Do you call them a Britisher? A British person? Angrezi? Wait, they’re called Britons?
If this was your introduction to the word “Briton”, no need to fret. For most of us, finding out that the phrases, structures and words we use are incorrect variations seems to ignite a sensation that is worse than heartbreak. Linguistic misconceptions are the norm when you have an array of languages within a single nation. This might seem like an unfamiliar and overwhelming concept for several countries where a singular language thrives alongside English, but for India, it is the culture. A multitude of languages would entail a multitude of discourses, each representative of the cultural diversity in the nation.
When English Language Teaching (ELT) was initially proposed as the future crème de la crème of language-learning pedagogy, the corpus of languages in India, was for some untold reason, not factored into the framework. The result? Our perception of grammar had contorted into an unidentifiable, hodgepodge of languages- A khichdi.
The Framework
It is difficult to conceive what had gone through Macaulay’s mind in 1835 when he proposed the framework for ELT in India. The British desired ideological control and to create a class of Indians who could “interpret” the decrees. Modern ELT focuses more on fluency and professionalism and is now a highly businessified process. Both seem to be by-products of capitalist enterprises but are polar opposite interests at the same time.
Macaulay’s framework involved the study of language through the direct grammar-translation method. Like most other theories, the ancient Greeks claim credit for its creation. They would perhaps be surprised to know that several educators would not consider this “method” to be a method. Students were taught the basic grammar principles and were asked to apply those in the translation of sentences between English (Or any target language) and their native language.
Grammar-Translation Method
We tend to overuse phrases such as “Memento Mori” and “Carpe Diem” and claim that we are proficient in Latin. What if we were to combine them to form “Memento Diem” and “Carpe Mori”? These phrases mean nothing. We can compare this to memorising the lyrics to a foreign language song. We might understand the meaning of the words in that context but beyond that, it becomes a void.
When we learn vocabulary in new languages we seek the equivalent of that word in our mother tongue. For instance, a person who primarily speaks in Bangla and learns the English word, “Month”, would look for the Bengali equivalent which is “Mas”. While it might seem simple enough, oversimplification does not ensure proper learning. What about a word like “Tomorrow”? In Hindi, “Kal” is used for both “Tomorrow” and “Yesterday” and seasoned speakers can identify the difference based on the context. In that case, if your teacher were to tell you, “I will be taking a test tomorrow”, and you were to translate that as “Main kal ek pariksha le raha hoon”, your teacher is either a time-traveller or they simply wanted to take a test the following day. Taking another example, the statement, “Main kaun hoon” when directly translated to English would be, “I who am”. However, the English equivalent to this statement is “Who am I?”. The order of interrogatives is inverted, thus, making the whole concept of teaching the “basic grammar principles” counterproductive. Word meanings may also vary contextually so this method certainly is not foolproof.
The Mother Tongue Influence on English Proficiency in India.
According to the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) 2022, only 46.7% of class 8 students can read in English and an even lesser percentage of students can understand the concepts being taught to them. The primary issue lies in the very basics, we cannot memorize the rules of grammar, nor can we warp the syntax and morphology of English as we please. The process is complicated and considers only sentence-level grammar. A person’s reading and writing skills are developed at the expense of their communicative abilities. These skills are also subject to scrutiny since productivity, a basic feature of human language, is compromised.
It is also intriguing to consider the fact that the grammar-translation method was only used for dead languages till a certain point in time. According to Richards and Rodgers in their “Approaches and Methods in Language Teaching”, modern language pedagogy is hesitant to adopt it due to its lack of a proper rationale. Even as an academic entity, it is largely without any justifications and is not preferred for research about linguistics or psychology. So why does ELT in India not abandon this method despite its primitiveness? With 22 official languages and more than 19,500 languages and dialects, linguistic uniformity is downright impossible in India. It becomes difficult to devise a system of ELT that can cater to every region and every language. Linguistic concerns aside, there are also socio-economic, political and religious influences that must be factored into the equation. A singular system is difficult to devise, and implementation is an afterthought.
When there is also a clear lack of teachers, and those in the profession are severely underpaid, grammar-translation is often the only saving grace in such scenarios. It might not be the knight-in-shining armor for the communicative prowess of the people, but it certainly “gets the job done” in a society that is always in a state of rush.
Why Settle for Only Getting the Job Done?
English is not simply a language in the contemporary age, but also a marketable skill. People do not merely use the language to read and interpret, but they perform it. Technical institutions in India have included “English-based courses” under the guise of technical communication and professional skills. The need for an aesthetic sensibility was gradually substituted for the need for soft skills. On one hand, it has led to the erasure of literary works from the curricula of these institutions which is another pressing concern altogether. If marketability is indeed our end goal, then grammar-translation might not be the best method to employ in English Language Teaching.
Where Do We Go From Here?
We must rethink and re-adopt our pedagogical practices in the realm of language learning. An English classroom should focus on exchanging ideas through English, without using other languages as intermediaries. Multilingualism should be encouraged in classrooms but should not be used as a substitute for the target language in education. Teachers must be trained and empowered with academic and emotional expertise while audio-visual and conversational texts can be used as a replacement for thick textbooks. This is undoubtedly a Herculean task, especially in a country as large and diverse as India. If we hope to communicate as a society, we cannot allow our thoughts to get lost in translation.
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