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ENGLISH
We are living in a competitive global environment. English is an all time preferred language all over the world. It’s the only international language accepted world wide. This only language can provide you a taste of wisdom in today’s world. Communication is a critical quality of a person which enhances his personality and ability. Better communication needs a good knowledge of the language to be used. English has acquired an independent identity across the country. In coming years all the updated knowledge and wisdom will only be available in English only. This is a caution to all non-English speaking people not only in India but world wide.In India English language is inherited from the British who colonized the country and their language permeated through some of the most important parts of society: the government, the media, the education system, the legal system, and gradually the social sphere as well. India is a vast nation and in terms of number of English speakers, it ranks third in the world after USA and the UK. Around 4 percent of the population use English covering a small number of about 40 million people which controls domains that have professional and social prestige.
People are very emotional and sentimental regarding their regional language in India. They feel comfort and satisfy their ego by talking in their regional languages wherever they go. They can not believe the fact that it can ever extinct easily. But they have to accept the fact that their regional language knowledge is not enough to set their position in the global world. Whatever be the knowledge level and their local position in the area, they have to accept this global language to be a successful person in their field. People who lack English knowledge found themselves very inferior in the run of life.
Though it is not classified as one of the 15 languages of India, English remains the associate official language along with Hindi, which is the official language. In fact English is proffered for speeches and in official letters over Hindi. The reason for this is the large number of languages and that several people are unfamiliar with Hindi. There are several English news channels and many English mews papers are published from almost every state. So there are plenty of opportunities. Old traditions, ethos and even languages cannot help the society to develop in the world of outsourcing and globalization.
Hence there is a great need of knowledge of English for present and coming generations of India. Still racial discrimination can be seen in education which makes the people deprive of knowledge of this language. Only nine of the 28 states and three Union territories in India have introduced English as compulsory subject from Class I.
All modern equipments and job assignments along with latest technologies, websites and wisdom come from US only. There is no other way. With Indian students going to the US in bulk, the American accent will surely plague India. Using American English is a kind of fashion among young generation of India. Yup dude, you’re bang on! D’oh…” etc are the common saying among young Indians.
In higher education English is the premier prestige language. Careers in any area of business or commerce, or within the government, or in science and technology require fluency in English. English should be introduced in primary schools across the country. We must give due importance to English as it is an international language. Only those students who are good in English can perform better in every sphere of their life.
Learn this global language and find the way towards globalization!
What is necessary to learn English well?
Changing your life
Learning English requires action. You may know all the learning tips, but if you don't start doing things, you will achieve nothing. The fact is, if you want to learn to speak English well, you must change your life. Here are some examples of things you will have to do:
- read a book in English for an hour every day, analyzing the grammar in sentences and looking up words in an English dictionary
- listen to an audiobook or other recording in English, stopping it frequently, trying to understand what is being said, and trying to imitate the speaker's pronunciation
- spend 30 minutes in the afternoon practicing the pronunciation of the English "r" sound
- carefully write an e-mail message in English, using a dictionary or a Web search every 20 seconds to make sure every word is correct, and taking 5 minutes to write one sentence
- think about an English sentence you've read, wondering if it could say "a" instead of "the" in the sentence, and trying to find similar sentences on the Web to find out the answer
- walk down the street and build simple English sentences in your head (talking to yourself in English about the things you see around you)
What kind of person would do all these crazy things? Only one kind. The kind of person who enjoys doing them. If you want to learn to speak English well, you're going to have to become that person. Have you ever heard of anyone who became successful by doing something he hated?
The problem
The problem with learning and teaching English as a foreign language is that all English learners want to speak English well; however, most learners don't want to spend time on learning English on their own. (Which is probably why they sign up for English classes and hope their teacher will force knowledge into their heads.)
This lack of motivation means that learners basically don't spend their own time on learning English, and if they do, they don't do it regularly. For example, a typical learner might study English phrasal verbs for 12 hours before an English exam. However, he will not read a book in English for 30 minutes every day. He just doesn't feel that learning English is pleasant enough, so he will only do it if he has to. The problem is that a huge one-time effort gives you nothing, while small, everyday activities will give you a lot.
Negative attitudes
One of the reasons why people don't want to spend their time on learning English is that they associate learning English with unpleasant things. When they think "learning English", they think about boring English classes, boring exercises and boring homework. Even if they know they need English in their career, that might not be very motivating if the job itself is boring! In their minds, learning English is something they have to do, not something they want to do.
Typical learner vs. motivated learner
Paula is a typical learner of English with a generally low level of motivation. She has occasional moments of high motivation — like the day before her English test or that time when she couldn't communicate with a foreign customer who called her at work. These kind of situations make her think "I've got to do something about my English!". However, they happen very rarely — less than once a month. So even if she studies quite intensively (e.g. for two whole days before an exam), the results are poor, because she forgets 90% of the things she learned within a month. This is no surprise: The way human memory works, you need to review things all the time; otherwise you just forget them.
Now let's look at a different English learner: Judy. Judy reads a special novel for English learners (written in simplified English) almost every day for 30 minutes. She bought an English-English dictionary and uses it to look up English words whenever she doesn't understand a sentence in her book. It was hard to study regularly at the beginning: Reading books and using a dictionary were not "normal activities" for her. And every English sentence was a challenge.
But now, after only two weeks, she can read much faster. While reading, she often sees words that she has learned in the past two weeks. When she recognizes such a word, she doesn't have to look it up in a dictionary and she knows she has made good progress. Judy feels she has learned a lot of English recently, and she is eager to learn more. Every day, she looks forward to reading her book. The book gives her the chance to use what she has learned (enjoy her progress) and to learn even more. Because she reads regularly, she forgets little and her vocabulary keeps growing.
Judy is on the right track. She will soon be able to read English-language newspapers and other resources written for native speakers.
What to do?
If you are like Paula and don't feel like reading in English in your free time, focusing your attention on English sentences, or practicing the pronunciation of the "r" sound, you will have to do something about it. There are many techniques to help you with motivation, but the best one is probably to do something fun.
If you can use your English to watch a funny video on the Internet, read an article about your favorite band, or communicate with smart people on a discussion forum, you will begin to think of English as your key to fun. When you think "English", you will no longer think about boring classes, difficult grammar rules or lists of words to memorize — you will think about a funny TV show, your favorite band and people you like. In your mind, English will no longer be another boring subject at school — it will be the way to have fun every day.
