Journal of English Language Teaching

Verbal Disposition: The Need for Language Potentiality in Anthrogogic Spaces

Dr Shree Deepa

Associate Professor , Centre for English Language Studies, University of Hyderabad, India

Keywords: language potentiality, verbal disposition, politeness, proficiency, employable/employability skills, scenario based teaching

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Abstract

This frontline theoretical paper posits that verbal disposition is a construal that is an outcome of the conscious use of the power of language that possibly enhances the employability of unemployable graduates who have been trained in the existing systems of education. The inherent power that is embedded in the use of any language, based on the impact it has on the receiver, which can be constructive, neutral or destructive, is termed as language potentiality and has its roots in ancient scriptures. A conscious use of language, with an awareness of potentiality aids in building the verbal disposition of any language user. The paper further posits that these two, language potentiality and verbal disposition, put together is more than the construct of proficiency, is not limited to any one language and is applicable to all languages. The paper briefly captures the teachability, the testability and the feasibility of language potentiality and the building of a verbal disposition by presenting a sample item of the discourse completion questionnaire type that was used as one of the scenario based teaching items in anthrogogic teaching/learning/training contexts and triangulates its efficacy by gleaning information from a brief analysis of feedback collected. Finally, a case is made through this paper to view language potentiality and verbal disposition as the way forward, beyond teaching mere proficiency in anthrogogic classrooms.

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