Soundbytes that make you think November 19, 2009
Posted by dcfrombc in English for Progress.trackback
What a fascinating morning session! Just capturing some of the thought-provoking (and sometimes provocative!) soundbytes:
- ‘English is a commodity language’
- ‘Whether or not to have English language in the Indian education system is not a cultural debate.’
- ‘We are at the risk of losing our cultural moorings in India because of English’
- ‘English in Sri Lanka is a link language only for its elite class’
- ‘Education system must ensure diversity and stimulte creativity in order to have productivity’
- There is a difference between being ‘proficient’ in English and being ‘effective’ in English. In India we need to encourage more of the latter.
Have deliberately not attributed these quotes because my memory is a fragile thing!
Irrespective of who said what, do you agree or disagree with what the panellists in the morning said? Post your comments, have your say, join the debates, throw your punches…
aanchal
agastyamuthanna
andeggs
anu04
aparnanagesh
arnabbanerjee87
British Council India
Catherine
clareod
dcfrombc
Anooja
nehajaiswar
niqueluz
nupurs
Philip Clegg
rwituja
Seamus
shonaliganguli
Stephen
British Council India's Blog 
@3 Is it possible for a language to wipe clean your cultural/moral values? If that were actually true all the NRIs should have been linguistically/morally bankrupt by now! Ironically the reverse is quite true. Most of the proficient English speakers I’ve interacted with personally/electronically are so deeply rooted to their culture that they could give many a pseudo a run for their money. These are people who have retained all that is reasonable and practical, maybe mindless rituals have been given the short shrift but the sentiment & purpose behind our ideology has usually been appreciated and adapted for the good of the genex. In fact English or for that matter any language can only enrich & expand horizons provided one in broadminded and unbiased. Infact @5 if practiced in the classrooms can bring about changes in mindsets and create an environment conducive for harmony within & all around.