Critical overview on essay by C. Kannan

Maharaja Krishnakumarsinhji Bhavnagar University Bhavnagar

Smt. S. B. Guardy Department of English

Written by: Poojaba G. Jadeja
Roll No.: 20

Year: 2014, Semester: 3rd 

Paper:12: English Language Teaching

Critical overview on 
“Decolonizing teaching Materials and Strategies: Towards an alternative pedagogic”
by C. Kannan

In the essay, “Decolonizing teaching Materials and Strategies: Towards an alternative pedagogic”, C.Kannan presents colonial methods in English language teaching and tries to suggest alternative methods in ELT in India. He finds effects on colonialism in English language teaching in India and objects it. He starts with…

“The colonial paradigm always concentrated on projecting and imposing the attitude of the British.”

He tries to say that, even today after independence of India, in education system colonialism rules. Though the objectives of teaching English changed, a considerable efficiency in ELT has not been achieved.

He clearly says that, pre-independent India had a philosophically sound and psychologically reasonable pedagogic widely practiced with culture specificity. But in the modern times India has not succeeded in establishing an Indian education system based on our forms, our style, and its own ethos.

Kannan discusses the very important point in ELT literature as content of language teaching. He argues that till the learner has not acquired the required language abilities, he cannot enjoy the learning material literature; because the language of literature is a very artistic and not very easy to understand. Because of this strange and complex literature as a learning material or as a content of ELT, this exercise of learning English becomes fertile. So, it is necessary to have, to learn basic language skills to appreciate literature.

Having objection towards colonial contemporary teaching materials and methods, he suggests some different way of teaching English in India with changing methods and materials.

In his essay he presents some alternative pedagogies of teaching English in India without effects of colonialism. He explains that, the contemporary Indian scenario alludes to the socio-cultural milieu and the needs of the nation. He suggests to make change in ELT to modernise India. With giving answers, he defines what Modernization is,

“Modernization is not westernization. It is an attitudinal change of the individual in his attempt to keep the world change.”

Still India depends much on the colonial systems, teaching materials of ELT, even in post-colonial context. He puts his objection about that with his logical views.

In most of the universities, English courses have books of English literature and English masterpieces in India. But the learners are not familiar with culture, context and background. In these materials, there is total ignorance of the ‘Basha’ literature.

It means the learners mother tongue and its literary tradition, present writings are must in teaching materials. Learner’s real life experiences and familiar contextualization must be main chunk of the teaching materials, because the learning materials with unfamiliar culture components baffle young learners. They may experience a sort of ‘culture shock’ and it will leads to ‘stigmatization’.

He points out where the colonialism effects on our education system that, British educationalists impose their cultural forms through learning materials, imperial ideologies become objects of studies with ignoring the nativeness. He writes,

“Perhaps the western education system must have resulted in a ‘liberating influence’ upon the Indians. And this liberating influence was achieved at the cost of rejecting our own identity and way of thinking.”

And he suggests to free from this, improving the existing teaching strategies, there is a need to reconsider the quality of the teacher, teaching materials, learners and environment.

For example:

To wish anyone ‘Good Morning’ is western idea or approach, because of having cloudy weather, they wish Good Morning when the weather is clear. But still we teach students, to start with hi or hello to communicate. Instead of these words, hi, hello or Good Morning, we, in India, should teach to start communication with ‘Namaste’ or other Indian cultural words.

Some suggestions for improving English language teaching, according to C. Kannan are given below:

• Ø  Learning environment with learner centeredness, learner and teacher learner interaction.
• Ø  Proper arrangements of the study materials
• Ø  Teachers must be highly resourceful and creative to innovate new classroom techniques, because teaching is an art and effective teaching leads to effortless learning.
• Ø  The various methods can be replaced by new techniques.

C. Kannan, then, explains the concept of error analysis, Contrastive analysis and Pedagogic analysis.

• Error analysis: Error analysis will be followed by remedial teaching to test the common errors of learners.

• Contrastive analysis: In Contrastive analysis, the basic similarities and contrasts in the mother tongue and the target language is studied.

These two terms are familiar in education contributed by linguistics.

