Too many subjects spoil the soup

During the past decade many educationists, researchers, academics, and journalists have written reams on shortcomings of English language teaching in schools in Sri Lanka. Hence I do not intend to discuss them in this brief article. Instead I wish to focus the attention of the reader on some proposals that I have been pondering on during the past few months.

To begin with, it is necessary to write here that the government has taken two important steps, which are indeed laudable, to promote the usage of English in schools, i.e. introducing the bilingual education system and retraining of all the English teachers on how to make the students speak English.

Yet there are some obstacles that prevent us from reaping the full harvest of the above initiatives.
The omnipresent school time table allocates only 40 minutes a day for English language, a practice that has been in operation since time immemorial. Can the teacher pay attention to every child in a class of 40 students during this 40 minute period? Can the teacher communicate with every student during this limited period of time? Is it possible for every child to ask at least one question from the teacher on something that is incomprehensible? Is it possible for the teacher to mark the exercises of all of them during a period of 40 minutes? Without communicating with every child, can a language, which is not used at home at all, be taught successfully? The answer is obvious.

My first proposal is on the urgency and great importance in increasing the time allocation for English at least to one hour a day. One may wonder how that can be implemented when so many subjects have to be taught from 7.30 a.m. to 1.30 p.m. Should a student from Grade 6 to Grade 11 learn so many subjects? How much useful are they for their day to day life or for a secure future? My conviction is that learning five subjects a day will be more fruitful rather than forcing a child to learn eight subjects a day . According to media, a panel of medical doctors, appointed by the present Minister of Education, has said that too many subjects, too many facts, and too large syllabi and voluminous text books have not only nullified the objectives but also made some children ill. Are these children learning happily in our schools? Why do they sing and dance on the days that schools are closed for vacations? Why are they so happy on the days that schools are closed early? These are some questions one must consider seriously.

My second proposal is that a pass in English language at the G.C.E. (O.L) Examination be made compulsory for receiving education in Grade 12 & 13 in a government school. Yet it must not be an obstacle for him or for her to sit the G.C.E. (A.L.) Examination as a private candidate. A child will not learn if he or she does not see the usefulness and necessity of what he or she is expected to learn by decision makers of education. When the child knows that a pass in English is compulsory for Advanced Level education he or she will make an extra effort to pass English.

My third proposal is with regard to the General English subject for A.L students. Millions of Rupees have been spent for printing the English text book for AL students. Is it not an utter waste of money as these valuable texts books are gathering dust in schools or at students’ homes? Even the lukewarm interest in learning English that one witnesses in Grade 12 students no longer exists when they go to Grade 13. The pass percentage of students in General English at the A.L Examination is negligible to say the least. One could say that this is due to the pressure of other factors. These students still do not know that they cannot survive without a sufficient English knowledge in a globalised society. Hence my proposal is to make a pass in General English compulsory to be qualified for university education. If this proposal is implemented we will be able to witness an unprecedented interest in learning this hitherto abandoned subject among them.

My next proposal is in respect of the English text books supposed to be learnt by the students from Grade 5 to Grade 11. My proposition is that some of these text books have made learning English bitter to say the least. A comparison of Grade 4 and Grade 5 text books will show the vast gap between these two. A child who learns English enthusiastically up to Grade 4 loses interest in English when she or he studies in Grade 5 as the text book has made English difficult and bitter for the child . Without giving a text book that creates an interest in the child in learning English, improving English knowledge of him or her is nothing but a futile exercise. As such urgent steps should be taken for writing, rewriting and revising some of these English text books.

My last proposal in this brief article is on the need of creating a dedicated English teacher. Without a teacher dedicated to the cause, no amount of innovative reforms will bear fruit. It is true that most of the English teachers are dedicated and they do their best in schools to teach English to their students. Some do even extra lessons after school free of charge. Yet there are some who give priority for their family matters. It is inevitable that some female teachers go on maternity leave for fairly long periods. A few in every education Zone are purposely on no pay leave as their priority is elsewhere. If no steps are taken to arrest this tragic situation it will be copied by others exacerbating the present unsatisfactory situation. As such it is necessary to send the teachers who are not dedicated, who pay scant attention to teaching to his school’s students, who neglect their work, and who show no results, for compulsory residential training during school vacations. I have no doubt that most of them will turn into good English teachers within a short period of time when they know that they will have to go for residential training courses during school vacations many miles away from their spouses and their own children.

Premalal B.Ranaweerage.

Director-English
Matugama Education Zone