History of the English Language in India

History of the incline speech in IndiaINTRODUCTIONThis subject field aims at studying the phraseology postulate of under graduates students, telltale(a) the discrepancies of different interpretericipants with respect to actual position style skills and target nomenclature skills and and so suggest corrections in computer programme, whithersoever required. The study is conducted at Sant Gadge Baba University Amravati, on students studying in under-graduate courses.This chapter presents information on the background and purpose of the study. Next, research passs ar presented. Fin all toldy, definitions of roughly basic legal injury utilise in this study atomic number 18 presented.Background to the Study orbiculate faceWorld incline is broadly categorised into three varieties position as a Native row (erythema nodosum leprosum), side of meat as a Second Language (ESL) and side as a overseas Language (EFL). Accordingly, there be three geographical divisions of face utterance nations viz., erythema nodosum leprosum territories, ESL territories and EFL territories (Braj B. Kachru in Koul N. Omkar (eds.) 1992 2 -3, cited in Hasan Kamrul Md,2004).1ENL territories In countries like the UK, the USA, Canada, Australia and sweet Zealand, English is the first or often the all phraseology of conference among the large number. In ENL territories people accustom the mother tongue transformation of English.ESL territories- In ESL federal agencys English plays a bouncy role and is put ond to coif a diversity of official, breedingal, and other roles. For ESL speakers, although English is non their native talking to simply it is an important terminology in their professional and social lives. alike India, English is apply as a bite style in almost all the former British colonies (Singapore, Nigeria, conspiracy Africa etc.) Often the persons second language becomes the first functional language in adulthood in such cases. In ESL countries English is generally disposed(p) splendor in the reproductional framework of the nation and taught in schools and colleges.EFL territories In some countries English neither enjoys the status of native language nor second language. It is treated as foreign language and its use is restricted to occupational and educational purposes. In countries like China and Japan, English is taught and viewt mainly for reasons of trade and billet and it does non play any(prenominal) role in social interactions.A historical sketch of ELT in IndiaPre-colonial stop consonantVasco da Gamas disco genuinely of the sea road direction to India also paved way for the introduction of English in the sub-continent in 1498.However, it was only in the 18th coulomb, when the Mughal Empire was on the decline and the English East India Company had secured a foothold in India that Indias tryst with the English language began. During this rate of flow, English was the language of chat of the elite people and was not the lingua franca of the people.Colonial periodWith the consolidation of the activities of the East India Company in eighteenth century, began the efforts of didactics English in the S malefactor uph Asian subcontinent. As cold back as 1759, Christian missionaries entered India and the 1787 despatch welcomed the efforts of Rev. Swartz to establish schools for the teach of English. Another significant effort was the publication of the first book, The Tutor, to teach English to the non-Europeans by author John Miller in 1797. This book was published in Serampore in Bengal. thereof the socio- historical stage for the role of English in education was set by the end of the 18th century.T.B. Macaulay, in the Minutes of 1835, for the first time, formally introduced the teaching of English in the S stimulate outh Asian subcontinent. In his Minutes he mentioned the importance and usableness of the education that would be given to the natives finished the medium of English. in that respect were originally two objectives of such education. The first was to create through this education a weapons platformme of natives who, despite their stock certificate and colour, would be English in culture and be able to interpret among the rulers and the subjectsa class who may be interpreters amidst us and the millions whom we govern a class of persons, Indians in blood and colour, but English in taste, in opinion, in morals and in intellect (quoted in Macaulay 1835, quoted in Thirumalai, 2003)2. The second was to create a involve for the European institutions. Although both the objectives were designed to serve the interest of the Masters, not of the subjects, but it provided the framework of formal English education to India which to a large consequence is followed sluice today..Thus by the middle of the nineteenth century the aims and objectives of teaching English were real clearly laid out For the remaining period of colonial rule there were a few landmarks in the increase of English such asThe establishment of universities in Kolkata, Mumbai and Chennai in 1857 and in Dhaka in 1920Selective education and training in administration, imparted through English, the Indian University Act (1904)The Resolution on Educational Policy (1913).For the total period of British rule four broad maturations with regard to English education took place1600 -1800 During the early years the variety of English used was imitative and formal. It was the language of the rulers and the elite class.1850 -1947 During the later years more varieties (from very high to very low) appe bed. Indian intellectuals and freedom fighters efficaciously used English as tool to for political awakening and resurgence.Interaction with vernacular languages