Innovations in ELT in India

Innovations in ELT in India

English as Second Language (L2):

Even if English starts in class I, the role of the language will not differ from that of a second language. The objective of teaching and learning a second language is similar in Asia and Pacific. It will always be a conscious effort on the part of the student to learn this language, as opposed to the natural mode of acquisition of his mother tongue. In practical terms English does not and cannot express his basic needs, ideas , thoughts, emotion and feelings. To search for self-affirmation, to establish group-identity and to satisfy the normal urge for cultural ‘rootedness’, the student will always fall back upon his mother tongue. Therefore English will always function as a service-subject in its role either as L1 or L2 in India.

Tracing the latest trends or the shift of focus in recent language teaching methodologies:

To teach English language, various methods have been developed and some of them proved to be extremely influential at different times. Prabhu(1995) enlists quite a few: classical scholastic procedures, grammar-translation method, direct method, structural method, communicative language teaching, reading methods, task-based language teaching, etc., These teaching methods have been tried and evaluated. Some of them have been praised, adopted and then rejected to try new methods that promised successful learning by learners.

(i)Grammatical\Structural competence to Communicative Competence:

Since English has become a ‘link’ language, a language of communication, the main objective of teaching English is not merely to develop in learners the ability to use grammatically accurate language with some deliberations. It should further develop the ability to produce socially appropriate spontaneity. English language teaching, for that matter, should be based on a syllabus of social functions, rather than of grammatical structures. A learner with proficiency in English grammar fails to use them in real life situation. He lacks in articulation and confidence. Learning of structural items only limits his ability to operate in the world outside the classroom.

The shift from structural approach to communicative approach is a shift from language learning process to language learning purpose. Learning of isolated terms will not enable the learner to communicate appropriately and with excellence in real life. The learners need to rehearse the ‘social roles’ that they will perform in real situations. The demand is a paradigm shift from the structural exercise to group work, pair work, direct imitation and play-acting, etc.

(ii)Teacher-centric methodology to learner-centric methodology:

To develop the communication skills in English which has the status of the second language needs a lot of thinking. In India, in most of the cases the learners are first generation learners, and the opportunities like peer group interaction; guidance of the parents and elders are not available. The reinforcement from the immediate environment is insufficient. The absence of such conducive, intellectually stimulating environment at home and in the surrounding milieu puts pressure on the learner of the second language. This can be overcome by providing a stimulating environment in school, by using appropriate method of teaching and specially designed instructional materials. There is a great need for a change in the methodology of teaching language from a unidirectional, teacher-centred, knowledge-oriented activity to learning through an interactional activity involving sub-activities like problem solving, group-work, drawing inferences, making generalizations and participating in a variety of other activities with the help of L1, L2 and L3(Verma, 1987)

Changes in the Curriculum:

The recent trends in second language education in India are shaped in the context of the country itself, reflecting its heterogeneous social background and the needs of the learner. The significant reasons for the reform in ELT are due to increased mobility both within and between the countries; the ethnic and linguistic diversity; harmonious living with cross cultural understanding and tolerance in pluralistic society. NIER-Japan, Seminar Report, 2001 says that the effective communication becomes important because of globalization and closely integrated World Economies. The pressure for economic growth leads countries to give priority to developing the skills of their people. These skills include linguistic capabilities and intercultural understanding. The increasing access to and use of information technologies provides immediate links between people and sights across the world. It opens the doors to information in a variety of languages, bringing the world closer than ever before. These trends provide a background to interpreting and synthesizing the recent trends in foreign/second language education.

(i)Language Education and Globalisation:

A change in the curriculum is called for keeping in mind the knowledge explosion due to advance information and communication technology and pedagogical considerations. Curriculum, an ongoing process, has to be ‘sensitive and responsive to the entire gamut of societal, pedagogical and other changes at all levels.” In fact curriculum is a device to translate national goals into educational experiences.

(ii)Teaching language skills in an integrated manner:

Affirming the issues related to language education and medium of instruction, the National Curriculum Framework for School Education, 2000, visualizes the integration of environmental education with languages in the first two years of primary stage i.e. desired skills of listening and speaking. This necessitates some change in the language curriculum. The mastering of an instrumental subject like English tempts the learner to better his communication and comprehension skills for further learning. The function of the language is more important than form. Language should be used profitably and effectively in the real life situations. The curriculum emphasizes creative expression and the ability to think on one’s own which must be encouraged and nurtured through language teaching with the oral form of language finding important place in language curriculum. The capacity to use the language in speech and writing whenever needed in life and to read it with reasonable speed for information and pleasure would be the most important objective. Grammar is not to be taught as a theoretical subject per se, but it would be taught as practical or functional grammar contextually with minimum theory.

