Journal of English Language Teaching

Appropriate Knowledge and Curriculum in Higher Education Institutions in India: Need for Reform

K. Unnikrishnan

Principal, N.S.S. Hindu College, Changanacherry, Kottayam, Kerala

Keywords: Need for Culturally appropriate curriculum, Curriculum and learner identity

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Abstract

A paradigm shift towards a culturally appropriate knowledge base will help to reestablish the lost link between curriculum and the learner’s identity. The change in the curriculum for language teaching being introduced in the HEI help only to meet the demands from the market forces in the globalized context. But ‘saleability’ of the content should not be the sole criterion upon which the significance of the curriculum relies on. Through language studies, the learner must be able to gain clarity regarding the ideas which shape his/ her behavior in society. Therefore the term appropriate knowledge refers to knowledge that generates the culture of the individual and the community. Language education whether it be English or an Indian language should guide the learner to ask questions about the meaning of one’s own institutions, rituals of behavior and patterns of  values

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