ISSN (Print) - 0012-9976 | ISSN (Online) - 2349-8846

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English Language Education in India: How Aspirations for Social Mobility Shape Pedagogy

While English is not the official language of India, it has become the language of the ruling elite. Fluency in English is extremely sought after and brings with it the potential for social mobility to the underprivileged sections of society. But is an English-medium education the solution? */ */

Vidyapati’s Mithila

A Political History of Literature: Vidyapati and the Fifteenth Century by Pankaj Jha, New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2018; pp 304, Rs 1,095.

 

The Road to English

Students of English from the economically weaker sections in private schools in Delhi now go through an extended phase of muteness and incomprehensibility before they finally pick up the language, almost by osmosis. The US education system, which promotes bilingualism as opposed to diglossia here, has some lessons for India if the attempt is to make English learning more easy, enjoyable, and useful.

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