This research paper highlights the need to acquire spoken English skills in India at a time when India is high on globalization and the positive role played by Spoken English classes in urban India. The process adopted was to meet people attending such classes and seek responses to a questionnaire designed to understand as to why they have joined Spoken English classes. Analysis of the responses to the questionnaire brings to the table, deep insight into reasons for learning to converse in English. It also reveals the urgency for people to learn the language to keep pace with changing times. It very clearly brings out that the new generation looks at proficiency in Spoken English as a much required skill when it comes to employability or better …show more content…
Ability to speak different languages always helps people to communicate better. When a communication takes place in a language that both the parties understand; the communication is more effective and the understanding better. With globalization gaining ground in India, particularly from the last decade, knowledge of English language has become all the more essential to communicate better with the outside world as it is the language for trade and commerce. The world of knowledge in terms of books or the internet is available in English, much more than any other language. With technology providing the competitive edge, knowledge of English language has become even more critical as the language of technology and the development of science. English is in India today, a symbol of people’s aspirations for quality in education and a fuller participation in national and international life. Its colonial origins now forgotten or irrelevant, its initial role in independent India, tailored to higher education (as a “library language”, a “window on the world”), now felt to be insufficiently inclusive socially and linguistically the current status of English stems from its overwhelming presence on the world stage and the reflection of this in the national arena. (NCERT …show more content…
Today, when India is poised to be a major global player with the ‘Make in India’ and ‘Digital India’ initiatives, it becomes imperative to create systems to impart English language learning and particularly spoken English skills. The stress is on spoken English - verbal communication being used more than written communication in real life to communicate with people. On an average, students have to study English as a subject in vernacular medium schools for a period ranging from 7 to 9 years, yet the students lack confidence to communicate in the language. The result is that they face difficulties in getting a job in reputed organizations despite having a good academic
The process of learning a second language can be difficult, because it requires a great amount of time, energy, and dedication; But most importantly, the determination is what matters most at the end. The outcome of learning English will only be beneficial because many official jobs and educations are based off of English. As a second language, English is most necessary for official business, education, information and other activities in many countries. The English language has brought successful education careers to Tan, Mukherjee and Cofer, and I believe that it will become a valuable asset to others, including myself. In spite of learning a second language, there is a big possibility that one might get confused between the home language and the new language.
Throughout Earth’s existence the human race has been capable of developing over 7,000 languages today (Vargo, 2014 ). Nevertheless, out of all these languages, English has been proved to be one of the most dominant languages around the world alongside Mandarin, and Spanish (Vargo, 2014). Not only is English one of the most dominant languages around the world,its also starting to be the only language to connect the workforce of multinational companies across the world. It is spoken by 1.75 billion people worldwide which is one in every four of us, and a estimated 565 million people use it on the internet (Neeley, 2012). According to historical facts, entertainment success, and business prosperity it is proven that English proficiency is a core
The concern about the English proficiency at workplace is left unchecked and this leads the lack of competitiveness in all aspects of our economic environment like administration, education, finance or trade. In this Modern world there are much advancement in the technology and acc...
Speaking a language other than your mother tongue opens a door onto the world. Becoming proficient in a foreign tongue equates to a wider range of options in love, career, and friendships.
English in India is taught and learned as a second language. The significance of the ability to speak or write English has notably increased in the 20th century. English has become the de facto standard in India not because it has been approved by any ‘standards’ organization but because it is extensively used by many information and technology industries which are acknowledged as being standard.
English has assumed the status of ‘neutral lingua franca’ (Hyland: 2006: 24) for its pervasive use in both Anglophonic and international contexts to the extent that approximately “one in five of the world’s population now speaks English with reasonable competence” (Crystal, 2003). Canagarajah (2006) reports two different distributions of speakers for year 2050 as follows:
As we have seen, the English language has undergone a drastic transformation from its origins in the 5th century AD. The modern form of English is continuing to evolve and in the future, we may see English evolve to a point where it is unrecognizable to today’s people. The role of English in the future is uncertain, but if the world continues in the direction of globalization, English will certainly remain a global language for inter-cultural communication.
“there are more people speaking English in India probably in the rest of the mother tongue English speaking world combined……………the consensus was perhaps third of the population speak some sort of English. The figure must be three hundred to four hundred million which is more than the combined populations of Britain, Ireland, Australia, U.S., Canada, and South Africa.”1
Conversational English uses casually with family members, friends, colleagues, workers and employees of organization. It comes in communication formally and informally. It also uses as the social and academic level of communication. It also helps to make business conversation effective in formal and informal meetings and gatherings. It helps to make communicator relax and sensitive. It helps to make good small talk in group discussion, conferences, meetings, seminars and interviews of professional and social level. English as an international language uses comfortably in internal and external affairs of companies /organizations. The learners try to develop their communication especially in English language with effective power of expression through ideas and thoughts. Many persons don’t comfortable to use conversational English in their communication because of their local dialects. But technology helps them to improve their conversation especially in language with new technical advancement in languages and communication. Today, new generation uses various technologies like computers, smart phones, tablets, television etc. to make their life comfortable and easy. Good conversational skills help get
Now almost all of social networking sites, music, interesting movies, games are voiced in English. This is another good reason to learn English, even in order to be in touch with world’s development.
Modern English is the most dominant and is required for communications, sciences, information technology, businesses, aviation, entertainment, radio, architecture, engineering and diplomacy. A working knowledge of english has become a requirement in a number of fields, occupations and professions.
H-learning English will help us in responding to the challenges of the world and technological knowledge that war us at our doorstep in the era of globalization and inclusive culture.
Learning is a life time process. Meaningful learning is a complete phenomenon. With the advancement is science and technology and the phenomenon of globalization, the craze for English has swept in India and the English language sweeps away even into the rural lands. Irrespective of religion, color, caste, creed, etc. there is great expectation by the people from their children to speak good English at the primary level there is a need and pressure in the present scenario to make the best out of the lot in the competing environment to learn English both as a second language and a foreign language. Whatever the age, or level, learning English has become a necessity due to the competition in the society. Has learning English as second language become a methodology or a technological sophistication? Whatever it is there is a great significant difference in learning English both as a first language and second language. The present paper emphasizes the attitudinal challenge and the need for learning English as a second language in the changing scenario.
Sharma, B., 2008. “World Englishes, English as a Lingua Franca, and English Pedagogy”, Journal of NELTA 13 (2), pp. 121-130. Available from
It can be seen that English has become a global language, which is determined by lots of factors like history, culture and daily usefulness. Because of these factors, the number of people who speak English is still increasing now. English, as a significant part of social life gradually exerted profound impacts on education, job hunting and international communication. Also, it provides the whole world with a chance to share ideas and communicate freely. We are quite curious to see the further development of English as a lingua franca in the