'Learn English as a language, not as medium for fetching job'

                                                                      Rehab Rajab

By Vikas Vaidya

English is a wonderful language. It would be utterly disgraceful if it were to be treated as a mere medium to fetch jobs. Any language does much more than that. Not only will a deeper study of the language give its reader immense pleasure but will also add to one's knowledge, sensitivity and sensibility.
Experts teaching English language rue that world over the respect and understanding of language has gone down. Agreeing that English is important while seeking jobs, the fun is to study it well and in depth, they feel. In an in depth conversation with The Hitavada, globally renowned teachers like Dr Christine Coombe, President, Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) International (2012-13), Rehab Rajab, President of TESOL, Arabia, Mick King, Lecturer, Middlesex University, UAE, Dr Ishrat Suri, Assistant Prof, Research Institute for Languages, Saudi Arabia shared their concerns. They were here to be the guest faculties at ‘Confluence’, a conference on English organised by Tulsiram Gaikwad Patil College of Engineering.
When asked whether like India, students of other countries too, especially those doing graduation in professional courses, do not read books other than  textbooks, Rehab Rajab and Dr Coombe accepted that this was unfortunately the global phenomena. "The communicative English is missing from the education sector. Students are not good in language as far as its depth is concerned."
Mick King said, "They may be good in English. They may be fluent, but the culture is absent. Focus of education is more career-oriented. This should not happen. Language should be studied as a language. Theoretically, things may be good, but what about the soul of language? It is the most important element."
When asked whether they have noticed improvement in personalities of those studying English, or for that matter any language. Dr Coombe, most emphatically said, "Yes, it does bring changes. You do feel confident."
Keen to convey what Egypt was doing to ensure better understanding of English language among its students, Rehab Rajab informed, "In Egypt we have started integrated intensive English programme at the university-level. Earlier, the language part is almost missing. Studying language involves poetry, prose a whole variety of literary pieces that have emotions too. Improvement in your language reflects in your entire personality," she stressed.
Dr Coombe, who teachers at Higher Colleges of Technology, Dubai, feels that the study of language is a vast subject. According to her, the things that people focus on most while studying English are pronunciation, speedy conversation etc. These things actually are less important. "In my college we integrate education. Apart from engineering, we teach things like leadership, ethics, research methods, communicative language etc," Dr Christine Coombe said stressing that when one teaches language, he or she should go into the depth of it. One should always keep oneself updating. Fluency and accuracy is equally important along with vocabulary. "We must teach students to be accurate and gain depth in study. In doing so their focus should be comprehensive," she said.
Rehab Rajab, the present TESOL President and an expert in integrating technology, is in favour of all technological things including social networking for human development, but insists that language should not be played with. "While learning English one must learn to read and listen which are receptive skills. After which he or she should go for productive skills including speaking and writing," she said.

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Schools should be pro-active

Dr Ishrat Suri, former Advisor to Ministry of Education, Pakistan, and now working as language consultant at USA, strongly feels that schools should be pro-active. "Schools prepare the base and lay foundation of student's personality before he or she reaches college," she feels. On standard of education in India as compared to Pakistan, she said that though standard of education is same, in Pakistan stress is more on grooming at school-level. Her regret was that in both countries, standard of teaching was not good.
Anjali Patil, Director of Gaikwad-Patil Group of Education, that runs Gaikwad Patil College of Engineering and Abha College of Engineering rued that which 'Confluence', the conference on English was well into its fifth year, the response from college was very encouraging but schools, unfortunately, were laidback.