I can talk English I can walk English

Jasmine Singh

The joke about Punjabis shifting their lingo to English when drunk makes an appearance at every party, yet there is another place where they have to inevitably press upon the English accelerator – an IELTS institute, which an unavoidable place for every Punjabi who dreams of going abroad for higher studies or work!  

This struggle is being highlighted in an upcoming Punjabi movie Jatt Vs IELTS, which shows how a youngster from Punjab struggles to get the hang of English, trying to secure seven bands (grading system for IELTS)! 

Big battle 

If you have any doubts that movies are not inspired from real-life situations, check out youngsters at various IELTS institutes in tricity and their struggle with English. Taranvir Singh, 20, can fight any battle but when it comes to speaking five sentences in English, he has a blackout. “It might sound funny, but the thought of speaking in English gives me the chills, I feel breathless,” he says. The youngster wants to fly to Canada for higher studies, for which he needs to clear IELTS. “I can clear IAS da exam, but angrezi nahi boli jandi,” he adds.

Taranvir is not the only one who develops cold feet when asked to read, write and speak in English. His friends, Mandeep Singh and Maninder Singh, see clearing IELTS as the biggest challenge of their lives. Not that they cannot speak or write basic English; their problem is that they cannot read, speak or write in a flow.

“Punjabi and English are like North Pole and South Pole; they will never meet,” Maninder comes up with a ‘thought-provoking’ statement while Mandeep nods in approval. “IELTS institute is a place like a hospital, where you wouldn’t want to go willingly, but if you don’t you won’t get better,” adds Mandeep.

Foreign dreams

Though there are umpteen IELTS institutes in tricity, maximum number of youngsters studying here come from various parts of Punjab. Kriti Thakur, an IELTS instructor with ILETS GURUS, Sector 34, backs the observation, “Entire Punjab wants to go to Canada for either higher studies or work; so they don’t have a choice but to get IELTS training before that.” 

Sandeep Singh from Fatehgarh Sahib stays with his relatives in Chandigarh for his IELTS training. He is getting a hang on English writing and reading, but it is the spoken English that he has not established a rapport with. “Bolni aukhi hai English,” he laughs. 

Diljit croons

Probably Punjabi singer-actor Diljit Dosanjh can understand the pain of IELTS students because he has gone on record to say... “Ek mujhe english nai aati, toh mujhe ye bhi laga rehta tha ki koi banda mere naal raho, abhi kuch keh deti, mujhe kuch samjh ni aana. Banda koi gal kehda, main hmm Yes, Gal over.”

While Diljit is definitely giving a tough fight to spoken English, the students of IELTS have devised ways of practising. “I visit a high-end coffee shop and place an order in English; I watch all English films, I attend all calls from the call centre that are in English...I read English, bus kuch din ke liye Englishman ban janda han,” Narinder Singh beams. Though young boys struggle to read and write in English, girls at IELTS centres are supposedly better! Meena Mankotia from Hoshiarpur is currently staying as a paying guest in Chandigarh for IELTS. “You will die laughing if you hear the boys from Punjab speak in English. They’d take an hour to finish five lines. But, what has to be done has to be done.”

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