Problems of Teaching English in Rural and Semi-urban Areas

Abstract

In our country with a population of more than 1.25 billion and with 18 official regional languages, English enjoys the status of associate official language at the national level. Moreover, with the advent of globalization, there has been a big increase in ELT in colleges, universities and other institutes all over the country. Today, proficiency in English is being increasingly seen as a sine qua non for upward social mobility and lucrative job prospects. It is, therefore, hardly surprising that the number of students aspiring to attain proficiency in English is growing exponentially. But whether  our  colleges and  institutes  are really  well  equipped to  teach  English to such  teeming  millions, specially to  those hailing  from  semi-urban and  rural backgrounds  and  whether appropriate methodologies  have  been  developed by our  pedagogues  in  this  regard,  is  a moot question.