Language and Linguistics

Conditions under which English is Taught in India: An Applied Linguistic Perspective By Jilani Warsi English is taught in India under conditions which are far from being satisfactory. The English language plays a prominent role in India as a lingua franca – a common means of communication – besides Hindi and a host of regional languages and numerous dialects – as a global language, and an easy medium for science and technology. However, it is a fact that despite studying English in schools and colleges for about 6-8 years, students, especially coming from rural backgrounds, are not able to communicate in English with relative ease and success. Even in some areas where students use a regional language as a first language (L1) besides Hindi – and in such areas English becomes a third language (L3) – they lack all the four major linguistic skills – reading, writing, listening, and speaking. Since acquiring a second language is a skill, it should be approached in that light. It i...