As the use of English penetrated the different sections of the educated Indians, a new variety of English emerged. This variety of English had a very unmistakable Indian flavour and a taki ngs of words of vernacular origin were sorb in English, e.g., Brahmin. Coolie, jungle, and so on.Methodology Language studies were beginningd on belles-lettres and grammar and the means of studies was the grammar-translation method. The spoken component of the language was not practised. The emphasis was given on correctness and complete sentence construction.English also vie a critical role in Indias struggle for independence as it became the language of political awakening and resurgence. even off Mohandas K. Gandhi (1869-1948), although a pie-eyed counselor-at-law of use of national language, used English language effectively to edit forth his message to the British Government .Post colonial periodPost independence, the perception of English as having an alien power base changed. Kachru notes that English now has national and international functions that atomic number 18 both distinct and complementary. English has thus acquired a new power base and a new elitism (Kachru 1986, p. 12 as cited in Baldridge, 2002).3 For most part of the 20th century, it remained a language used by a select few. English primarily remained the language of law and administration.The Present StateTwentieth century witnessed great advancements in science and technology and this enabled many new slipway of sharing information and doing business. Indias international commercial activities led to the essential for getting proficiency in English as an international language. Now, English was not just the language of the administrators and policy makers but also became the language of the business and professional class.In India, the English speaking population is only somewhat 3-4%, but with Indias massive population, India is among the top three countries in the earthly concern with the highest number of English speakers. In terms of numbers of English speakers, the Indian subcontinent ranks third in the world, after the USA and UK. hygienic-nigh English speakers in In dia atomic number 18 second language speakers, in 1971, it was estimated that the rate of bilingualism in India was 13% and 99% of English speakers are second-language speakers (Mahapatra 1990 7 cited in Hohenthal , 2003).4 Spolsky points out that English is the most widely spoken second language, followed by Hindi. English is more useful as a lingua franca the usefulness of Hindi as a lingua franca is regionally limited (Spolsky 1978 42 cited in Hohenthal , 2003)5. The small part of the English speaking population controls domains that oblige professional prestige (Kachru 1986a 8 cited in Hohenthal , 2003)). It is this small segment of Indian population that heads Indias economic, industrial, professional, political, and social progress. Most interactions in the above spheres of life take place in English.In the linguistically plural tantrums of India, English often acts as the link -language among people of different dialect. For many educated Indians English is virtually the first language. Thus in the present context English is playing a vital role in bringing together people from different regional languages for a closer exchange of social, educational and administrative network of India . It provides a linguistic tool for the administrative cohesiveness of a country (Kachru 1986a 8).English is used in both public and personal domains and its functions extend furthermost beyond those normally associated with an outside language, including the instrumental, the regulative, the interpersonal and the innovative, self-expressive function (Hohenthal citing Kachru 1986a 37, 2003))6. As pointed out before, the role of English is not replacive it overlaps with local languages in certain domains (Kandiah citing Sridhar, 1985Shridhar and Shridhar, 1986 1991 273)7.English language in Indian Education SystemEnglish is taught as a second language at every stage of education in all states of India and has been accepted as the main medium of command in higher edu cation. English is also the state language of two states in eastern India, Meghalaya and Nagaland.In India, English has become an integral part of the curriculum almost at all levels of education. However there are various social, political and cultural factors that affect the position of English in different boards, universities and other institutions. Even the curriculum snaped and evaluation tools employed are very diverse crossways the country. The model of English offered to the learners lacks uniformity and it is this question that continues to challenge the policy makers and education planners. While most States accord English the position of second language, some others treat is as the third language the regional language and the national language getting precedence.as in other linguistically and culturally pluralistic societies, the position of English is dogged by various political, cultural and social considerations. Kachru (1986b20 cited in Hohenthal , 2003)8 sees pr imarily three questions which continue to be discussed. The first question concerns the position of English in early and in higher education. The second question is come to with the roles of the regional language, Hindi and English. The third question deals with the model of English presented to Indian learners, and how that presentation can be made uniformly and effectively. The Government of India has primarily been concerned with the first two questions, which are directly related to language planning at both the national and state levels. There are, as only, no acceptable