English
What is English?
English is one of the most dominant languages used throughout the world. It is the most powerful means of communication which is spoken every nook and corner of the globe either for one or for another purpose. It has gained not only the native speakers but has developed as a linguafranca (contact language) for the people living around the globe. Though Chinese language has the largest number of speakers, it has confined only in China and its provenience. But there are hardly any countries where English is not spoken. It is even a great surprise to know that English has more non-native speakers than its native speakers and more than twenty countries have provided official status to this language including India, Pakistan, Singapore, Philippines Kenya, South Africa and many others.
Why English?
English is the most widely spoken language in the history of our planet. At least one out of seven human beings in the world speak English. Not only this, half of the books found in the world are written in English and majority of the international calls are made in English. Furthermore, more than 60% of the world's radio programs are broadcast in English, more than 70% of international e-mails are written and addressed in English and about 80% of all computer texts, including all websites are stored in English. So, a person who is able to communicate in English and has both receptive and productive skills, no doubt, can be a global citizen. He can reach to the sea resources and be in global contact which helps him to expand his horizon of knowledge, skill, concept and attitude. One who wants to run with time needs to learn English. English, now, has become the language of business, media, science and technology, development and other various aspects throughout the world.
English in Nepal
English is known to have introduced for the first time in Nepal by Jung Bahadur Rana. When he paid a visit to England in 1906 B.S., he was highly impressed to the development of education there. So, when he came back to Nepal, he established the first formal school based on English curriculum in his Thapathali Palace on 27 Ashoj, 1910 B.S. Since, only the Ranas' offsprings could study there, English couldn't spread to the access of the laymen. English education started to take its pace in Nepal after 2049 B.S. when National Education Commission (NEC) suggested to include English education from 4th grade in school curriculum. English, further developed in Nepal when English started to be taught from grade one under the suggestion of Higher Level National Education Commission (HLNEC) after 2055 B.S. However, the public schools of Nepal couldn't inculcate the remarkable profesiency of English in their students due to the various flaws in its policy, implimentation, inadequate means, lack of qualified and skilled manpower, poor supervision and so on.
But the private schools since their inception have been providing good English education in Nepal. When the government of Nepal formed their policy of giving permission to set up schools from the private sectors in 1996 B.S., the private schools paid their much emphasis and attention in English education. With their sufficient resources and rigorous effort, they went on giving English education to the students. all the subjects other than particular languages used to be taught and are being taught in English. Thus, there is comparatively greater contribution of private schools in the development of English proficiency in Nepal.
Why English in Nepal?
Since English is the dominant language throughout the world, Nepal cannot remain untouched from its influence. More than this, Nepal is a developing country and has to depend upon foreign countries for its smooth running. So, English is a must in Nepal for international communication, talks, conferences, business purpose and so on. In Nepal, English is being used in the various sectors like; tourism, media, business & trade, education, etc. Many NGOs and I NGOs are being established in Nepal like mushrooms. They also demand the manpower who has good command over English. Nowadays, in more than 80% job vacancies English is a must. In Nepal, those who can speak English are considered as prestigious and have their heads up. Even most of the parents perceive teaching their children as teaching English to them. If their children can speak English fluently, their study will be considered good and if they cannot, their study won't be praised no matter how much luminous and illustrious they are in other subjects and other aspects. And it is also one of the best means to be a global citizen and enjoy the various resources found in English. Thus, English has become the cry of the day in Nepal.
Some crazy aspects of English:
Though, English is one of the easiest languages in the world, some of its irregularities, strange phrases, paradoxes, pronunciation, idioms, grammatical forms make us feel that English as a crazy language. Let's see some of the mentions:
a) It has some semantic craziness:
For example; there is neither 'pine' nor 'apple' in 'pineapple', there is no 'eggs' in 'eggplant' instead it's brinjal. Similarly, there is no 'ham' in 'hamburger'. In the same way, 'sweetmeats' are 'candy' and 'sweetbreads' are 'meat'. 'Boxing rings' are 'square' in shape but they are called 'rings'. The sand which works slowly is called 'quicksand': if it is slow, why don't we call 'slow sand'?. Furthermore, why do we call them 'buildings' when they are already built?, Why it is called 'TV set' when you get only one? why is the word 'abbreviation' so long?, Why does the word 'monosyllabic' consists of five syllables?, Why is there no synonyms for 'synonym'?, What do you mean by 'rain cats and dogs' and 'kick the bucket'? Aren't they seem crazy???