Thus, more and more aural and oral skills of language are to be emphasized at the primary stage, all the skills, i.e., listening, speaking, reading and writing and thinking are to be aimed at in a balanced manner by the end of the upper primary stage, and slightly more attention is to be paid to the skills of reading and writing at the secondary stage. The most crucial and ultimate task  of language education at all these levels remains to prepare the learners to use the language effectively in either mode(spoken/written) whenever and wherever required in their day to day life-situations of all sorts. However, at the higher secondary state the objective of language learning is to nurture advanced communication and negotiating skills, higher order reading, writing and study skills and to imbibe a humane, appreciative and futuristic approach t life among learners. The study of language enables the students to learn and use language effectively in the classroom, the community and the workplace. Study of language would ensure better mental health for the learners through exposure to finer human emotions, sentiments, mental conflicts and their resolutions.

Focus of the Syllabus:

Communication through second language(mainly English) has become increasingly important in the present global community. Language education is important all over the world at present. The recent global trends have dramatically increased the need for functional communicative competence in languages both for social interaction and, increasingly, for international cooperation(NIER – Japan, Seminar Report 2001). The basic school curriculum has recently incorporated a new emphasis on functional communicative competence in second language teaching. The syllabuses for various stages of school education have been designed keeping in mind the curricular needs specified in the English language curriculum. This establishes a link between educational objectives and the expected developmental goals in a systematic and graded manner. Syllabus plays an important role in transacting the basic recommendations of the Curriculum Framework 2000 based on the National Policy on Education, 1986.

Integrating diverse curricular concerns, relating education to the world of work, reducing curriculum load, making a case for culture specific pedagogy, and nurturing aesthetic sensibilities are some of the other concerns which have been addressed adequately while developing the syllabuses.  English fulfills the functional(communicative), literary(aesthetic) and cultural(sociological) needs of the learner. The main thrusts of the new syllabus are to equip the learners with communicative skills, to enable them to perform different language functions, and to help them to develop their cognitive and affective faculties.

According to Verma(1969), the objective of teaching English is not to simply make the learners learn the language skills, but to enable the learners to play their communicative roles effectively and to select languages/registers/styles according to the roles they are playing. “Teaching a second language is a process of helping our pupils make appropriate register choices out of their total register range…Register-shift, i.e., the ability to shift registers according to shift in situations, is one of the crucial conditions of success in handling a second language effectively.”

Instructional materials:

Instructional Materials provide opportunities for learning. ‘A good language learning depends on at least three variables: aptitude, motivation and opportunity’.(Rubin, 1979). Opportunity includes materials and the activities within and outside the classroom. The instructional materials are of various kinds: textbooks, audio and video cassettes, handouts, charts, teaching aids of various kinds etc. Keeping in view the vastness of the country, the socio-economic conditions of the people and the constraints in reaching the remote villages, the accessibility of audio and video materials in language teaching across the board is a rare possibility. The text book is the only important source of information and knowledge available to the teacher as well as to the learner. Therefore this instructional material should be designed according to the needs of the learner. The activities should be woven around the environment of the learner so that the second language learning should not be a burden. Since the emphasis is on the development of the skills, teaching of language should be structured and adequate. The approach should be multi-skilled-activity-based and learner-centred. Taking clues from these requirements the teacher can create new activities to supply language needs which will enable the learner to achieve a level of reasonable competence in using English in appropriate social situations.

Teacher should help the learners to ‘learn how to learn’, and engage them in activities that help them to investigate and analyse, infer, internalize and apply. For a learner to apply language fluently in different social situations, the child must be exposed to ‘a variety of language in action’. The teacher and the learner should both be active participants. This interaction will not only give the child opportunity to use the language appropriately, but also to boost his confidence, self-assurance and competence to use English effectively according to the demand of the situation and his roles in it.

The purpose of education is not only to instruct but also to stimulate thinking. Instruction involves factual information whereas education draws out the real potentiality of individuals in such ways that they can access the meaning of the given facts and formulate their own, possibily new, ideas on the subject. So subject matter must be selected and organized with a view to its possible contribution in stimulating and guiding learner’s experience which will result in the desired growth.