answers to any of these questions (Kachru 1986b20 cited in Hohenthal , 2003).91.2 Language direction Context at Amravati UniversityEstablished on 1st May, 1983, this University geographically covers the Hesperian Vidarbha belt (i.e., five districts Amravati, Akola, Yavatmal, Buldhana and Washim) of Maharashtra State. The University, in its small span of two and a half decades, has contributed in many ways for economic, social and cultural upliftment of the fellowship by offering quality education. The Motto of this University is Education for Salvation of mindThe University is recognised under Section 12(B) of UGC Act.The University is also an associate member of standoff of Commonwealth Universities, London (U.K.)The University has 10 faculties which includes Arts, Commerce, Sciences, Medicine, Ayurved, Education, Social Science, Law, Home Science, Engineering Technology.The University has facilities to offer post-graduate advanced education in Computer, Biotechnology, Business Management, Law degree courses in Chemical-Technology.SGB,Amravati University University has been one of the foundation universities undergoingexpansion and developments in the recent years. Although the University does not attain an English Department to date, English courses are offered both at undergrad and postgraduate levels in colleges affiliated to the University.All undergrad programs offere d by SGBAU are of three years except Engineering (B.E.)Evaluation tools used in order to assess the students makeance are generally written exams utter to cover the course objectives moderately rather than fully. That is because listening and speaking skills are not evaluated although practiced during the classes. The exam is generally conducted once, at the end of the schoolman session. The nature of the written examination paper is largely theoretical.Thus, the results of this study allow be an aid to the Curriculum Development Unit of English be on of Studiesof Amravati University (SGBAU)in deciding on the postulate of the students and improving the already existing program to better meet the ineluctably of those students.1.3 Purpose of the Study?English has penetrated all functions and all sections of society. It is a universally accepted tool for communication. It is no long-lived restricted to the English or Americans as a means for communication. Even within India, wi th its diversity of languages, English has emerged as the accepted language of communication cross culturally. It has even overtaken Hindi, which is officially the national language, as far communication among people of different native languages is concerned. Although, from time to time, various political lobbies have raised the issue of prohibiting the use of English language, however, they have so far been unsuccessful. This is primarily the result of the accommodating quality of English . Moreover, most of the world communicates in English and if India has to be a part of the Global scenario, English language can be a major bridge.Looking at English language courses in sub metroplises, the fact that glaringly stands out is that little has been done to understand the special learning involve of students here and even lesser attention has been paid to prepare them to function effectively in their workplaces and academic environment. Students hailing from townships and rural area s suffer from geographic as well as cultural disadvantages. Their distance from the metros does not bring the exposure and environment which is naturally a part of the cosmopolitan work culture. Culturally as well, most students belong to families where native language is the means of communication and even in academic institutions the medium of instruction is primarily the local dialect. The primary purpose of this study was to understand the special needs of students who belong to non-metropolitan areas and then attempt to suggest how they can be optimally trained to perform academic and professional functions efficiently.Each of the skills which may be required, reading, writing, listening and speaking may be of different value in terms of their use in a specific field. This study has been able to assess the students only in reading, writing, grammar and vocabulary. Due to a large and scattered sample, the researcher was cumber not to test the listening and speaking skills of t he respondents.This study aims at hoard entropy just rough the clairvoyance needs of undergraduate students in 2008-2009 academician Year. By comparing the results of students in each skill and the desire competency level of the items, this study, also aims at examining whether or not there is a need for improvement in those skills.Rodgers (1969 as cited in Hutchinson and Waters,1987) in Nese Ekici,2003 expresses that developments in educational psychology has contributed to the rise of ESP by emphasising the central importance of the learners and their attitudes to learning. Learners have different needs and interests, which has an important influence on their pauperism to learn and therefore on the effectiveness of their learning. To get an idea about students English language skills and to see whether there was any discrepancy between their actual language skills and desire skills constituted an important dimension of the study. The foci of this study were both the targe t needs and learning needs for the English curriculum which is implemented during the undergraduate program. This needs assessment study will be useful in improving the already existing curriculum or designing a new needs-based curriculum and choosing more clutch curricular elements for the undergraduate students at Amravati UniversityNecessity for syllabus developmentA