Indians might be renowned for being technically skilled but when it boils down to their communication abilities, they leave a lot to be desired. Identifying this lacuna, British Council has come up with English language courses targeted at people from all walks of life.
Designed by experts teaching English in other countries, its USP would be, as Keshav Sreedharan, Head Business Support, British Council puts it, the communicative methodology it offers.
We will have activities, games, debates, puzzles etc. For example, if you teach people the application of tenses in the form of questions, they will learn English better. If people learn the language, they will know what to apply, when to apply and where to apply, he explains.
Similarly, if its vocabulary, a student (his back to the board) has to guess the words on the board based on the hints his/her classmates throw. “This way he also learns the synonyms of that word.” People work in clusters of four and since the emphasis is on one-to-one interaction, class sizes are limited to 20. One of the key strands of Project English in the region, the initiative has its roots in May last year when the first teaching centre of its kind was inaugurated in Chennai followed by Kolkata in March this year. “We did research and found that communication was the foremost need of people today,” says Mr. Sreedharan. “We felt the market has enormous potential in terms of communication, learning English, using English as a way to go to foreign universities to study abroad or to work abroad.”
“In other cities, we have had judges, scientists, home makers, policemen... You might come from diverse backgrounds but your language levels are the same,” Mr. Sreedharan says.
Students can choose from three courses offered under the programme: Evolution, Executive and Impact. While Evolution (containing speaking, listening, grammar, vocabulary, reading, writing and pronunciation modules) is targeted at those interested in learning the language at an overall level, Executive is suited for corporates who want to hone their speaking skills (for presentations, meetings, negotiations) and writing skills (business letters, emails and reports).
Impact focuses on skills required for participating in group discussions, interviews and public speaking. The classes will be conducted by a 12-member English Language Teaching (ELT) instructor team trained in art of communicative language by expert teachers from UK.
All the courses, interspersed with periodic assessment tests, are of 42 weeks duration, six hours a week. Students can avail facilities at British Library throughout the duration of their course. Upon successful completion, they will be awarded a certificate by the British Council.
To be eligible for the courses, one has to take a level test consisting of a 40-minute written component and 15-minute speaking component. This helps in assessing the language skills so that “you sign up for a course that meets your learning needs.” Classes begin from July 25. Those interested can call up 040-23483333 and book slots.