It must be selected with a view to providing all types of learner’s growth – social, physical, moral and emotional and intellectual. The materials should try to realize the main objectives of ELT like: equipping the learners with communicative skills; handling language effectively while performing different language functions; helping them to develop their cognitive and affective faculties; promoting the skill of reading the text intelligently and imaginatively; and enriching the active and passive vocabulary of the learner. Importance is given to the mastery of an instrumental subject like English to develop communication and comprehension skills for further learning.

Instructional Materials constitute an important element in the teaching-learning process. The methodology for preparing the instructional materials is based on a multi-skill-activity- based learner –centred approach. The enriched multi-skill course is both innovative and need based. The materials are designed in a manner so as to encourage self-learning. The most important objective of the materials is to develop the capacity to use the language in speech and writing whenever needed in life, and to read it with reasonable speed for information and pleasure. Grammar is not to be taught as a theoretical subject, but it should be taught as practical or functional grammar in the specified context with minimum theory. The language activities should be woven around the child’s environment and experience for learner’s motivation.

The teacher is the facilitator of learning who presents the communicative tasks though contrived situations in order to equip the child to use English for purposes of communication and expression. The instructional materials have a variety of exercises and activities based on the child’s actions and experiences, because “children’s use of language is closely related to the things they do with hands and bodies and the objects they come in contact with”(Krishna Kumar, 1994). The listening activities will sharpen the listening skills of the learner and make them conscious of different sounds, stress and intonation patterns of English. The communicative tasks, the dialogues, the role-plays and discussions, etc. will help the learner to develop communicative skills and use language profitably and effectively in natural, everyday situations like seeking information, making request and suggestions, and some learning of the niceties of language, such as, polite expressions. There is a shift of emphasis from studying the textbook to learning the language in speech and in writing. To keep alive the student’s interest in learning English a variety of activities have been incorporated. These activities have been contextualized and they present language in natural situations. There is nothing artificial and contrived about them. The projects will enhance learner’s active participation; develop team spirit, reference and study skills; and collect information and put them in logical order.

It has been already assessed how relevant the materials are in teaching English language and literature in our teaching situations with optimal use of available resources and materials in the classroom. The role and scope of materials is to create opportunities of learning. Mindfully put constructive exercises and tasks aim to change passive reading into productive learning. The purpose of designing these tasks is to develop the integrated skills – LSRW thinking/study and reference skills. These materials are based on content and skill, and the questions are both for formative assessment as well as summative assessment. Some questions given in the instruction materials will enable the learner to monitor and assess his own progress and thereby work towards a kind of learner autonomy , which means that the learner will have full control over his own learning.

The comprehension exercises aim at the teaching of factual comprehension and deepening students’ understanding of the lessons besides teaching interpretive/inferential/evaluative/extrapolative comprehension. The vocabulary exercises are for teaching of spelling and vocabulary enrichment and development of reference skill. The exercises on language functions/functional grammar aim at developing the learner’s ability to use the language effectively and accurately. ‘Composition’ is exploited to develop curiosity, imagination and creativity in the learner; and teach evaluative and extrapolative comprehension. The writing tasks, which are functional or imaginative types, are either controlled or semi-controlled leading on to free composition.

The poems are meant to be read aloud for the students to enjoy a different kind of language use which is creative and imaginative and which can achieve more total communication through a fuller utilization of various resources of language. The exercises at the end of the poem aim at helping the learners to appreciate and enjoy reading the poem.

The supplementary reader is designed to promote in the learner a love for reading by exposing him to good samples of English literature ranging from fables to stories of mystery, adventure and romance which hold the mirror up to different facets of life; to encourage the learner to read extensively on his own. The exercises given after each piece highlight the important points in the story. Some exercises are designed to deepen the student’s understanding of the piece. The ‘discussion’ questions will generate discussion among the learner so as to inculcate effective communicative skills; to make them aware of the world around them; and to make them aware of the world around them; and to make them sensitive to the various aspects of life.

Language Education has a greater potential as a means of developing attitudes and values related to all the ten core components reflected in the National Policy of Education, by incorporating appropriate themes and adopting suitable teaching-learning strategies. Language not only nourishes the basic and cognitive skills but also plays a definitive role in the society, in the development of interpersonal interactions. It transmits culture and national values. So the instructional materials provide a wide range of themes from delineation of age-old problems of humanity to discussion of contemporary issues. These themes will not only enable the learners to gather information, to make them aware of the happenings in India and round the world, but also make them sensitive to human beings, human emotions and human problems. They will inculcate values for peaceful coexistence in the multi-lingual, multicultural, and multi religious society. These learning experiences will promote social cohesion and national integration, so essential to a diversified and great land called India.

