The Teaching of English in India
by Amarnath Jha
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Professor Amarnath Jha, a former Vice-Chancellor of Allahabad University, analyses why English, taught in India for almost a century, is so badly learnt, and asks whether the teachers, methods and medium are right. At the primary stage English is very badly taught because of confused ideals, poor leadership, and the placing of the youngest, least qualified or nearly-retired teachers before impressionable children, who thus receive 'bad nutrition' for their minds and pick up permanent defects like saying 'loin' for 'lion', 'claver' for 'clever' and 'fother' for 'father'; he recommends training teachers in phonetics and using linguaphones. The prescribed primers are removed from the traditions and surroundings of Indian boys, making the language dull, insipid and an 'evil necessity'. At the High School stage English becomes a terrifying 'gorgon, hydra, or chimera dire' because of grammatical pitfalls (like 'shall' and 'will' and the article) and because students lose marks in science and history for weak English expression. At the university stage Jha advises avoiding dry literary histories and instead reading aloud the finest prose and poetry (as Sir Walter Raleigh did) to spark passion, concluding that specialised research is useful only after a broad, humanistic culture is acquired.
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Professor Amarnath Jha (1897–1955), a Padma Bhushan awardee and former Vice-Chancellor of Allahabad University, begins his analytical essay by noting that English has been taught in India for almost a century. He argues that educators must pause and ask whether all is well with the subject, whether the teachers are competent, and what medium of instruction should be used.
The disastrous primary stage
Jha argues that English is generally very badly taught in Indian primary schools, owing to a complete confusion of ideals and a lack of proper leadership from educational authorities. The ancient method of 'cramming' (rote learning) is tacitly condemned, yet modern methods, Direct, Dalton or Montessori, are poorly executed by teachers who know very little about them.
Primary classes are typically placed in the hands of the junior-most, least qualified teachers, or old teachers on the verge of retirement. During their most impressionable years, children thus receive 'bad nutrition' for their minds and learn incorrect pronunciations that lead to permanent, uneradicated defects, saying 'loin' for 'lion', 'claver' for 'clever' and 'fother' for 'father'. Jha suggests that primary teachers must be trained in phonetics and use linguaphones.
The inappropriate primers
Jha criticises the textbooks and readers prescribed for junior classes. Their themes and environments are far removed from the lives, traditions and surroundings of Indian boys, making the language feel dull, insipid, lifeless and like an 'evil necessity'.
The High School 'gorgon'
At the High School stage, English becomes a terrifying monster, a 'gorgon, hydra, or chimera dire', for Indian students. This is because the language has numerous grammatical pitfalls, such as the confusing use of 'shall' and 'will' and the definite article, and because all other subjects (science, history, geography) are taught and examined through the medium of English. Consequently, examiners deduct heavy marks from students in history or science simply because they cannot express their knowledge in correct English.
The university stage and reading aloud
At the university stage, Jha advises tutors to avoid dry, boring histories of literature. Instead, the favourite method should be reading aloud the finest passages of prose and poetry, as practised by Sir Walter Raleigh, to arouse a genuine passion and elegant conversation among students. He concludes that specialised research is useful only after a student has acquired a broad, cultural and humanistic background.