Go Straight for the Bush
Many of us might be familiar with the expression “beating about the bush”. It basically means avoiding the point. Given something to speak about or write on, we often indulge in it if we are not sure what exactly to say or don’t understand the topic. This can see you through a few situations in life but will surely go against you in professional life. When you appear in interviews or make presentations, you will be expected to stick to the topic. Digressions will not be appreciated.
For many of us, it becomes difficult initially to stop ourselves from deviating once we start speaking or writing. In academic spheres or debates between friends, one thing leads to another and before you know it, you have switched tracks. In professional life, there’s little time and you will be required to keep the pace up. Your speeches and written works need to be brief and to the point.
Practicing speaking at home or between friends is a good exercise i feel. Just choose a topic and set yourself a time limit of 5-10 minutes. Try to speak or write about it within that time. Stay focussed and suppress any urge to move away from the topic. Say or write only as much you know and do not be under the impression that you are expected to know everything. If you haven’t understood a question while facing an interview, request the interview panel to repeat the question or explain it a little so that you know exactly what is being asked. Rest assured it will be appreciated more than confusion and the consequent beating about the bush.
Are You Listening?
Listening to conversations and commentaries can help you a lot in learning English. Not only do you learn a lot of new words and expressions, you also come to know how to respond appropriately under different circumstances. When you are asked a question, you usually have a choice of various replies but depending upon the situation and the people you are speaking to, you have to choose a reply that is apt.A lot of things are to be considered here- the choice of words, the tone, the body-language etc. Listening to conversations will help you to get an idea about the possible retorts or answers to a statement.
Many of us watch cricket and listen to commentators and just like cricketers, we have our favourite commentators too. What makes certain commentators more popular than others? Apart from a good knowledge of the game, it’s also the way they speak that decides their popularity. Someone speaking in a flat monotone and going on and on about drab technicalities will not impress many listeners, but someone bringing in the excitement of the game in his/her voice, choosing different words to describe similar happenings, cracking an occassional joke and so on will undoubtedly be keenly listened to. I am sure cricket wouldn’t be as much fun without good commentary.Listen carefully to the way such people speak, pay careful attention to their selection of words and changes in tone and you will learn a thing or two about attracting listeners to hear you speak.
Training Blues
While everyone agrees upon the advantages of students equipping themselves with good communication skills, what is neglected is the prospect of professionals who can train the students. I am talking about the teachers in various Engineering colleges here. It goes without saying that to be successful as a teacher in this field, one needs to have a clear understanding of the needs of the industry and the kind of communication skills desired. By and large, the industry requires its workforce to be aware of domain-specific scientific and technical vocabulary, ability to speak politely and positively, reporting, clear and precise writing and making presentations. Now the question is how many teachers teaching English courses in our Engineering colleges possess these skills?
Many of the teachers recruited by engineering colleges are graduates or post-graduates in English where the emphasis is on English literature. As a result, they are largely unaware of the demands of the industry and most of the English course outline handed out is lost on them. They struggle to make sense of the technical vocabulary and other Industry-specific nuances. Upon asking, I was told by people in the Industry that during their college days, their English teachers often found themselves as baffled by the syllabus as them. Nowadays some reputed institutions like EFLU are offering courses on TEFL/TESL which are attempting to address such demands but good courses of this kind remain few and far between. With the growing demand for professionals with good communication skills, opportunities galore for teachers/trainers who can impart these skills as well. The sooner we realize this, the better.
Raw Deal for the Rural
In India we often have a lot of discussions on our lack of English knowledge. It might come as a surprise to many but India is right up there in terms of the number of people who can speak English. Beating UK and Australia hands down and offering stiff competition to the US, India has to offer a huge English-speaking populace. However, this section is only 4 percent of India’s total population and basically the urban cluster and as of now, this is the cluster the industry has to depend upon for filling up its many vacancies.
Almost all the jobs on offer in the private sector require a good knowledge of English. Being more exposed to the requirements and facilities, city-dwellers are in a better position to occupy vacancies in the Industry. The rural youth, on the contrary, focus more on the public sector as proficiency in English is not vital. According to an article on rediff.com, rural youth would rather take up positions of peons and security guards in the state’s payroll than try for jobs in the private sector which require English. According to the article, the north-eastern states have a different story to tell thanks to their Baptist schools whereas the rest of rural India would rather shy away from the private sector with its imposing demand that candidates be fluent in English.
When we are not providing the rural youth adequate exposure and training, we cannot really blame them for their apprehension of city life and the private sector. We need to urgently realize that a significant change in the education system might just raise the percentage of English speakers in India from 4% to 40%.