Hints:

Change of focus:  teacher centered methods to learner centered methods ;  grammatical competence to communicative competence ; structural syllabus to functional\communicative syllabus;  performance to competence(Noan Chomsky’s terms); isolated text to ‘context’ ; individual skills to integrated skills imparting; monoculturalism(fails to identify oneself with the alien culture) to multiculturalism(Globalisation, appreciates the cultural differences)

Difference between first language(L1) and second language(L2)

Latest trends in design of Instructional Materials

Use of Educational Technology in Language Education

============ ELT in India: A Brief Historical and Current Overview

ELT in India is vibrant and dynamic today. The context of the whole teaching paradigm has changed totally. This article traces the course of this change, along with the causes and consequences while comparing this with the course of ELT in other contexts where it has always been a first language.[ELT in India, evolution of ELT, ripple effect, limited success of CLT]

Introduction

Due to its association with the British coloniser, English started life in India as not just a foreign language, but as a much-hated language. From the despised instrument of oppression to the reluctantly adopted lingua franca to the status symbol of the upper classes to its position today as a second language, English has come a long way. In fact, it would not be an aberration to label it a first language for some echelons of Indian society. Just as the status of the language underwent constant reinvention, the whole ELT paradigm also travelled the complete gamut of modification. In the closing years of the Twentieth century when English began to emerge as the global language, the Indian classroom was transformed because of the change in the environment of the learner. Whereas the earlier surroundings had been acquisition poor with regard to English, suddenly every language user seemed to be jumping upon the learn- English- bandwagon.

The liberalisation of the Indian economy ushered in all kinds of reasons to learn the language. While earlier in the century students who had specialised in English joined either teaching or the civil services, now a whole new spectrum of job opportunities has opened up. There are now call centres that need trainers to equip their employees with communication skills, there are multinationals who have been recruiting marketing staff who needed to be taught spoken English, there are medical transcription centres which need efficient translators and reporters. Those desirous of immigration to the west needed professional help for clearing tests like the IELTS. Hence, the avenues where ELT came to be required in India are unlimited today.

The change was first observed at the social, political and economic levels. Suddenly, English ceased to be the badge of status for the upper crust. Earlier, only the upper classes and a few limited size groups were seen using English in everyday life. The middle class reserved it for official purposes or those social occasions where they wished to leave an impression. The lower classes thought the use of English was beyond them and since the government schools of India made no effort to teach any kind of spoken English, this category of people had no exposure to it. However, around the year 1995, the whole paradigm began to change. The liberalisation of the economy led to the advent of multinationals resulting in many developments like varied job opportunities that demanded a command of English, more English channels on the television, an increasing number of English publications and international lifestyles becoming a tempting option.

Fluctuating and Varied Institutional EFL Developments in India

The developments that have taken place in ELT methodology in the West took some time to reach Indian classrooms. The evolution of ELT in India, as in any other EFL country is linked with factors that are not pedagogic alone. Today, English can not be termed a foreign language in the Indian context, but in times past, it was a foreign language and its teaching had to take cognisance of all factors, pedagogic or otherwise. The two figures tracing the growth of ELT given here are different because ELT pedagogy developed primarily in the West where political and social realities were different and the status of English was fixed whereas, in India, ELT pedagogy depends upon the subtle and not-so-subtle ways in which the status of English keeps changing. No diagrammatic representation can be complete without taking into account the fluid nature of the position of English in Indian society.

Figure one is this author's representation of the development of ELT as a discipline in countries where English is the first language and figure two is the development of ELT in India, it is obvious from the two figures that developments in ELT take time to take root in India. The causes behind this gap are three:

.....1. Only around the year 1980 did English achieve adequate attention from policy makers, administrators and teachers. Due to its chequered history in the country, its complete importance was realised more than three decades after independence.

.....2. Apart from a One-year course in teacher training for school teachers, no formal teacher training is given to new recruits or practising teachers. There are orientation courses and refresher courses for teachers in general, but no course deals with ELT. It is only recently that the British Council has introduced CELTA and other such programmes; these are quite expensive, teachers do not want to spend money on them and their institutions rarely sponsor them.

