Decolonizing English Teaching and Studies in India: Need to Review Classroom Practices and Teaching Material

Authors

  • Dr Prashant Mishra Professor and Head, Department of English Government S.V. P.G. College, Neemuch, Madhya Pradesh, India
  • Dr Susanta Kumar Bardhan Associate Professor, Department of English, Suri Vidyasagar College, Suri, West Bengal, India.

Keywords:

Decolonization, Contextualization, Localization, Individualizing, ELT

Abstract

Decolonization implies the need of the emancipation of the colonized countries like India from the subservient psychology and mindset subjugated by the fabricated colonial ideologies imposed on them due to the long-term rule of the colonial powers. Even after independence, these countries used the colonial content and methodology for teaching the English language. Imposition of stereotyped and homogeneous methods and materials in a pluralistic country like India proved to be a hurdle in the way of learning English and have even been looked upon with fear by the student community. Hence the need to decolonize ELT in India by contextualizing teaching methods and materials with respect to Indian socio-cultural setting and classroom situation has been strongly felt. The present paper emphasizes on the need to review ELT methods and materials in order to decolonize English studies and language teaching to improve the communicative competence of the learners to meet the requirements of the age of globalization and information and communication technology.

References

Crystal, D. 2005. Language Revolution. Cambridge: Polity Press.

Deep, K. 2009. “Curriculum Designing for ELT: Current Trends and Challenges.” The Journal of English Language Teaching (India). XLVII/6. PP. 3-8.

Duara, P. ed. 2004. Decolonisation: Perspectives from Now and Then. London: Routledge.

Gurdur, N. S. 2009. “They Own it Who Use it: The question of Whose English it is.” The Journal of English Language Teaching (India). XLVII/3. PP. 35-39.

Macaulay, T. 1834. ‘Minute on Education’.

Nehru, J. 1946. The Discovery of India. New Delhi: OUP.

Van Lier, L. 1996. Interaction in Language Curriculum: Awareness, Autonomy and Authenticity. London: Longman.

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Published

01.04.2010

How to Cite

Prashant Mishra, & Susanta Kumar Bardhan. (2010). Decolonizing English Teaching and Studies in India: Need to Review Classroom Practices and Teaching Material. Journal of Teaching and Research in English Literature, 1(4), 8–13. Retrieved from https://journals.eltai.in/index.php/jtrel/article/view/JTREL010403

Issue

Vol. 1 No. 4 (2010): April

Section

Research Articles

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