Falling standards of English

English which began life as a modest dialect brought to England in the 5th century by Germanic tribes has already become the international language of the world. With the Norman conquest in 1066, English became the main stream of European languages.

Meanwhile, English has borrowed a shipload of words from Norman French. Wherever you go today you hear English. It is the international language of aviation, Information Technology and even pop music.

Although any language is subject to change, English speakers and writers have maintained very high standards. However, the standard of English in Sri Lanka appears to be going down. There are more than one reason for this downward trend.

About ten years ago Colombo university inserted an advertisement in a national newspaper calling for English teachers for the extension courses. The response was tremendous. Then they held a written examination in which the candidates were asked to write an essay on "The English education in Sri Lanka."

In my essay I pinpointed the lack of qualified English teachers and the wrong methods of teaching. For instance,I mentioned that even after 13 years of learning English in government schools very few students could speak or write good English.

Having got through the written examination I was called for an interview. First I was asked to read out a passage from a book. Then one of the interviewers asked me, "Are you a trained teacher?"

I said, "No". Then another interviewer raised a question.

"Do you know the methodologies of teaching English?"

"Madam, I can teach all the four skill of English - speech, writing, reading and listening through the direct method i.e, English through English."

"Our students come mainly from government schools. They need Sinhala explanations," she said.

I thanked the interviewers and walked out. I never got the job.

Then I joined a prestigious private institute which specialised in English teaching. I tried my direct method and my students started leaving one by one except a few who really wanted to learn English.

Out of curiosity I made inquiries whether my students had left the institute. I was very much relieved to find them in another fully-packed class where the teacher translated English sentences into Sinhala and asked the students to repeat them. After six months almost all the students passed the examination and they were awarded with a Diploma in English (UK)!

Sometimes these diploma holders open their own tutories and start teaching English. They also award diplomas and certificates saying that they are affiliated to foreign universities. They dupe not only students but also parents who spend their hard-earned money.

It is high time that the Department of Education stepped into control these mushrooming tutories. Even the teachers' credentials should be checked to arrest this racket.

Then there is another premier Buddhist school in Colombo where English is taught. But the students are not encouraged to speak English because it is against the Sinhala Buddhist culture. I cannot understand the logic behind speaking an international language and maintaining our Sinhala Buddhist culture.

The government schools and their English teachers should take a cue from Alliance Francaise de Colombo and Kandy where the French language is taught in French. Most of the native teachers do not speak a word of English but the students learn the language in three or four years.

The same methodology is adopted at the German cultural centre where German is taught through German. But our teachers are experimenting with other methodologies of teaching English wasting a colossal amount of public funds.

When I questioned a Director of Education incharge of English education, what he said was shocking. "We have no competent teachers to teach English. So we train O/L and A/L qualified young men and women at training colleges.

But most of them do not like to work as teachers. For them teaching is just another profession like working in a post office. Even after training they keep on looking for other jobs neglecting their students."

English teaching at private schools and international schools is effective because they have recruited competent teachers offering attractive salaries. However, how many children can afford to pay high fees and join these schools?

Once the university of Kelaniya advertised certain post graduate courses. The advertisement said that the courses would be conducted in both English and Sinhala media.

The few students who applied to follow the course in the English medium were a disappointed lot because there were no lecturers to teach in the English medium. The students were given the option of following Sinhala lectures and sit the final examination in the English medium.

On the examination day there was another surprise for the English medium students. They were given question papers in Sinhala without any translations in English. Surprisingly by most of these English medium students passed the examination.

Can't we learn a lesson from our immediate neighbour - India - where English is spoken, written and read by large numbers. English is the medium of instruction in colleges and upper classes of schools.

Even in India, as in Sri Lanka, some object to the use of English because they have their own languages. But we must not forget that English has become essential for educated people to further their education. We must learn our own languages, but we must not object to the use of English for our own survival in a fast changing world.

English is not an easy language to learn although some tutors claim to teach it in eight days! The spelling and pronunciation are very irregular and you have to make an effort to learn them over a period of time.

Engish is a noble language which possesses one of the finest literatures in the world. Those who know English will have access to the finest books written on numerous subjects. So let's learn it well.