.....3. The examination system is more achievement oriented rather than performance oriented, leading to an emphasis on grades and positions rather than issues of fluency or proficiency. Indirectly, the teacher remains in many classrooms even today, the facilitator of examinations rather than of linguistic or communicative proficiency.

In spite of the slower rate of evolution, English Language Teaching in India has been widening in its approach and methods. The result is that there is an increasing tendency, scope and intent of reaching the end of the ELT cone. At its own eccentric pace, ELT in India is today in step with the rest of the world today. Where the issue of methodology is concerned, ELT seems to be in three transient stages according to the different levels of the paradigm and its demands:

1. The first level is that of the institutions run by the government, mainly primary, secondary and high schools. Since the primary goal of these institutions is to provide education at affordable and subsidised levels to the public, ELT teaching can not be placed at the widest end of the cone for the basic reason that the teachers there do not have much access to latest research and materials for reasons economic as well as geographic. Most of these institutions are the sole providers of education in rural and remote settings where they can fulfil adequately the basic requirements alone. In the urban locales the planning bodies are now moving towards up gradation through teacher training, syllabus modification and improved resources. In another decade or so, this level of ELT should be more communicative in nature with language and literature fully integrated.

2. At the second level are those institutions that are semi-government or are run by private managing bodies, assisted through government funds. These also include undergraduate colleges and postgraduate universities. Growth and development can be seen here in spurts. In some classrooms, teachers have reached the widest end of the cone, are aware of learner needs and adjust methodology accordingly and use a judicious blend of interaction and communication in the class. In others, an observer feels caught in a time warp with pure talk-chalk lectures that are mostly teacher-centred. The positive observation is that there are practising teachers between these two poles, who are trying to change their teaching practice and are looking at alternate methodology. Just as there is a mixed bag of teaching practice, the institutions also range from indifferent to proactive. While there are places where even a small audio player is not accessible, there are administrators who have invested heavily in state of the art, perfectly equipped language laboratories.

3. The third level comprises pure private sector academies that undertake to make learners proficient English users within a stipulated period, of course by charging a fixed amount of fee. Since time means money for them, they are equipped with the latest materials like interactive, multimedia software. Jobs in the academic area are few and far between, so an increasing number of qualified teachers find their way to these places. The teacher profile gets younger and younger, resulting in increasing amounts of innovation and experimentation where methodology is concerned.

While teachers belonging to the first level are content to remain followers, the second level is being influenced by the third. When learners are in a rush as they need part-time employment or have an IELTS to clear, they often join academies in addition to their undergraduate classes. This creates a ripple effect and the ripples can be felt in three ways:

I. Young teachers who work in undergraduate colleges work part-time at these academies. At the academy, they use the latest teaching aids and materials since the purpose is to achieve fluency at the earliest. At their regular place of work, their teaching methodology undergoes a transformation because they tend to use the interactive, task-based and communicative methods more than the usual lecture methods used there normally.

II. On taking into account the roaring business the academies are doing, the administrative bodies of undergraduate colleges are coming to realise that a whole untapped market needs to be explored. Along with their regular degree classes, they are gearing up to introduce revenue-earning courses in the field of English proficiency, open to the public. This leads to a spill over effect in the undergraduate classes too as some teachers would be common to both courses and the same campus sees a lot of innovative teaching.

III. Parents of learners form an important component of the teaching paradigm in India. Earlier, any kind of change in courseware or teaching methodology would result in stiff opposition from them1 and the administrative body would recommend the continuation of age-old practices. Observing the winds of change resulting from the acceptance of the global status of English, parents today encourage innovation and experimentation in the classroom.

After attending interactive classes at the academy, learners search such stimulation in their regular classes too. This is a radical change, especially if one looks into the past. When communicative language teaching was introduced in India in the 1980s, it was a dismal failure for the first few years because of the lack of the right context. This context stands established in India today, so learners are receptive and are actively encouraging more learner-centred classes.

The context of the whole teaching situation started changing around the year 2000. Socio-economic factors played a major role in this change that is dynamic even today. The liberalization of the Indian economy led to the entry of many international brands into the learners' mindset. Call centres, shopping malls and trade fairs, all need young personnel, fluent in English. There is a mushroom growth of institutes and academies of the third category above, offering the whole range of proficiency in English from clearing the IELTS to speaking fluently. The Internet has played a major role in creating a resource-rich environment by giving a wide range of exposure to English. Becoming web-savvy has emerged as the need of the day and this is possible only through English. These are just a few of the factors that have created a panacea for the deadlock that CLT had found itself in.