• Pedagogic analysis: Pedagogic analysis is an attempt to analyse the subject matter through the eyes of the learner. It is an endeavour to help the learner in the process of making the learning material into a receivable form.

Pedagogic analysis with special reference to a teaching module in ELT consists of the following major components. According to Kannan, identification of the major and minor concepts is the first component in the module. Like, in a poem, the concentration is in the imagery pattern, figures of speech, and linguistic nuances etc. all these elements which render ‘poetic qualities are to be assimilated by the teacher and the identification of the teaching items is the basic step. Kannan relates this step in Indian context that, as a second language learner, Indian learners need some basic training in phonetics.

Another step is the identification of the functional aspects reflected in the lesson as structures. The next step is preparation of pre-diagnostic test items are made to identify the lapses. It is an attempt to identify the language skills which are to be included.

These stages are followed by comparing and identifying new topics and items aiming at an interdisciplinary approach.

He, further, discusses the problems and difficulties of a learner of ELT. He writes, in a second language communication becomes a near improbability in a teacher dominated classroom. And he openly supports learner centered environment in ELT. He adds,

“The teacher must be active to make students ‘function’ English. Drag the outside reality into the class room and in the speech act try to overcome the communication gap between the interlocutors.”

He, then, explains that, teachers have to relate the study of English to actual needs of the learner insists for a need-based syllabus.  He describes about evaluation of ELT in different times. Like oral approach or situational language teaching associated with the British linguist s during 1980s. The audio-lingual method flourished during the 1050s was derived from the structural linguistics. Communicative language teaching emerged as a method during late 1960s.

He talks about teaching skills, which can improve the professional competency of the teacher. He suggests seven skills for ELT teachers to teach effectively and with new pedagogies and make learner centred classroom.

He accepts about flexibility in ELT, teaching techniques, that any particular approach in ELT without any consideration for the context and specificity is not feasible.

According to him language is a power and discourse both, in colonial period, ELT had the main objective of westernization. There is an inevitable need for demolishing the conventional methods manipulated by the dominant culture.  

And the traditional approaches and objectives of ELT must be refined to balance them with the present needs. To enrich our pedagogical strategies according to current trends and needs of the society, we have to consider the integration of the sensibility of the present society with a clear perspective of the developing world.

He gives importance to productive skills of learners and also presents the idea about phonetic learning. Teaching spoken English with the main objective in India is not a complex process. Because the time has to come to abandon the archaic name ‘received pronunciation’. The concept of general Indian English has become out of context, and in the context of globalization, internal intelligibility is a desirable factor. And for the better pronunciation learning, he points out ‘Functional method’ rather than formal teaching method.

About the debate of literature and language, he says, literary texts and learning materials based on real life situations will create an awareness regarding the strategy of teaching language through literature.

In concluding part he talked about colonialism in ELT and need to change, “During the colonial period the politics and culture of the dominant group were endorsed. The urge to decolonise directly alludes to the need to include alternative discourses instead of the old stereotyped.”

By alternative discourses, he means the popular culture and literature of the marginalized. With different perspective of teaching, we have to reform or reawaken subaltern culture according to Kannan.

He answers to change the form in ELT that, 

“The ELT situation in India can be changed and improved by analysing the entry-level competence and the needs envisaged.”

At the conclusion, he writes, 

“ELT should not be a continuation of the out-dated age-old tradition- should not be a residue of the colonial attitude. A post-colonial attitude must be evolved in terms of ELT.”

He, then, suggests with post-colonial attitude that, “In preparing teaching materials, we have to select and talk about our own literatures, languages and values through English…we still endorse the dominant politics and culture of the mainstream which is leading towards ‘interior colonialism’."

Conclusion:

The essay by C. Kannan suggests some changes in ELT with having post-colonial attitude. The writer also tries to give some good suggestion about teaching strategies and pedagogies which is related to our Indian culture and context without colonial effects.

But the main issue is that the ‘English’ language itself is colonized and if we want to decolonized, we should change not only methods and materials of ELT but ELT itself. Still the writer C. Kannan presents good afford in decolonizing ELT-the subject and it’s technique in this essay, with giving some solutions.