Language teaching in the Engineering colleges of Chhattisgarh A perspective

Abstract

There are around sixty sundry technical colleges in Chhattisgarh where the students of the first year are compulsorily taught language and the subject is called 'Professional Communication in English'. The prime purpose is to help the students develop an optimum efficiency in their communication skills which may help them land good jobs in multinational companies. Having taught in standard English medium schools, initially I found this task as something very menial as the syllabus was totally devoid of any literary embellishments purely based on its basic language skills- the LSRW. But no sooner did I actually start teaching the subject than I realized my mistake. I had overestimated myself .If at schools, teaching English was a cake walk; at college level the path was strewn with stumbling blocks galore. The very simple reason- most of the students hailed from rural and underprivileged areas, no mean challenge for a language teacher. They all come with one big dream in unison - of becoming a full-fledged engineer one day; of working at some coveted post in an MNC but, most of them find their dreams shattered at the very outset when they realize that they lack tremendously in effective communication skills. They soon come to know that in order to survive and succeed they need communicative competence in English Language. As an English teacher I found the task of grooming such students an absolutely evolving, challenging & a rewarding experience. Through this paper I have reminisced on those experiences and have also shared those strategies which I consciously /unconsciously employed to help such students overcome their fears & inhibitions related to language.