Today, in India, a whole new generation is coming up; a generation that travels a lot in countries where English is a first language, works in places where English is the lingua franca and as a result, carries home to other generations the same English as a medium of communication. Hence, the empowerment that Bax 2 looks forward to for teachers in times to come has come sooner due to changes in the context of the complete teaching paradigm. Unless the context is supportive of upgrading English performance of the teacher -which should be inclusive of communicative competence- no teacher training or upgrading of methodology can be productive and fruitful. This is a significant conclusion that can be drawn from the Indian situation.

The results of all the changes listed above stand reflected in the classrooms where CLT is still practised. The whole process of curriculum change is riddled with cumbersome and time-consuming procedures in India, so in spite of the limited success of CLT, it has not been removed from courses. This, in the long run, has been for the better because while on the one hand, the teachers have been able to familiarize themselves with its approach and methodology; on the other hand, the changed and changing context has encouraged its growing success today. Since learners are a part of the whole context, they are aware of the growing need for proficiency, both linguistic and communicative, in English. Today, more and more students take up part-time work (that requires fluency in English) along with their studies, this was earlier an aberration, now is the norm.

The Road Ahead in India: More CA Inclusive

ELT in India has come a long way from year 1880 when only 60% primary schools used English as the medium for teaching. (See Figure I &II) Up to 1940, the grammar-translation method flourished and the spread of English remained confined to education and office circles, yet again in a haphazard manner. By 1970, structural linguistics started making its presence felt in Indian classrooms in the shape of drills and exercises. Around this time, all professional courses began to be taught in English, which had also become established as a library language and a subject for independent study. As compared to its establishment as an autonomous subject in other English-as-first-language countries around 1940, ELT emerged as an autonomous subject in India as late as 1980.

Similarly, the language laboratory also became a part of the ELT paradigm around 1985 as compared to the 1940 of these countries. CALI or Computer Assisted Language Instruction reached most classrooms in 1960 but it came to the Indian classroom around 1985; at present, in some places it has evolved into CALL or Computer Assisted Language Learning. Both CALI and CALL have not been adopted widely due to the obvious constraints of finance and the typically Indian mindset that learning cannot take place without the presence of a human teacher. In the Indian context, Tickoo's distinction between CALI and CALL took on special significance 3. While it is true that multinationals, call centres and some private institutes are encouraging CALL, it is CALI that has gained wider acceptance.

Communicative Language Teaching reached both regions (India and the West) between the years 1970 - 1980, with the difference that the Indian context was not ready for CLT. Hence, it took around two decades to gain acceptance among learners and teachers. Language-literature integration gained recognition among teachers around the same time. India after 1995 has made up for the slow elephant years by broadening the apex of the ELT cone with a generous mix of so many methodologies that come under the generic category of CA or the Communicative Approach 4.

It is true that mostly this CA is practised in the institutes that belong to the third category above but the ripple effect created is gradually reaching the ELT classroom. Most institutes that target the language users who need proficiency in a hurry or who need to clear certain examinations invest heavily in teaching materials from publishing houses like the Cambridge University Press. Since all materials published in such places of repute are state-of-the-art in terms of methodology, teachers and learners are in a position of maximum benefit. Moreover, teachers at these centres are usually young postgraduates who are receptive to novelty and innovation.

They borrow heavily from their materials and often create a methodology of their own by using combinations of audio lingual or situational or functional or interactive or task-based or communicative -or even the direct method language teaching. All these approaches and methods could be spread through a course or could even be used in one class, depending upon learner response. This pedagogy is still CA (Communicative Approach) oriented even if not restricted to one approach. Again teachers -especially the younger ones- are increasingly moving towards increasing the extent to which lessons are centred around CA.

The most significant impact of this approach is its sensitivity to learner needs and response. This sensitivity is what has been lacking in the academic aspect of ELT in India. The whole academic process is so unwieldy that it fails to respond to learner needs; learner response is too often ignored. The ELT cone of India is broadening at the base today because of factors that have little to do with the ELT classroom in academic institutions. The irony of the situation is that while academicians label these learning centres 'shops' or 'commercial institutes' it is these establishments that are a major influence behind the changing face of the ELT paradigm in India.