b) It has got some phonological craziness:
For instance; if the words nut, cut, but, etc. are pronounced similarly, why is the word 'put' pronounced differently?, If the pronunciation of the word 'to' is /tu:/ and 'do' is /du:/, can't you pronounce the word 'go' as /gu:/? On the other hand, we have to pronounce the same letters differently in different situation, such as, in the word 'city' and 'cat'. The same letter 'c' is pronounced differently. Similarly, in 'choir' and 'chair', the same spelling 'ch' does have different pronunciation. To the contrary, some words having different letters are pronounced same, viz. 'sum' and 'some', 'write' and 'rite', etc. are a few mentions.
c) Plenty of craziness are found in its grammatical aspect:
For example; the plural form of 'foot' is 'feet', 'tooth' is 'teeth'. If so, why can't the plural of 'moose' be 'meese'? In the same way, if the plural of 'louse' is 'lice', 'mouse' is 'mice', why can't the plural of 'house' be 'hice'? Similarly, if the past form of 'write' is 'wrote', why can't the past of 'bite' be 'bote'? don't you think English is crazy?
Answer to the above questions:
Really..., it sounds crazy if you go through the above mentioned illustrations. But language is arbitrary, voluntary, vocal system of human communication and a matter of convention too. These craziness may be found in other languages too. Because while developing a certain language, it was not tested and analysed in the lab. There is not any scientific reason behind them. The only important thing is is was handed over from one generation to another and modified in course of time. For example, let's consider our Nepali language for a while. Why do we call 'GHAR" for house but not 'SADAK' and 'SADAK' for road but not 'HOUSE'? If you go for a deep analysis and thought, you cannot find any reason. It's simply the matter of convention. Our forefathers said so and we are following the same. May be, even our grand children will say the same. Take another instance, Nepali names, do you think all 'Dhan Bahadurs', 'Dhan Mayas', 'Dhan Kumaris', 'Dhan Prasads' are well off, affluent or rich??, Can't people other than 'Mana Bahadur' and 'Mana Maya' be kind and benevolent? Obviously not. So, the languages are simply the matter of convention.
How English can best be learnt??
At school:
a) Maintaining English Environment:
Language is a means of communication and interaction. So, the more you talk the more you learn. If you always talk English everywhere either with your friends, juniors, seniors or your teachers, your english fluency won't be far.
b) Providing feedback in the students' errors:
Students, if encouraged or forced to talk in English, they may produce erroneous utterances like, sir, he is CHIMOTing me, or maam, she always PITTing me, etc. So, if the errors are not corrected, students may be habituated to speak wrong utterances and can't boost their vocabulary power. Similar type of errors may appear in their Grammar too. So, the teachers should provide immediate feedback to them either directly or indirectly.
c) Encouraging students to speak:
Normally, those students who are back benchers, shy and don't want to take part in classroom discussion and interaction are comparatively found weak in English. Since English can't be gained only by rote learning, teachers should encourage all the students to interact and take part in group discussion or pair talk.
d) Conducting various speech related activities, contests, etc.
School should conduct various speech related competitions like debate, speech, spelling contest, quiz and so on which encourage the students to get more exposures and give outputs. Everyday assembly can be the better platform for the students to show their performance and talents. But this should be accessible to all the students, not merely the talented.
e) Using audio-visual aids regularly in teaching:
Audio-visual aids like tape, radio, TV, computers, internet based materials are fast and better memorized by the students than the casual classroom teachings. So, these are also one of the indispensable part of improving English to the part of students.
At home:
Although, we hardly speak English with our kids, we can aid them to improve their English.
a) Act according to their interest:
Parents are the best psychologists of their wards. Since they are about 18 hours with them, they can easily know what thing do their kids like. So, find the interests first. If they want to watch cartoons, let them watch. If your intention is to improve English, then English cartoon shows can be the best alternatives. Similarly, if they are interested in sports, let's manage the English channels which broadcast sports in English.
b) Daily English Newspaper:
If you are conscious and sincere towards your children's future, it'd better to buy an English newspaper daily. It, not only improves your children's English, but also increases the general knowledge and over all knowledge level.
c) Reading Habits:
Make your children the habit of reading books: any, either story, poem, fiction'or GK. Your children may not have enough time to read out books daily, for that, weekends and vacations can be the appropriate time.
Thus, making a good student is not merely the guardians' responsibility, nor it's of only the teachers rather it's the result of mutual effort and co-operation of both parents and school and students themselves are the vital part. If we follow all these things not only English but the whole study can be improved.
