“Throughout my life I was local. But now, I am global. I feel like I am part of the global village and I should thank this programme for that,” said a beaming and confident Pallavi, a resident of Karimnagar, who till recently had trouble communicating in fluent English. The reason for her happiness was her ability to converse in English in front of research scholars in a packed hall at Arts College, Osmania University campus on Monday.
“Despite hailing from Telugu medium, I am able to address this gathering in English. This is a proud moment for me and I did this in 45 days,” she adds. The 45-day course in ‘English Communication Skills, launched by Equal Opportunity Cell of OU Arts College, surely instilled confidence among participants.
There was no dearth of enthusiastic students, as many decided to showcase their English speaking skills during the inaugural of the course for research scholars on Monday. “The course has helped me shed my inhibitions and feeling of shame when I make mistakes while communicating in English. I practised speaking in English for hours with my tutors,” says Suman, a student of Mathematics Department hailing from a remote village in Khammam.
Holistic development
OU Vice-Chancellor S. Satyanarayana clarified that the course was not a coaching class in English. “This course is designed to educationally empower students. It is aimed at holistic development of students and not simply coaching them on English language. In this day and age, students need skills like motivation, communication and confidence,” he said.
Principal, Arts College, OU, S. Mallesham, course coordinator P. Vishnu Deva, Director, SC/ST Cell Reddya Naik and others were present.
