THOUGHTS ON WHEELS

TWO WHEELS


FOUR WHEELS


TO BE CONTINUED...

SEMINARS ON "HOW to think in ENGLISH !!"

mail at: cyberjosh123@yahoo.com

This is what I would like to make sure in my seminar ...that each and every student attending it understands this simple logic around which the whole world of English Communication works....and by knowing it they can bring English into their thoughts...they can start THINKING IN ENGLISH ...after which speaking and using English in life situations is just easy..it is just the next step...it is automatic...I mean we can't help it...we cannot stop ourselves from NOT doing it.

TAKEN SEMINARS/WORKSHOPS FOR: 

At PROVIDENCE COLLEGE,  FOR B.ED STUDENTS

2022-24 BATCH

Took a basic course in English Communication in May 2015 for Plus One VHSE [Two Batches]

Took a session on "Thinking with English Sentences" for school children on May 6th[2pm -5pm]2015

Govt. Model HSS Calicut (2014)

College of Nursing Calicut (2014)

Food Craft Institute, Calicut (2013)

School of Nursing, Calicut (2013)

K.V.No.1 Kozhikode (2010)

Sree Sankaracharya Computer Centre Calicut (2012)

TO BE CONTINUED...

Sharing a few thoughts on the book - "Think in English"

During a UGC sponsored National Conference in Kozhikode on English Language teaching one of the teachers from a reputed B.Ed college in Andhra Pradesh was heard saying in front of a big audience that there is no such thing called logic in making English sentences. And he also said that he has been teaching English for the last twenty years. So that's it. Don't try to question the traditional method of teaching English. Or in other words, don't try to free yourself from the clutches of the educational system designed by the colonial masters. Stick to Lord Macaulay's minutes. This is what we have been doing to our children. Imposing our traditional mindset on the next generation.
Why do we discriminate between English and other subjects? For eg. in case of Mathematics we teach our children the logic of Mathematics. We teach them 1+2=3, 2x3=6 etc. We teach them how to think in Mathematics. We empower them with the power of Maths. But what do we do in the case of English. We start teaching with English grammar and further confuse the child who is interested in learning how to communicate his/her thoughts in English.Why? 

Is it not a child's right to learn the logic of making sentences in English from primary classes itself? Forget primary classes, even in secondary classes we don't quench a student's thirst when he/she tries to know anything related to the "formula of a simple English sentence". This is like saying that since WE don't know so nobody should know or nobody should try to know. What kind of an argument is this?

Why don't we have the courage/the spine to tell our students to "Think in English" and communicate their thoughts about their own issues, dreams, aims, fears and desires/culture and society, emotions and ambitions in the most modern, updated, used, versatile, rich, developed language in the world? Why can't we "Think Locally and stay Globally"? To put it clearly and most simplistically "Why can't we use the power of EC(English Communication) to unite our thoughts, empathise with our fellow beings and move forward as a society, as a nation, as human race? Who/What is stopping us? Is it our own ignorance? Or is it our fear of the unknown even if that is going make us stronger, more empowered and more enlightened and the people ruling us weaker, less powerful and vulnerable?  

10+2+3+2.....How many more years do we need to make a child Sentence-Literate?
How many more classes do we need to make one understand the Logic of making a simple sentence in English?
How many more books should a person read to learn the basics of English Communication? How many?

The battle has just begun...The war has just started....This ILLITERACY will end ONE DAY.

This blog/book is just a small candle to keep the hope ALIVE. Let the British hangover on our policy makers continue. But the truth will appear one day for all to see and realise. This blog/book is just a small step in seeing the obvious which our traditional educational system and institutions just don't want to admit. And the truth is "It is very easy to THINK IN ENGLISH"

TO BE CONTINUED...

How this blog happened...

Connecting the dots...

There was a time in my life when I wanted to get a job as a tutor at a private institute to begin my career as a trainer/tutor/educator. I happened to see an advertisement of a reputed institute which was looking for Spoken English tutors. After going through the advt. I realised that I had little chance as they were looking for a well qualified/experienced candidate.

But I wanted to work there at any cost as I thought that this would help me to get the right understanding, experience and knowledge of this field of English Communication Training. During that time this was the only institute working in this field and the people running it had a very good reputation, experience and credentials. But the question which I kept asking myself was: How to get a job there as a trainer?

So while I was sitting one day in my study room I thought of writing a letter to the Managing Director of the Spoken English Institute, in a conversational format. I imagined in that letter that I had been invited for an interview for the post of a tutor-trainer and I was talking to the MD. I wrote the imaginary script of the conversation and posted it. After a few days I got a reply asking me to meet the undersigned. Thus began my career as a Spoken English tutor.

An incident that Transformed me.

 

After working as a Spoken English Tutor for a long time I decided to take a break and joined a school in Tirur as a teacher in the same subject. I had to reach the place by catching a train in the early morning. It required me to get ready by 6 am, catch a bus to the city, then walk a few minutes to the railway station and from there board a train, a hectic routine in all ways. After a few months I got an offer from a company which was into training students for competitive exams like CAT, MAT, GRE etc. I was not very keen to join since I had agreed to be in the school job for the full academic year. Besides I enjoyed the whole experience of commuting by train, the vibrant school atmosphere, the dynamic extra-curricular activities etc.

It was then that accident happened. Once while making it to the morning train to reach the school I fell from another train stationed there and fractured my left hand. What was amazing was that I got sorrounded by a horde of commuters all enquiring and looking concerned about my plight. I took a two months leave which led to the termination of my school job and the beginning of another experience as a faculty for CAT/MAT/GRE exams. It was like destiny helping me to get this new job which looked very daunting in the beginning. But as the days passed I experienced a lot of creative satisfaction while interacting with the IIM aspirants.

A small class that gave me the Insight.

It was a summer vacation when I got a call from a computer institute asking me if I could take a vacation batch in Spoken English for a few school students. I accepted the offer and went to take my first class. But the class was not exactly like what I had imagined. There were just four students and they were not serious learners either. I started with the basic rules to make English sentences and asked them to write these rules seeing the board. They made a lot of spelling mistakes even while copying things from the board. 

This made me worried and I started thinking about what their parents would think if they were to check their notebooks. Then I remembered that all these students had told me that they had computers at home having access to the Internet. This was the moment that led to the thought of making a blog having all the rules of making simple English sentences for these playful kids. I was thus freed of my worries of  how to make them write well as they could always see the blog from home and correct their mistakes if any. This experience led to the making of this blog.

A REAL conversation that made things easy.  

Once while walking to the bus stop after my work I happened to notice the office premises of the New Indian Express Newspaper. I just felt like having a meeting/discussion with the editor on the idea of using blogs for educational purposes.

The conversation was positive and creative and subsequently he asked me to meet their reporter. After a few days I got a call from them saying that the Express reporter and photographer are going to pay me a visit. They came in the afternoon and did a small interview which got published in their newspaper after a week. This made the blog known to people around me. Even now sometimes I am asked questions about this blog. 

 
TO BE CONTINUED...