Role of English in education

Quality education and teacher development are inter-related. We cannot think of

quality education without well-developed teachers. There can be no quality education unless the teachers are developed or strengthened with the teaching skills and their morale is kept high to improve the child-centred quality education.

Quality education is something that the parents expect today. It is only through

quality education that the students can explore the opportunities to be successful in their endeavour. Only quality education can help them to inculcate a sense of responsibility and accountability with courage, dedication and conviction to pay back to the nation which has moulded them.

In order to have quality education, the desire to adopt and follow one international

language, that is English, has been rapidly increasing in the schools, colleges and

universities around the world. Keeping English as the medium of instruction in any

educational institution paves the way to attract good international students.

Internationalization gives a fresh impetus to higher education. It may mean different things to different higher educational institutions, university associations, governments and non-governmental agencies. For some it may mean international activities such as study abroad, international developmental projects, institutional agreements, or branch campuses. For others it may mean integrating an international dimension into teaching/learning, research and service function of higher education. And yet others are free to view it as an international profile or brand in order to compete both at the domestic and global levels. Ultimately the internationalization of the English language in education and particularly in higher education has resulted in adding to the quality education. Students with a sound knowledge of English language can swiftly and directly join discussions on joint research between the collaborating universities with all research documents available in English. In the absence of English, establishing collaboration with different universities becomes difficult. Human resources and knowledge can be uploaded smoothly and faster with the help of the English language.

When efforts are on to make the English language as an international language or

internationalize the English language, it becomes almost impossible to think of quality education without English. English today occupies an almost unsurpassable position in higher education in the world. It plays an important role in communication technology, growing economic globalization etc. It has much more resources in the sense of works of literature, films and television programs than any other language owing to its global popularity. The English language is increasingly being used for far-wider purposes than ever before in higher education. Almost everywhere it is at an important point of technological and scientific development, new thinking in economics and management, new literatures and entertainment genres. These result in new vocabulary, grammatical

forms and ways of speaking and writing.

The quality of education in recent times has undergone a sea change in the sense

that right from the early stage of school life, a child is taught the basics of computer. The quality of education is more techno dependent and this in a way is good because it solves their problem of unemployment to some extent. This type of education opens up new avenues for jobs other than government jobs. So the result is that today a person soon after his/her plus two level if he/she so desires can get some kind of jobs or engagement in some call centres, good companies etc. To impart this kind of quality education to the present generation, even the teachers at different levels of educational institutions have to be techno savvy. They need to update themselves with the latest technological updates and innovations. Gone are the days when the teachers used to teach the students in a traditional method through lecture and the use of blackboard and chalks. Today the teachers teach the students in smart classrooms with the help of powerpoint presentations, voice recorder etc. So in the present educational scenario, we cannot talk of quality education in the absence of teacher development. Quality education is totally dependent on the teacher development.

The English language plays an important role in the quality education as it forms

an important component of higher education and in its subsequent livelihood prospects.

It has been noticed and felt that the world looks different with the help of tele-

communication, rapid transport and the increasing movement of people across the world as a result of migration, tourism and employment. English is of immense use as the predominant international language. A working knowledge of English is imperative for a number of reasons as it acts as a link language in communication between people of different cultural backgrounds working in a similar field. Secondly, the knowledge of English helps in the prospects of acquiring jobs in different cultural locales as the knowledge of a link language facilitates the efficient functioning of individuals irrespective of the cultural background. Effective communication is imperative in market situations and English acts as an important link to convey the message in such situations.

Quality education should also include some components of culture studies in its

curriculum. Emphasis should be laid on culture studies because due to westernization and modernization the present generation is not aware of its culture, language, roots and cultural identity. The younger generation should try to cherish its own cultural identity. Just as plants cannot live without the roots, so also we cannot live and survive long without our culture.

Archaeology/museology are some upcoming areas of study which needs

promotion from private as well as public sectors. Any country which takes pride in its history and rich cultural heritage must also work towards the restoration as well as promotion of it. An awareness of this heritage needs to be created as well as sustained for which a proper study/research should go into it.

English is important not only to improve the quality education but also as a

strategy of earning our livelihood. The world is diverse, vast and varied and to understand it, to relate to it, and to survive in it especially as educated bread earners, we need to learn to understand and deal with that diversity by having a good knowledge of English.

Briefly put, it becomes very important to develop the art of communicating with other people. No one language, besides English, is adequate in its ability to aid communication between people of diverse cultural backgrounds. Its importance hence is immense in education and livelihood as knowledge of English reduced the complications which would otherwise have arisen if English had not been the link language.

The nature of business and relationship in today globalised world where there is

an increasing need to reach out and communicate with people from all around the world, English becomes indispensable as a tool and hence is an important component in higher education. The English language hence has in the present world become a tool for quality education as well as an instrument for effective communication of ideas, sharing of creativity and a means to understanding diverse cultures.

Дата добавления: 2015-07-20