Vocabulary for Communication

Remarks of Prof Rajiva Wijesinha at the launch of
Vocabulary for Communication
by Parvathi Nagasunderam
At the University of Sri Jayewardenepura Arts Faculty Auditorium on April 27th

The launch of this book is a heartening event, first because it shows that my old student, colleague and friend Parvathi Nagasunderam is still wonderfully productive though now in her ninth decade; and second because the focus of her book shows her continuing commitment to the needs of students.

Many years ago, one of my mentors at university would talk of life’s little ironies, and it seems to me that Paru’s wonderful career has throughout been the result of ironies. I first met her at Peradeniya as a newly-appointed lecturer way back in 1990. Those were the days when university departments of English had very few students, and questions arose as to why they made little or no contribution to overcome the crying need of the country for good English teachers.

Obviously, their products, almost entirely from elite schools, and taught the great tradition of English Literature, would have been useless in our classrooms where language teaching was required, and the more basic as the years passed. But as one professor proudly put it, their students could go to Cambridge for postgraduate work, and I think that indeed over several decades one student did manage this, though he did not come back.

So, the departments developed a programme to take teachers who had passed the external General Arts Qualifying examination, and give them an English degree. But then they were drenched in the same old stuff, which was useless for rural or indeed most urban schools, and many ended up in other institutions. And to compound the problem, Peradeniya decided to offer a combined degree, to give them more exposure to English, it was claimed, but they decided on literary criticism so the poor teachers had to study Aristotle and Horace and Longinus.

Amidst the floundering teachers I did however find two who were hardworking and understood what they read and could talk about it, so I persuaded them to opt for Special Degrees. They were fearful, but in the end, they agreed, and then I resigned. That caused them great disappointment, but perhaps in the end Paru was benefited, for had I stayed I have no doubt she would have got a class. Given the vagaries of our system, there were many classes in the year above hers and in the years below, but in her year the examiners had different priorities. So that while the beneficiaries of the other system were absorbed by Peradeniya, to continue with an albeit confused version of the great tradition – to the disappointment of the much more enlightened Arjuna Parakrama when he became Professor there – Paru had to re-enter the school system.

But then she was selected to teach at the newly-opened College of Education, the one at Pasdunrata, which produced accomplished teachers of English while it was headed by the dynamic Charlie Gamage. This was when pre-service teacher training was begun, and an effective programme was introduced, with much assistance from the British Council, which provided a resident trainer.

This was David Woolger, and while I appreciated the comment earlier about how both Lakshmi Cumaratunga and I had mentored Paru, most credit I believe should go to David. He noted her excellence and encouraged me to use her in the various training programmes I began at the British Council and through the English Association in provincial centres.

For both he and the Representatives at the Council at the time had persuaded me to work on English Language as well as my original literature specialism, and in time I became an avid proponent of revising the system to improve language teaching.

Then, another irony, the new Minister of Education destroyed the Colleges and also the Higher Institute of English Education, which had been set up within the National Institute of Education to work on trainer training. But those in power could not understand the need for this in addition to teacher training, so that admirable initiative collapsed, and Lakshmi Cumaratunga left the country.

Paru, whom David had recruited to the HIEE, was thus ready for a change, and so I was able to tempt her to Jayewardenepura when I began to revitalize the English programme there as well through the Affiliated University Colleges that the visionary Arjuna Aluwihare had started.

My contract at USJP was not renewed for I refused to ask for this, knowing that the Vice-Chancellor wanted to tie me down, whereas I had been working also on the GELT programme and the AUCs which were being transformed into universities. And they needed me more than USJP, which I could leave in Paru’s safe hands. So, it proved, and she took what we had started to much higher levels, including when I urged her while I was at the Ministry of Education developing an English Language Teaching module for the degree, which other universities scorned at the time.

Thus, USJP has been at the forefront of English education in this country, and Paru’s students, who are devoted to her, have continued with her vision of English not only at USJP but at the other higher educational institutes where they teach.

Paru and I were able meanwhile to work together in other areas. She was one of the consultants we took on when I restarted English medium in 2001, though sadly, with a change of government opposition to this initiative meant that we could train only for a year before the NIE took over and did its best to introduce formulas instead of fun. Then, when in 2004 I chaired the Academic Affairs Board of the NIE, and tried to revise syllabi to introduce more critical thinking in all subjects, Paru produced for me a step-by-step set of achievement levels, which would have dealt with the problem she mentioned in her opening remarks, about vocabulary not being developed systematically.

Sadly, Ministers who keep talking about the need for better English do not look at what has been done, which could be made available again. And, while obviously, as I told Dinesh Gunawardena when he asked me to help, I could not get involved with the current government, there are others who could well be consulted such as Paru, but those in charge will not suggest names of those more able than they are.

It is heartening though that in her own way Paru continues to function so effectively to fill the gaps in the system, by producing books like this which are so useful to students. Their needs, rather than the needs of administrators, should be the key to educational initiatives, and I congratulate her, and the students she has nurtured, for keeping this in the forefront of all they do.