Friday, March 3, 2017

AN OPEN LETTER TO THE EDUCATION MINISTER, KERALA

From
Vinod Kaliyath
English Trainer (Kozhikode)

To
The Education Minister of Kerala

Sir,

SUB: Sharing a few thoughts on improving English language skills of our students.

As a person who has been taking English classes for the last few years, I feel that we Keralites have not explored the power of English communication in making ourselves more employable globally and also to register our voice at national and international levels. The reason for this is that we are not innovative in developing new methods and techniques in learning and teaching English at our educational institutions.

To make our students more interested in English language we need to have good libraries having books that relate to students’ lives, aspirations, imagination, dreams, issues, anxieties, adventure etc. The next step is conducting discussions on different issues faced by students. The best speakers have to be given credit at school and higher levels. Every week a speech has to be given by a student about a book that inspired them to do better in life. Every year the people should know who among them is the best with respect to English language skills like writing, speaking etc.

Besides these, the teachers have to teach the students how to give speeches, how to interact with people and also how to participate in group discussions.

The students should be encouraged to write poems, stories, dramas, short film scripts in English and these should be published in school magazines.

And the most important thing is that they should be encouraged to think in English by teaching them a range of English sentences which can be used for self-expression and self-empowerment.

In short, schools/colleges/institutions/organizations should become nurturing grounds for pursuing excellence in practicing and improving English language skills so that our state is able to voice its rights and needs through our English speakers.

Thanking you
Yours faithfully

Vinod Kaliyath

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