Betting on English

I’m not afraid of English.” This slogan and objective of the Haryana Government at once speak of the recognition of a problem as well as a possible way to redress it. The Annual Status of Education Reports — which gauge learning among children in rural areas — have over the years revealed that the students’ ability to read simple sentences in English is substandard. In 2016, only 32 per cent pupils of class III could read simple words in the language. That, generally, is the norm in all primary classes. No wonder, the kids are “scared” of the language and feel tongue-tied when faced with a situation calling for practical use of their studies. There is an urgent need to tackle the handicap head on to overcome it.

However, though slogans help whip up passions, they alone are not enough. Even as Haryana embarks on the ambitious plan of teaching children of classes I to V one English sentence a teaching day, it firstly needs to train the instructors, who have been frequently found to be not up to the mark. No doubt their age group picks a second language fast. But it is not just the learning by rote of sentences that makes one proficient in a language. Equally important is the capacity to express oneself correctly in the right context. The teachers — perhaps across the subjects — also need to encourage students to communicate in English, beginning with the simple “thank yous” and “sorrys” and graduating to more complex sentences. It is here that the skill of an educator plays a role. Repetition and reaffirmation hone the child and make the targeted task easier for both the teacher and the learner. Otherwise, there is a danger of the child getting overwhelmed by the alien tongue, defeating the very purpose of the exercise.

 As the children are thus equipped to face the world and the job market, there is another delicate balance that must be maintained. This learning must not come at the cost of the Haryanvi dialect. The mother tongue must not fade out. Acknowledgement and acceptance of one’s language and culture are the bricks to the building of a positive identity of self. International practices prove that education at the primary stage is best imparted via the mother tongue.