LANGUAGE IN INDIA

Effectiveness of Group Investigation Model
and Simulation Model in Teaching English

John George Athyal
Maya Dutt, Ph.D.

The Importance of Language Ability

The growth and development of an individual is greatly dependent upon that individual's ability to comprehend the language of his or her society and reciprocate effectively. For this to happen, individuals need to have adequate exposure and experience using the language of the specific society. When we use language for communication we must have a knowledge of the linguistic forms of the language we use and also knowledge of when, how and to whom it is appropriate to use the forms, i.e., a leaner should have not only linguistic competence but also communicative competence.

Chomsky observes:

By grammatical competence I mean the cognitive state that encompasses all those aspects of form and meaning and their relation including underlying structures that enter into that relation, which are properly assigned to the specific subsystem of the human mind that relates representations of form and meaning. I assume that it is possible in principle for a person to have full grammatical competence and no pragmatic competence, hence no ability to use a language appropriately, though its syntax and semantics are intact. (59)

Situation in India - Past Methods Have Not Helped Improve Our Communication Skill

The problem of learning and using English in India mostly revolves around the adequacy of exposure and experience in using English.

Various methods were adopted in the classrooms. We need to evaluate these methods as to their ability to provide adequate exposure and experience in using English. Although the role of the teacher has undergone a drastic change, many of our teachers still remain as facilitators of examinations rather than facilitators of communicative proficiency.

Grammar translation method or memorization of vocabulary and sentences was the main technique that we employed in the past. By 1970 we experienced the influence of Structural Linguistics. Now we make use of computers and language laboratories. But all these have not yet contributed to any significant change in the communicative competence and performance of vast majority of students.

Though we give due importance to English language in our school curriculum, the only English that our students learn at school is what they are taught in the English classroom. Students do not make use of their target language, English, freely.

Students should be made aware more intensely that the ultimate aim to make his students effective communicators. Teachers of English also should keep in mind that the ultimate test of their success lies in how their students communicate effectively with appropriate fluency, pronunciation, word choice, sentence construction and appropriate meaning and idiom. We should realize that our goal is to help students use English to meet their needs effectively, both as individuals and as employees/employers in wider fields of business, etc.

Because our success in learning and using English is not yet adequate to meet the demands of education, business, diplomacy and so on, we need to review the methods and models available and to seek to adopt more effective models.

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