Why English?

According to recent media reports, nearly 400 home-trained nurses have been declared unsuitable to work in the US because they are not proficient in English. This situation has shocked some and prompted them to highlight in newspapers the need to promote teaching of English. According to media reports, the Education Ministry is planning to introduce English as the medium of instruction in all schools from Grade 1 next year. The Ministry attributes lack of fluency in English among students as one of the factors which limit their progress.

It is a generally accepted educational principle that for effective education, the most appropriate medium of instruction is the mother tongue of the child. It is because of this that basic education in many developed and developing countries is provided in their mother tongue. In Sri Lanka, five decades ago, in 1957, the medium of instruction of science subjects was switched from English to Swabhasha. Almost 100% of the present scientific professionals, who were undergraduates in the post –1960 era, studied G.C.E. A/L science in Swabhasha, and subsequently in the English medium at the university. A large number of them went abroad, studied/worked in France, Germany, Japan, etc. Some of them obtained postgraduate qualifications. Most of them have become experts/ specialists in their fields. Learning G.C.E A/L science in Swabhasha had neither been an obstacle for them to pursue higher studies nor to practice their professions very effectively.

Almost 100% of the people living in Sri Lanka can converse either in Sinhala or in Tamil or both. To purchase a few items from a shop or to do a transaction in a bank, English is not essential. There are some ministers and ministry secretaries, Directors/Chairpersons in government institutions, medical doctors, engineers, university academics et al who are not very fluent in English, but are very good at their work and have been able to maintain their professional standards. A large number of non-English (NE) speaking countries, such as China, Japan, India, etc. have developed more than the English-speaking countries during the last two decades, although a large percentage of the people from these NE countries are not fluent in English. Our forefathers who constructed massive irrigation systems, which have marveled the western scientists, did not know a word of English.

For most of the activities/transactions within the country a good knowledge of Sinhala/Tamil is more useful than English. Currently, Korean has become important to secure jobs in South Korea. Perhaps in the near future, some other foreign language/s may become essential to secure jobs in other foreign countries. Thus, English is not all that essential, although some cry head over heels for the low-standard of English among schoolchildren.

Of course, English is essential for those who wish to pursue tertiary education, especially in scientific fields, and also for those who have to make numerous transactions in English, and for those who plan to go to an English-speaking country for employment. Anyone could master English, if one gets exposed well to this language for a few months. Students who go to non-English-speaking countries such as China, Japan, France, Germany become very fluent in the language of those countries within a few months. But what is happening in Sri Lanka is that there is a great hurry to make all our students from the primary classes proficient in English. In some schools, all subjects including Buddhism are taught in English although the mother tongue of the students is Sinhala or Tamil. As a result, students learn neither the subject matter nor English properly.

In many schools, especially in the rural areas, there are no teachers proficient in English to teach English. Even if there are such teachers, teaching English only a few hours a week will not make a student fluent in the language unless he/she uses it frequently. Hence, only a very insignificant percentage of students are fluent in English at the time of leaving school. Even most of the undergraduates are in this category. Fluency in any language can be achieved only by “complete immersion” in the language. A few hours of English lessons per week is not going to make students fluent in the language.

It is important that those who pass out of universities have a good command of English. Examinations such as TOEFL and IELTs are conducted to assess the standard of those who wish to get admitted to foreign universities. In these examinations, speaking, writing, reading and listening are assessed. At present the English courses conducted in public schools appear to be not concentrating on these aspects. Their vocabulary, spelling and fluency are poor.

If the Ministry of Education is keen to improve the standard of English, a realistic programme needs to be implemented. It would be effective if the relevant authorities conduct intensive English classes of three-four months duration or more, by teachers who are proficient in English, for those who need to have a good knowledge of English. These classes can be conducted in all DS Divisions (perhaps one-two schools in each DS Division) in the afternoons/evenings/week-ends. For this purpose, the vacant class rooms of schools can be used. These classes may be fee-levying. Hence it will not be a financial burden to the Dept. of Education, and students are benefited as they do not have to travel to towns located far-away where private English classes are held.

Dr. C. S. Weeraratna