Nurturing open minds to enhance English skills

Among the important global languages, English is recognised as one of the most important one. Most international communications of recent times were concluded in English. The language has also significantly contributed to bringing people and their cultures closer.

The benefits of learning English can be seen in the economic, social, and political life of the people of India. The country has undertaken the colossal task of rapidly developing its economy, and becoming a powerful force to reckon with. To fulfill this, people must have updated knowledge of the different branches of science. Without expert technicians, mechanics, and engineers, substantial progress is not possible. We need them in increasing numbers. In fact, in the field of medical sciences, countries like China and Japan are 3-4 years behind India. The reason is that they accord very low importance to English language learning. English is a storehouse of scientific knowledge.

Ritu Rathod, founder of Moonlight Musings shares, “When it comes to learning new languages, you should begin with setting your language goals. Setting goals brings all kinds of benefits when it comes to learning a new language. Start learning the language with a common vocabulary and, then, get into listening to simple sentences and try to write down without looking at the text and see whether you are able to remember them correctly or not. Read, listen, write and repeat the exercises. Adopt a style that works for you. Next, you should practice speaking and try to record to see how well you are doing. Try to find something on YouTube and listen. You can even connect with a native speaker and interact so that the person can rectify your errors easily and you can learn the language faster. You should also read and listen to the media in the same language as much as possible to know more about the language such as pronunciation, use of words, and so on. You should also try to engage with the culture and, for that, you should travel to the land of the language. So, make travel plans as soon as you feel you can talk to the native people in their language! Both you and the people of the country would be thrilled to know that you are interested in their language, culture, and land as a whole.”

When it comes to the importance of English as a language for India’s international affairs, the eyes of the whole world are riveted to India’s foreign policy. The world also expects to quench its thirst for peace with this policy. India is friendly with all countries. One has to convince others about the authenticity of her points of view. This cannot be done without an effective medium for the exchange of ideas. English provides us with such a medium. In the UN, discussions are carried on through this language. In fact, most countries of the world conduct business through English.

On the other hand In India, people living in different parts of the country have their own regional languages—all quite different from one another. Every few kilometers, the language keeps on changing. The administrators of the country cannot keep in contact with all these regions without a common language. It is not possible for everyone to know 10 or 14 languages. India has no other common language at present than English.

Strategies to make learning English simple
Try watching movies and TV programs and listening to English programs on the radio. Don’t be discouraged if you can’t understand everything initially. The more you spend time listening, the more you will be able to understand. It might seem evident, but recognizing exactly why you want to learn a language is very important. A language expert says motivation is usually the first thing that goes, especially among students who are teaching themselves.

So, to keep your momentum going, he suggests writing down 10 reasons why you are learning a language on a piece of paper and sticking it on the cover of the file you are using. He says he turns to these when he doubts himself.

For some language experts, reading is not only great for making progress but one of the most rewarding aspects of the learning experience. One of the experts says that reading for pleasure exposes you to all kinds of vocabulary that you won’t find in your daily life and normalises otherwise baffling and complicated grammatical structures.