government could take to reverse the trend >> of declining enrolment in government schools. The ‘public education >> rejuvenation campaign’ of the Kerala government has reversed the decline in >> admissions to their primary schools. This campaign sought support from >> local communities to strengthen schools and focused on improving >> infrastructure and academic quality in government schools. >> >> Karnataka needs to immediately invest significantly, to build teachers >> competencies in English language, reform language pedagogy and provide a >> resource-rich environment in the schools, complementing textbooks with >> audio and visual resources. This will, over time, enable students to learn >> English at the primary level. >> >> The writer is Director, >> >> *Gurumurthy Kasinathan* >> *IT for Change, Bengaluru* >> >> Read more at: >> https://www.deccanherald.com/opinion/main-article/remedy-or-disease-683371.html >> >> -- >> ----------- >> 1.ವಿಷಯ ಶಿಕ್ಷಕರ ವೇದಿಕೆಗೆ ಶಿಕ್ಷಕರನ್ನು ಸೇರಿಸಲು ಈ ಅರ್ಜಿಯನ್ನು ತುಂಬಿರಿ. >> - >> https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSevqRdFngjbDtOF8YxgeXeL8xF62rdXuLpGJIhK6qzMaJ_Dcw/viewform >> 2. ಇಮೇಲ್ ಕಳುಹಿಸುವಾಗ ಗಮನಿಸಬೇಕಾದ ಕೆಲವು ಮಾರ್ಗಸೂಚಿಗಳನ್ನು ಇಲ್ಲಿ ನೋಡಿ. >> - >> http://karnatakaeducation.org.in/KOER/index.php/ವಿಷಯಶಿಕ್ಷಕರವೇದಿಕೆ_ಸದಸ್ಯರ_ಇಮೇಲ್_ಮಾರ್ಗಸೂಚಿ >> 3. ಐ.ಸಿ.ಟಿ ಸಾಕ್ಷರತೆ ಬಗೆಗೆ ಯಾವುದೇ ರೀತಿಯ ಪ್ರಶ್ನೆಗಳಿದ್ದಲ್ಲಿ ಈ ಪುಟಕ್ಕೆ ಭೇಟಿ >> ನೀಡಿ - >> http://karnatakaeducation.org.in/KOER/en/index.php/Portal:ICT_Literacy >> 4.ನೀವು ಸಾರ್ವಜನಿಕ ತಂತ್ರಾಂಶ ಬಳಸುತ್ತಿದ್ದೀರಾ ? ಸಾರ್ವಜನಿಕ ತಂತ್ರಾಂಶದ ಬಗ್ಗೆ >> ತಿಳಿಯಲು - >> http://karnatakaeducation.org.in/KOER/en/index.php/Public_Software >> ----------- >> --- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >> "EnglishSTF" group. >> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an >> email to englishstf+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. >> To post to this group, send email to englishstf@googlegroups.com. >> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. >> > -- > ----------- > 1.ವಿಷಯ ಶಿಕ್ಷಕರ ವೇದಿಕೆಗೆ ಶಿಕ್ಷಕರನ್ನು ಸೇರಿಸಲು ಈ ಅರ್ಜಿಯನ್ನು ತುಂಬಿರಿ. > - > https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSevqRdFngjbDtOF8YxgeXeL8xF62rdXuLpGJIhK6qzMaJ_Dcw/viewform > 2. ಇಮೇಲ್ ಕಳುಹಿಸುವಾಗ ಗಮನಿಸಬೇಕಾದ ಕೆಲವು ಮಾರ್ಗಸೂಚಿಗಳನ್ನು ಇಲ್ಲಿ ನೋಡಿ. > - > http://karnatakaeducation.org.in/KOER/index.php/ವಿಷಯಶಿಕ್ಷಕರವೇದಿಕೆ_ಸದಸ್ಯರ_ಇಮೇಲ್_ಮಾರ್ಗಸೂಚಿ > 3. ಐ.ಸಿ.ಟಿ ಸಾಕ್ಷರತೆ ಬಗೆಗೆ ಯಾವುದೇ ರೀತಿಯ ಪ್ರಶ್ನೆಗಳಿದ್ದಲ್ಲಿ ಈ ಪುಟಕ್ಕೆ ಭೇಟಿ > ನೀಡಿ - > http://karnatakaeducation.org.in/KOER/en/index.php/Portal:ICT_Literacy > 4.ನೀವು ಸಾರ್ವಜನಿಕ ತಂತ್ರಾಂಶ ಬಳಸುತ್ತಿದ್ದೀರಾ ? ಸಾರ್ವಜನಿಕ ತಂತ್ರಾಂಶದ ಬಗ್ಗೆ > ತಿಳಿಯಲು - > http://karnatakaeducation.org.in/KOER/en/index.php/Public_Software > ----------- > --- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "EnglishSTF" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to englishstf+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. > To post to this group, send email to englishstf@googlegroups.com. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. > -- ----------- 1.ವಿಷಯ ಶಿಕ್ಷಕರ ವೇದಿಕೆಗೆ ಶಿಕ್ಷಕರನ್ನು ಸೇರಿಸಲು ಈ ಅರ್ಜಿಯನ್ನು ತುಂಬಿರಿ. - https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSevqRdFngjbDtOF8YxgeXeL8xF62rdXuLpGJIhK6qzMaJ_Dcw/viewform 2. ಇಮೇಲ್ ಕಳುಹಿಸುವಾಗ ಗಮನಿಸಬೇಕಾದ ಕೆಲವು ಮಾರ್ಗಸೂಚಿಗಳನ್ನು ಇಲ್ಲಿ ನೋಡಿ. -http://karnatakaeducation.org.in/KOER/index.php/ವಿಷಯಶಿಕ್ಷಕರವೇದಿಕೆ_ಸದಸ್ಯರ_ಇಮೇಲ್_ಮಾರ್ಗಸೂಚಿ 3. ಐ.ಸಿ.ಟಿ ಸಾಕ್ಷರತೆ ಬಗೆಗೆ ಯಾವುದೇ ರೀತಿಯ ಪ್ರಶ್ನೆಗಳಿದ್ದಲ್ಲಿ ಈ ಪುಟಕ್ಕೆ ಭೇಟಿ ನೀಡಿ - http://karnatakaeducation.org.in/KOER/en/index.php/Portal:ICT_Literacy 4.ನೀವು ಸಾರ್ವಜನಿಕ ತಂತ್ರಾಂಶ ಬಳಸುತ್ತಿದ್ದೀರಾ ? ಸಾರ್ವಜನಿಕ ತಂತ್ರಾಂಶದ ಬಗ್ಗೆ ತಿಳಿಯಲು -http://karnatakaeducation.org.in/KOER/en/index.php/Public_Software ----------- --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "EnglishSTF" group. 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