The burden of learning English in India
According to the ASER Early Years (2019) survey reports, only 16 percent of Grade I students can read their grade level textbook — and of those, a majority are 7–8 year old with the younger children in the class lagging behind. Don’t be surprised if you find kids struggling to read their own text books and hugely depend on their parents to understand what the particular line in their English books mean. But then how do they write their English exams, my niece told me the teacher translates the English questions in Hindi for them to write.
If orality is the foundation for literacy like most researchers say- imagine the pain the Indian kids have to go through. Speaking a different language at home, they have to learn to read and write the local language and then study every other subject like maths, science, history and geography in English.
Why do Children mug up answers?
Children generally suffer as they do not comprehend English thus they end up mugging up and they are expected to write the answers to the questions and then produce the same in the exam, that just takes away the entire purpose of knowing a language. According to an article published in Forbes “the habit of telling children what is in textbooks so that they can memorise and reproduce in tests is hard-wired in our teaching”. Teachers often ask children” did you learn the answer?” The answers behind the textbooks are to be mugged up by heart by the kids to score well and that remains the only target. It will only become difficult when the student moves to a higher grade because the rote-based learning method fails when subject areas become more complex.
Many Indian Kids cannot read Independently
According to a study “The Dilemma of Indian Classrooms”- not being able to read independently affects not only the language, but other subject areas as well. Thus, the goal should be to ensure that children develop strategies for comprehending a variety of texts ranging from narrative to expository. In the same study Sinha mentions that in most schools the focus is on pronouncing the words correctly and not in understanding the meaning, this way children never learn to engage with the meaning of the text.
Parents who are saving their last pennies to send their kids to private schools might be unaware of the fact that their kids cannot make sense of the stories in their text books, According to ‘FAST Reading Assessment’ report Where India Reads 2017–18 says that 9 out of 10 students in urban private schools can’t read in English.
Are Schools serving a tiny population of students who have inter-generational education advantage?
The Students who can speak English or students who have support from parents at home definitely get an advantage over others. As published in the Quartz India, “ all Indian children are forced into a school system designed for a tiny proportion of the population that has an inter-generational education advantage. What they need instead is an education system that helps them acquire language skills early on, and learn in a manner that will allow them to close the gap with the educationally advantaged”.
The co-founder of Pratham(the non governmental organization that publishes ASER), Madhav Chavan says that “India is close to schooling for all but our journey towards learning for all is yet to begin,” “Many parents and policymakers still believe that schooling leads to learning. More than 10 years of data shows that issue of learning needs urgent attention,” Chavan added.
Can reading from an early age help children understand better?
According to Aditi Mehta, Head, CTI (Content, Training and Impact), Stones2Milestones “The solution out of this situation is to inculcate a habit of reading in children at a very young age. It is very important to invest in a reading culture. Parents and teachers should remember to not stamp the child as a good or bad reader. In fact, they should read a book in front of the child and make them curious to ask questions. Also, we have to bring back the habit of telling bedtime stories,”
Is English proving to be the test of intelligence?
How come English has become the test of intelligence, if language exists for the purpose of gaining knowledge then knowledge can be gained in any language, no wonder there is always some humdrum amongst the educators, educationists and linguists that children learn most effectively in their mother tongues.
Recently the National Education Policy 2020 has ‘emphasised’ on the use of mother tongue or local language as the medium of instruction till Class 5 while, recommending its continuance till Class 8 and beyond. Many questions have been raised by politicians and regarding this decision.
Starting the early years of education in regional language helps kids learn better?
Carle Benson who is an Associate Professor in International and Comparative Education says that, “teaching a child in a language she doesn’t know leads to “lecture and rote response”, explains Carole Benson. On the other hands, starting a child’s education in the mother tongue “allows teachers and students to interact naturally and negotiate meanings together, creating participatory learning environments that are conducive to cognitive as well as linguistic development”.
It is also found in studies that Children who learn in their mother tongue acquire the second language faster. As Carole Benson mentions, “The more highly developed the first language skills, the better the results in the second language, because language and cognition in the second build on the first.”
With English considered as the passport to jobs, it gives the illusion of closing job gaps and creating job opportunities but is it true?
According to a 2013 study by economist Aimee Chin and co-authors, being fluent in English (compared to not speaking any English) increases hourly wages of men by 34%, at the same time Indian labour market lacks the required number of workers with good English skills. Again we come to the same point that though Indian children are going to English schools, very few can make sense of it.
Though in one hand globalised job market compels the usage of English in education and administration, the political and economic tussle between the state’s own language and English as the medium of instruction is making learning and teaching at the mercy of state laws.
The debate regarding the language policy will go on and it will affect the kids education and their future hence reading skills at home can help kids fight the literacy battle. Organisations like Pratham, India have come up with a mission to reach kids of every background,they have launched many programs to encourage kids to read and have made bright and colorful books in English language and many other regional languages so that all kids can read. Initiatives like these can probably help increase youth literacy rate in India.
This reminds me of a quote by Buddha-
Believe nothing just because you have been told to
Or because it comes from your teacher
Or because it is written in your scriptures
Test everything against reality
And only if you find it to be true
And conducive to the welfare of others
Then embrace it.
References:
https://www.tatatrusts.org/article/inside/literacy-research-in-indian-languages https://idronline.org/why-indian-children-cant-read/
http://llt.org.in/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Language-Language-Teaching-Inaugural-Issue-pdf.io-6.pdf
