Calcutta: Now, 'English only' in language class

[Harold Schiffman]

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Now, 'English only' in language class
17 Dec 2007, 0257 hrs IST,Jhimli Mukherjee Pandey,TNN

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KOLKATA: For close to two decades, the Left Front government cut them
off from English during the first few years in school. When the
subject was finally taught, it was by way of translation. Sentences
and ideas were thought out in Bengali and translated to English. Now,
students of state-run schools will take English lessons where neither
students nor teachers will speak in Bengali. The state is planning to
introduce a new text book in Class I from the next session that won't
have Bengali instructions or translations.

The book signals a tacit admission that the Marxists were following
faulty methodology as far as teaching of English is concerned. It also
shows that the ruling Left's education policy has come full circle and
the government now wants to make amends. The focus will now be on
speaking skills rather than grammar and writing skills. "Previously we
thought that a foreign language should be taught through grammar and
writing. But after consulting British experts, we have realized that
oral skills should be developed first. Hence this change," said
Sulopani Bhattacharya, president of West Bengal Board of Primary
Education. The textbook is being designed under the guidance of
British expert George Raymon Mackay, who feels oral usage and hearing
leads to flawless learning of the language.

>>From learning the alphabet to using them to construct sentences, the
chapters will be written completely in English. Earlier, an
instruction like, "Catch this ball" was accompanied by its Bengali
translation. Now every instruction will be explained by using a
technique called 'total physical response'. "The teacher will use
self-explanatory actions or sign language alongside the English
sentence. Later, the signs will be gradually withdrawn as the child
starts talking independently," explained Kuheli Mukherjee, a teacher
of Sakhawat Memorial School, who is a member of the core group that is
preparing the textbook.

The textbook will also contain all the popular nursery rhymes like Ba
Ba Black Sheep, Humpty Dumpty, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and Ding
Dong Bell. Nursery rhymes were taught earlier, but they were not the
popular ones and did not find much favour with the kids. "We are
dropping these and are introducing the age-old favourites that can be
learnt along with actions which will help kids pick up vital words and
sentences," said a member of the core group.

About 100 teachers will be trained so that they can teach English
without taking recourse to Bengali translations. There will be no
written exam of English in class I. But there will be tests for spoken
English. "It is not enough to write well. We feel that kids should
also be able to speak fluently and hence these changes. We will soon
go on to class II and so on," said school education minister, Partha
De.

Educationists like Sunanda Sanyal, who have crusaded against the
state's move to withdraw English from the primary level, are having
the last laugh. "After destroying the lives of two generations of
students the state has realized the importance of teaching English. In
principle, I agree that the oral method that uses covert grammar, is
the best way of teaching English, but that requires well trained
teachers which the state lacks," Sanyal said. Ashoke Maity,
spokesperson of Headmasters' Association said the standard of English
teaching is pathetic in both primary and secondary levels.



 http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Kolkata/Now_English_only_in_language_class/articleshow/2626778.cms


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