A Study on Enhancing the Teaching of English Through Postcolonial Text

Abstract

Postcolonial literature effectively presents the socio-cultural identities of a nation and the responses of its people to the world they live in. The literature vividly depicts the life of the colonized after they have managed to extricate themselves from the control of their colonizers, and have taken the task of shaping the socio-cultural, developmental progress of the society. Using postcolonial literature for English Language Teaching is one of the methods that can be effectively used in a classroom to enhance the English language proficiency of learners. Already studies have been conducted by researchers across the globe on the use of excerpts from postcolonial writings in teaching English to young learners. However the type of texts to be used and the activities to be framed for effectively utilizing them for language skills development, both in the classroom environment and in e-learning modules, need to be identified depending on the requirements of the learning environment. A lot of materials used in ELT classroom teaching in India are texts that belong to the western world produced by native writers. The scope of this study is to identify the benefits of using postcolonial texts, especially those written by Indian writers on various issues of social and national importance, to create a more personalized learning experience to young learners in India. It was observed that the learners were able to comfortably use such texts and the learning outcomes were better achieved. The study also presents an attempt to make learners themselves create learning materials for use in ELT classrooms.