The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Call to make classroom more active

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Friday, Jun 22, 2007
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Call to make classroom more active

Staff Reporter

US education official asks teachers to impart communication skills

Lively interaction: George Bishop interacting with lecturers of different departments of Government Arts College in Rajahmundry on Thursday. —

Rajahmundry: George Bishop Junior, a senior English Language Fellow in the US Department of Education, has suggested college teachers to make classrooms active by keeping students more responsive.

Addressing a workshop on the English Language Fellow programme arranged by the Commissioner of AP State Collegiate Education in Government Arts College (Autonomous) here on Thursday, Mr. Bishop said that globalisation and entrance of MNCs in India demanded more communication skills from graduates. It was the duty of college teachers to impart such skills, he said.

Mr. Bishop said that the programme was started by the US in 1969 in 60 countries and some 150 Fellows all over the world were touring to train lecturers and teachers.

He said that this was the first time in Andhra Pradesh that the State Collegiate Education invited him for interacting with English and other subject teachers.

Interactive session

During the interactive session at Government Autonomous College, some teachers asked him how to overcome the influence of the mother tongue on English. Mr. Bishop said most of the teachers were having only teacher centred approach.

He asked them to allow students to speak among themselves in English for a few minutes.

“Students will listen to the lecture for a maximum of 15 to 20 minutes.

You have to keep this in mind and involve them in interaction in the rest of the period,” Mr. Bishop advised.

“If you make students talk, then the class will be interesting than movies,” he said while replying to a question.

Benefits of CLT

College principal N. Ramakrishnaiah, in his welcome address, said that Mr. Bishop’s tour was intended to help in integrating a range of communicative activities into classroom teaching, Communicative Language Techniques (CLT) and enlighten the faculty of all departments on the need, feasibility and benefits of introducing CLT.

B. Varalakshmi, Head of the Department of English, Kameswara Rao, Academic Coordinator, and Moses, chemistry lecturer, participated in the programme.

Mr. Bishop inaugurated the first online e-magazine by the English Club of the English Department and also participated in an interaction session with Jawahar Knowledge Centre.

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