English Language Education in India

Education Sector

The education sector in India has been constantly growing for the last several decades.  Various reports have confirmed that this country has one of the largest educational systems regarding the number of institutions.  This growth was directly influenced by the emergence of new niche sectors such as e-learning, vocational trainings and child-skill enhancement.

SEE ALSO: Hinglish and Its Distinctive Pronunciation

Quality of Education

According to Technopak, the greatest problem in the education sector is a shortage of trained teachers and the usage of outdated systems.  Teachers are increasingly turning to pedagogies alternative to rote learning but majority of students is still taught this way.  The question of language of instruction has also been very important in relation to this sector since the country’s independence.

To be able to be competitive in the job market in India, you have to know English.

English as a Language of Instruction

Though there have been many attempts to replace English as the language of administration, it remained the language of instruction especially in higher institutions.  The rise of the Internet and market globalization cemented status of English as lingua franca and the knowledge of excellent English became of crucial importance not only for communication but for professional and academic improvement, as well.  Youth in India increasingly wants to speak natural American English in order to get more opportunities to work or study abroad, which is another important educational trend in the country.

The abovementioned social factors all influenced the increase in demand for quality education in English.  English is the main means for transporting messages in this big country but its constant interaction with Hindi languages transformed it into a separate variety.  Though this variety has its own standards and functions very well in India, communication in international settings requires awareness of other varieties of English.

Characteristics of Indian Variety

Parallel usage of English and other Hindi languages resulted in a variety that differs from BBC English or GA in many aspects.  In terms of phonetics Indian speakers tend to replace th and dh sounds in English with t and d because no Indian language has these sounds.  As for grammar, one of the problems is using progressive tenses in statements with stative verbs.  Besides this, code-switching where speakers tend to insert both Indian and English words and phrases within the same sentence, also contributes to further changes of English.

Professional Requirements

This variety often makes Indian speakers of English recognizable for their accent.  Though their communication with other English as a second language (ESL) speakers might be perfect in most respects, having such a strong accent can lead to various inconvenient situations.  This is primarily related to international professional opportunities where there is often required to have one of the globally recognized accents (Received Pronunciation or General American).  These requirements may limit many Indian professionals who intend to work in foreign companies or teach English as a second language (ESL) in a foreign country.

Indian youth increasingly focuses on improving their education in English schools but this does not always help reducing their accent and using proper phonetic pronunciation.

Besides this, those who want to acquire American English have even more problems as Indian variety mostly relies on British English.  Therefore, in order to improve their spoken English learners must particularly pay attention to choosing the best possible professional courses or tools available for independent language and pronunciation learning.