Originally posted by: serialbuff
1. Can a crash course help to teach what so many year's school course could not?
Yes, it can because the ones who have problems with spoken English are the ones who haven't had much opportunity to practise their speaking skills. I don't know what the situation in India is right now, but when I was growing up, people were laughed at for using English outside the classroom. This was especially true in the smaller towns of northern and central India. As a result, the students mastered the written form because it didn't require them to exhibit their knowledge in public and face ridicule or even derision. "bade aaye, angrez ki aulad!" Such students have the grammar and the vocabulary, hence it doesn't take them too long to learn pronunciation and enunciation.
You hit the root of the problem.... I cant do anything but to agree.... It is very much the same situation now in smaller towns.... but now its "Kitna hoshiyaar hain, chhota hoke angrezi bolta hain.... lekin fayda kya agar mujhe pata nahin chala to"😆... So it will take 1-2 more generations to bridge this gap 😉
2. How important is English in the era of globalisation?
It's the language that me and my husband communicate in and it is the source of our bread and butter (in my case daal/roti), so I would say ESSENTIAL! On a serious note, Abhi I have read your comments about having communication problems in Thailand and I assume these have arisen because the number of English-speakers in Thailand is considerably low. You wouldn't face this problem if you were here, in the UAE. Almost everyone here speaks English except our maid, the lawyer who married us, and the guy in the Interior ministry who stamped our marriage certificate 😆 ! Not many people would need their services on an everyday basis!
🤣
Yes, most of the people dont even know ABCD of english.... I have problems in shopping too😆.... but now I know somewhat thai so problems have reduced.... yes I feel english has spread in most of the countries, except some asian and south east asian countries....😃
3. I have seen thais with english knowledge are working at double the salary of those without english knowledge.... Why has english attained such an important status in life of human beings from other countries?
In my case, I deserve every fil I earn. You have no idea how difficult it is to teach EFL (English as a Foreign Language) 😃 Again, the answer is - English is the language of science, technology, finance, commerce... the list goes on.
True.... I myself learned English as a third language through out my life... so I dont know even being in UAE, how much I would be able to speak.... However I know I can carry on the office and day today work.... may be some problems in high english discussions😉😆
4. What is the difference in written and spoken english.... only confidence level... if the 15-16 years courses in english could not improve your confidence, how will the crash course help it??
On a simplistic level - written English is more formal than spoken English. On a facetious level, one doesn't have to worry about pronunciation while writing, and about spellings and punctuation when speaking. The confidence comes from usage, not from the time spent. Refer back to the first point re usage.
I completely agree with the statement... as I have experienced with my own spoken english... I realised it a bit late but i started the then.... so atleast I am comfortable speaking in english now as compared to many of my mates😃
5. Is it possible to teach spoken english to a class of over 100 students as is the case in India?
When teaching Speaking as a skill, I have found it to be a case of "the more, the merrier"! It's easier to switch people around to practise speaking drills, so that they don't get bored and/or complacent which is highly probable as familarity increases. They get additonal practice especially with dialogues and role-plays, and most importantly they can barely hear themselves (let alone be heard by others), so they are not embarrassed when they falter. Problems could arise when they have to do presentations in front of a large audience. In such a situation, it's divide the class into smaller groups, assign them different presentation hours, make a good student a group leader - everyone is happy, and the job gets done.
Thanks a lot.... that has been the best view possible on this question..... infact if i had been in the panel, I would have suggested this to other Mr. Kulkarni😆..... this is really a nice strategy😃
Thus spoke angrezdaan masterni ji! 😊