be after come to the teaching-learning process can go a long way it making a course effective and relevant. However, as it is seen as something very complicated , many a times the content of the text books obtainable for the course take the place of the syllabus. There are very strong grounds to support the need for a systematic syllabus development process, the most important of them areFirst, right from the onset of the course the instructor understands the ultimate objective of the course as a result of the be after process. This gives an opportunity to the teacher to interrelate and integrate all the elemen ts. This in turn ensures better chances for the syllabus meeting its learning objectives. Secondly, a be after approach enables better selection of teaching materials and aids. The class delivery is better planned and oriented towards the end result. Finally, this syllabus development process leads to improvement of language education. The teacher plans, structures, selects, organises the teaching content in accordance with the learning objectives. both the learner and the teacher are well aware of the outcome in demand(p) and both work in coordination to achieve the common goal.The syllabus opening has not found wide application in ELT practice yet and has often been ignored by applied linguists. However, the application of this theory could be very beneficial for the whole ELT process improvement. This research is an attempt to bring in the application of syllabus development process for SGBAUs language courses.1.3.1 investigate QuestionsThe purpose of the study was to conduct a needs assessment revealing the language skillsof Undergraduate students.The following are the research questions this study want to addressWhat is the present language proficiency level of students of under-graduate courses?Is the present curriculum able to meet the language needs of the students?argon their gaps between the desired and actual performance of the students ?Is there a difference in the language competency of students across different streams- Arts, Commerce and Science?Is there a difference in the language competency of students from first year of their undergraduate course to the third and final year?Does a co-relation exist between the students medium of instruction in school and present performance?Are there any specified learning outcomes of the language courses offered by SGBAU?Is a post-course analysis done to match the desired and achieved proficiency levels?Is there any mechanism in place to ensure uniformity of delivery across all colleges under SGBAU?Wha t is the present process for syllabus designing?(More questions to be added)1.4 Significance of the StudyA needs assessment study is normally carried out for different purposes states Richards, 2001(cited in Ekici Nese, 2003). Understanding the learners problems, assessing whether the present syllabus adequately addresses those problems of the learner, identifying what skills the learners need in order to perform a specific role, analysing if a change in approach and strategy is required and identifying the gap, if any, in what the students are able to do and what they need to be able to do are the main reasons for needs assessments to be conducted.Identifying what the under- graduate students are able to do and what they need to be able to do is the main concern of this study. metalworker (1989, cited in Ekici Nese, 2003) 12 mentions the concept of severity of needs. As all needs are not of equal importance, severity or importance of the need is used as a main criterion for priorit izing the needs, Smith, 1989 (cited in Ekici Nese, 2003). There are some needs which are of great necessity and thus require foremost attention. This study also aims at prioritizing such needs. The findings of the needs assessment in this study will be made use of in order to recommend changes in the existing curriculum in case such a need is identified according to the data collected from the students. Based on the democratic philosophy, information is gathered about the learning most desired by those groups and the gap between the desired performance from the students and what they are actually doing will reflect the discrepancy philosophy. Hopefully, suggestions regarding the appropriate curriculum for undergraduate programs will be put forward.1.5 Terms ofttimes UsedClarification of the terms which will frequently be used and constitute the backbone of the studyis essential. To prevent misunderstanding or misinterpretation, some of the terms have been explained here.Need Need is the difference between what a learner can presently do in a language and what he or she should be able to do.Needs Assessment A needs assessment is a systematic set of procedures undertaken for the purpose of setting priorities and making decisions about program or organizational improvement and allocation of resources. It is a systematic process for documenting relevant needs (Reviere, 1996).ESP (English for ad hoc Purposes) It is an approach to language learning, which is based on learner need. The foundations of all ESP are the simple question Why does this learner need to learn a foreign language? (Hutchinson and Waters, 1987).Target Needs Target needs refer to what the learner needs to do in the target situation (work domain) (Hutchinson and Waters, 1987).Learning Needs They refer to what the learner needs to do in order to learn. They show how the learner learns the language items. It refers to the skills that he or she uses (Hutchinson and Waters, 1987).ENL English as a Nat ive LanguageESL English as a Second LanguageEFL English as a Foreign LanguageSyllabusCurriculum(more terms shall be added if needed)