English as a lifeline skill

Knowledge is power :

by Sarath WIJESINGHE

The vehicle to impart knowledge is the language.

English has become the main E-Com, Commercial and link language of many Nations due to availability, simplicity, clarity and sheer necessity due to colonisation as a result of Navel Power of the west and resulting exploration of the Globe. A Sinhala trader in Pettah is compelled to have a working knowledge of Tamil for his survival. Though originated in an Island the ownership is shared by the entire world today. English should be used as a servant vehicle for survival, propriety and education and business and not as a master or a social symbol and status.

English teachers

Presidential Secretariat has continued initiative on the program English as a lifeline, by taking steps to train 219,864 English Teachers in 9472 schools with the help of Indian academics and the Department of Education led by Mr Sunimal Fernando Advisor to the President and Prof. Rajiva Wijesinha who has planned the English education with his Oxford academic brilliance and practical experience in Sri Lanka on the subject are pioneers of the project.

It is an ambitious program to train English teachers in 18 months and provide English education equally to the entire country. The barriers and obstructions were discussed openly and critically headed by the President Mahinda Rajapaksa, who gave clear and decisive directions to the officers present and involved in the program.

Kaduwa

Kaduwa has been a symbol of social status and the ability to converse in English was confined to few, elite or with facilities in urban middle and upper class. It was jealously guarded due to practical and physiological factors.

They took steps to preserve the sacred cow of western Anglo Saxon centric pronunciations and dictum which is alien to us instead of Asian centric pronunciations and dictum which is close to us. Making a mistake or a miss pronunciation has been a grave mistake which discouraged English learners especially the spoken language. Even academics that successfully got through London exams were hesitant to speak English.

Presidential Initiate has identified this barrier and other obstacles and trying to implement far reaching solutions by giving confidence to those learn spoken and written English.. President is very keen to meet the targets on English and IT within the year of “English and IT.” The aggressive program is to take English to the peripheries and to the commoner, to be used as a tool and a servant in this challenging and competitive Globe.

Vocabulary

English is spoken and used in the UN by most Nations with different accents and dialects. England where English is originated the pronunciation is unclear and not understood in many parts of the country except the language and pronunciations and practices of academics and the language used by news readers and the Queen.

No other nation would laugh at making mistakes or pronunciation as ours and it is an inherent draw back and a defect which we must immediately get rid of. We need not imitate others.

If we speak affectless the language as it, is the best pronunciation which is used by Sri Lankans and admired by the educated and intellectuals’ world wide. English is used in other parts of the world beautifully to promote their culture, business and development.

A Chinese or a Japanese businessman would know the basic words and “conversation kit” to promote business and no body will find fault or laugh at for possible mistakes or miss pronunciations.

What is needed to write or speak English Language is the knowledge and ability to manage and handle around 200 words with confidence. This knowledge practice and the confidence should be given to the prospective student who is ready to go through any hardship due to sheer necessity. It is a pity that most private English tutors are so incompetent that most of the class room lectures are conducted in Sinhalese.

Sakwithi exploited this situation and swindled billions from those who came to him for English education and their contacts. Sunimal Fernando made an attempt to mobilise English teachers in the private sector to rally round and apparently exhausted.

It is time to the private sector to take charge on a commercial and a national basis and this author is aware the Presidential Secretariat will provide fullest cooperation to any such initiative.

Importance

It is a good sign that there is a craze and a need to learn English. Some said learning or using the language is imperialism. Imperialism and colonization has done good in some circumstances. Where did we get our system of education, governance, road and railway network and of course the link language with which we interact with the world. Need is realised by the sheer demand for English educated in local and foreign employment.

Graduates find employment in the private sector only with a sound knowledge of English and more importantly E-Com. English belongs to a category that commonly used in commerce, business, IT, aerospace, business, communications, and education and as a link language worldwide. English possesses official status in 53 countries and is one of the six official languages in the United Nations. English has become the Global and Link language belonging to the global village and British has conceded this reality. French, Italian, Dutch, Danish and Spanish has controlling power centres and government bodies to protect and enhance their respective languages, but not for the English Language by the British though English is growing worldwide on its own at a rapid rate. In 2000 British Councils estimated potential English learners are one billion, which has doubled in a decade. In the next decade a third of the planet will be learning English.

It is the second official language of the world especially commonwealth countries and the first language of 300 to 400 million and the second language to 1400 million also spoken by a billion people worldwide.

Private sector

English and IT educated employees are required by the private sector and the academic world which includes health industry and communications. Most graduates with IT and English knowledge are neither unemployed nor underemployed as there is a gross shortage of employees which caters the modern needs in the fast moving world. One of our main sources of national economy is foreign employment and the knowledge of English is a pre requisite for employment abroad.

It is time the private sector whether on their own or with the Presidential Secretariat imitative to launch a similar aggressive program to guide the youth with this tool for the future development and prosperity of the Nation.

Higher Educational institutions and companies small or large can take part in this programme in small and large scale even on commercial basis as this has become a global need today. Standard of English in England the origin of the language is deteriorating. They need English teachers to teach grammar to students whose standard is poor.

Academic and world renowned books now originate from India and other countries out of Britain the birth place of this great language. Learning English in no means undermines one’s own language as this is a need of the day for existence and development.

Legal education

English is the main link and source of knowledge in legal, academic and industry. Few percentages of citizens are conversant in English, though the proceedings in the lower courts are conducted in national languages. The only avenue to become a lawyer is via Law College managed and controlled by the Council of Legal Education which is headed by the Chief Justice.

Today students are forced to answer the final examination at Law college only in English which is unfair and draconian as thousands of students all throughout has studied mainly in national languages especially the village students, with no or little facilities to learn English which is admitted at the Presidential secretariat initiative.

It is unfair to ambush the students at the final lap and we are made to understand many students from villages have given up legal studies as a result of this ambush.

Students say English classes conducted at Law College are inadequate and substandard and mostly glossary is taught despite millions have been spent on the project to teach English. Possible source to find information are the students themselves who are prepared to come out with the genuine grievances.

By no means must English be improved but it should be a gradual process and should not be thrust upon at the cost of the future of the students.

Nobody should force this on them as they have realised it and what is needed is to provide facilities with no compulsion at the cost of their future. Currently many young and middle aged lawyers and academics are products of the Law College and the Universities who had achieved the highest on their own and out of sheer necessity have improved the ability and knowledge of English. Students, parent’s, academies and concerned citizens are taking steps to make representations to the new Chief justice and Council of Legal Education on whom the Nation is relying on for real justice and fair play to turn the clock towards reality and Justice on this crucial issue on ambushing at the last lap of legal studies after spending life time course of study. Re appointment of Justice Dr. Shirani Bandaranayake to the JSC and possible to Council of Legal Education raises hopes of the aggrieved future academics and lawyers.

Mantle

We are positive that the able President/Secretary to the Bar Association and nominees to the Council of Legal Education of the Bar Association who are from villages/middle class and products of Sinhala Education who now have mastered English and have lucrative practices will take the mantle to correct the error made by short sighted decisions for whatever reasons.

We take this opportunity to raise heads for the excellent performances on the “Law Week” organised by BASL and hope they will liberate poor budding lawyers from this trap and ambush using same efficiency and sense of Justice.

The writer is a Senior Solicitor in England and Wales