ACADEMIC JOURNAL

Title                 : Let’s Teach English

Pages               : 25

Thesis Statement        : The wonder of wonders is the human language. The human language is unique, species specific, and innate.

Research Question      : How to teach English?

Methodology              : Case Study

Findings          : Such a common phenomenon, language is a mystery, a mind-teaser. From Panini and Plato to Chomsky- no one has been able to unravel the mystery and say anything definite about the origin and development, how we learn language, and how such a small brain manages a complex phenomenon like language. Even neuroscientists like Dr. Penfield (1959), who used neural stimulation for studying language functions in the brain or Dr. Ramachandran (2011) can only speculate about our language competence. What happens when the one hundred billion neuro-cells interact in the tiny space of the human brain and how the drama is enacted – no one knows and there is no way of testing it. Scientists have discovered the Higgs Boson (the God Particle) but no one has found out the „language particle‟.

There is no way of explaining the „illogicalities‟ in natural languages except saying it is the logic of the human psyche and since language is a human phenomenon, it is as illogical as human beings are. Look at English: a „running nose‟ does not run; „nightmares‟ can happen anytime of the day, even during broad daylight; „morning sickness‟ is not necessarily during morning; „hot dogs‟ can be cold; a „pine apple‟ had neither pine nor apple; an „eggplant has no egg and no plant; „bullshit‟ is not the shit of a bull; „holy shit‟ is certainly not holy; when your grandfather kicked the bucket, there was no bucket nearby! Can we say that speakers of English are insane and pack them off to a mental asylum!

Language is a living phenomenon; it is dynamic and keeps changing. It is always in a state of „flux‟. Look at the new words and expressions that English keeps on adding according to the technological, economic, and socio-political requirements. Computer technology has given birth to many new expressions: email, SMS, blog, download, mouse (the plural of which is not „mice‟), geek, cloud computing, data mining, data warehouse, etc. Words like „texting‟, „mind space‟, „bandwidth‟, stress buster‟ have become part of everyday usage. It is because English keeps changing and borrowing, it has become a global language. With globalization and technology, it is absorbing more and more words even from different cultures.

There are many ways of teaching English interestingly and effectively:

a) The Literary Way

Teaching English through literary texts has been the traditional way since the introduction of English in India.

b) The Communicative Way

We can teach English in terms of certain communicative functions like the following:

a) Social formulas

b) Inviting someone

c) Saying goodbye

d) Congratulating

e) Introducing yourself

f) Introducing someone

g) Answering an introduction

h) Greeting someone

i) Thanking

c) The Interpretive Way

Some short texts that have current relevance and that raise social issues like gender discrimination, corruption, etc.; mini stories, and interesting episodes can be used to teach English. Students can be asked to read the passage aloud so that they get practice in proper speech habits like stress, pause, and intonation. Isolated words selected from the passages and sentences can be used for speech practice. Related words for the words used in the texts should also be brought in to encourage vocabulary enrichment.

d) The Integrative Way or the Grammar-Composition Way

The term „pedagogical grammar‟ is a broad cover term that includes both a teacher’s grammar and a learner’s grammar. A teacher is not a grammarian but he/she ought to know enough grammar to teach the language in question in a way that is and to take informed decisions; a teacher must be in a position to decide how much grammar, to whom, for what purpose(s) and how it has to be taught. If teachers are sure about their knowledge of grammar, then and then alone, grammar can be integrated both with oral and written composition. This requires that teachers must know some essential grammar. It does not mean that teachers go to the class and download their knowledge of grammar. The learners‟ requirements are different.

e) The Combo Recipe

A combination of the four types mentioned above can also be used. Some literary texts- both old and new, some pieces for communication skills, some modern texts that raise important social issues, and some contextualized pieces for teaching important grammatical categories can be judiciously mixed to make the learning of English more interesting, effective, and challenging. This combination will also take care of different aspects and interests of learners. Let’s teach English and not highflown literature, grammar or phonetics to those who are waiting to learn English.