Saturday, April 5, 2014

EC MOVIE REVIEWS

Movies like The Dirty Picture, Hinglish Vinglish, Queen etc. have heralded a new era in Bollywood, that of women-centric films. Hinglish Vinglish stands apart from such movies for the reason that in this the protagonist is a middle aged, housewife always in sarees and never tries to outwit the other person using her bold language or manners. She is calm, graceful and understanding. She is the woman next door who can be seen in any part of the world.
Hinglish Vinglish directed by Gauri Shinde is a very simple movie with a very simple story told in a simple way. Simplicity is the trademark here. It's the story of a homemaker Shashi(Sreedevi) who is very good at making sweets and also selling them. But the family mainly her husband and her elder daughter think very low of her and treat her with disrespect. The reason for their superiority complex is their ability in English communication and the protagonist's perceived disability in EC. Shashi is going through a very low self esteem phase in her life when the movie begins because of her family's judgmental attitude towards her and then there is a twist in the tale. An opportunity comes her way to go to USA, all alone. She undertakes this mission also in her stride as a true Indian woman with a never-say-die attitude. And from this point the journey to self discovery and empowerment begins for Shashi, the human being (not Shashi, the mother/wife/housewife)
What is great about this small film is that the main character strikes a rapport with every viewer who has had to go through a similar "low in self respect" life because of a lack of confidence and power in their English Communication. And the problem worsens mainly because the people who are supposed to give a helping hand take it as an opportunity to run down the victim(of circumstances).
Every character grows through the movie. The underlying message is -let's stop being judgemental when someone tries to speak English or does something which he/she is not good at and also let's acknowledge, appreciate and at least say a few good words when someone shows a talent at something which lack in ourselves...in short, let's try to be humane... 

TO BE CONTINUED...

EC ICE BREAKERS

AN ICE BREAKER GAME FOR HAVING BETTER CONVERSATIONS

The participants write on the board/paper three things they like and three things they dislike but the keywords should all be mixed up in such a way that the audience or the other person(s) taking part in the conversation doesn't have any idea about what the speaker likes or dislikes. So the person asking a question about the keywords has to guess well and ask a question tag for eg. You like ICE CREAMS, don't you? or You dislike coffee, don't you? (In this case ICE CREAM and COFFEE being the keywords)
This game works very well with children. Adults I have noticed take a long time to write keywords about things they dislike. Some people say - I dislike nothing!

AN ICE BREAKER SPEECH FOR HAVING BETTER CONVERSATIONS

I am ____. I am not ____ (About your STATE)
I have ___. I don't have ____( About your POSSESSION)
I have ____. I haven't ____(About a PAST ACTION)
I can ____. I can't ____(About an ABILITY)

TO BE CONTINUED...

Tuesday, April 1, 2014

EC SLOGANS

GREAT WAYS TO SAY GREAT THINGS ABOUT GREATNESS


TO BE CONTINUED...

EC SATIRE


Where there is a bill, there is a way to stop it from having its way!


TO BE CONTINUED...

WORDS(Indian) vs WORDS(English)

Let's see some Indian words and their English counterparts:

EDUCATION - VIDYABHYSAM

(The exact meaning of the Vidyabhysam is practicing skills)

 PERSONALITY - VYAKTITVAM

(The exact meaning of the Vyaktitvam is clarity about one's true identity)

BELIEF - VISWASAM

(The exact meaning of the Viswasam is belief as vital to sustain life as the power to breath)


 TO BE CONTINUED...

Wednesday, March 26, 2014

EC CONVERSATIONS

1.Let's follow this conversation......It's not practical!

Sir, I am Lal, the parent of Kishore who is in your class, V A. His English Communication is very poor. Can you, sir help him in improving his conversational skills in English...a humble request?
Well you see Mr.Lal, We don't teach here English as a skill, for us it is a subject just like any other. So what you said is not practical. Although your request is genuine...I understand.
Thank you sir for being with me on this...but sir the very meaning of education in Malayalam, the language of Kerala, is practicing skills...I mean Vidyabhyasam.
(Laughing)...you have a point there...we need to change the whole system of education...why don't you talk to the higher ups...like the Principal or those above like the Education Minister?
Sir...I am afraid they would also say the same line which you used...It's not practical!

2. Ayushman Bhav!

Sir...today's my birthday. (offering sweets)
Great....Happy birthday....Ayushman Bhav!
I didn't get you sir....you mean...?
I mean...Many many happy returns of the day!
Is that what it means...Ayushman Bhav!
Yeah...it's Sanskrit.
Sir to be frank, I like it better than its English counterpart. Thank you for enlightening me with this new expression.
My pleasure... as always.

Also on the same page

Click Goals in English Conversations

Also on the same page 


Also on the same page 
 

Click Great Collocations

  Also on the same page 
 
Click EC Insights


Click Easy Ideas for EC

TO BE CONTINUED...

Thursday, March 20, 2014

An easy to see CONSPIRACY !!

A CRISIS...or A CONSPIRACY?

  • A student after 12 years of formal education in our schools...
  • A student after 3000 hours of English classes...
  • doesn't know how to make a sentence in English to express his/her needs or thoughts.
  • doesn't know how to ask questions (Yes/No or Wh) using verbs like DO/DOES/ARE/IS/HAVE/HAS/WILL etc.
  • doesn't know how to have conversations in English.
And to cut the story short...

Our students in schools are ILLITERATE in ENGLISH COMMUNICATION(EC) skills.

But the solution is very easy, simple and not at all expensive.

They can be taught the basic ideas(rules) of EC in less than 50 hours and that too without any text book; in place of exams or tests what works best are classroom games which can be used to assess the students' EC abilities in making sentences and speaking English.

For eg. The Five Point method can be used which is given here:

THE FIVE POINT APPROACH IN LEARNING AND TEACHING EC (ENGLISH COMMUNICATION)

You need to understand the importance of these five things to learn and train, practice and teach EC

1.LOGIC OF ENGLISH SENTENCES
2.STRUCTURE OF ENGLISH SENTENCES
3.HOW TO USE VERBS
4.POLITE EXPRESSIONS
5.PRONUNCIATION AND VOCABULARY 
 So the big question is...
Why is this crisis happening?
Who is responsible?
And why nobody cares about it?
Is there a conspiracy involved?

And what is the result?

GROWING UNEMPLOYMENT
YOUTH UNABLE TO GET JOBS IN INTERNATIONAL FIRMS
COMMON MAN/WOMAN HAVING NO VOICE IN THE ENGLISH SPEAKING WORLD


And who benefits from this situation?
 
 
 Our rulers.
Our masters.

 Our lawmakers.
Those who divide and rule...
Those who dislike questions...
Those who hate discussions...

 

OUR SILENCE IS THEIR VICTORY.

THIS HAS BEEN GOING ON FOR HALF A CENTURY. WILL THERE BE A CHANGE NOW ? 

WE CAN CHANGE OUR FUTURE IF WE CHANGE OUR SCHOOLS.

LET'S THINK BEYOND COMFORT ZONES. FOR OUR NEXT GENERATION.

THE SITUATION CRIES FOR A SOLUTION. LET'S WORK TOGETHER FOR A BETTER TOMORROW.



On the same page:  A WAKE UP CALL
 









On the same page: EC - It's a CHILD's RIGHT





































TO BE CONTINUED...