Joseph Dwaileebe (sitting 4th from right) seen here along with college teachers at Dimapur Government College on April 29.
DIMAPUR, MAY 1 (MExN): At a workshop on Communicative English Language Classroom organised by the English Department, Dimapur Government College, Joseph Dwaileebe, English Language Fellow attached to the US Embassy spoke for many English teachers in India when he said “English should not be taught through such a heavy emphasis in literature and structured grammar. Rather it should be taught contextually with the active participation of the students so that they may learn how to actually communicate in the language.”
Using simple materials such as a few words written on pieces of paper, Dwaileebe demonstrated to the nearly 30 college-teachers from around Nagaland participating in the day-long workshop that a teacher’s best tool need not be the latest electronic gadget but an ability to communicate ideas in the simplest possible way.
With more than 40 years of experience teaching English to non-native speakers in all parts of the world, Dwaileebe is one of those rare teachers who can make grammar sound interesting and easy. But when it was pointed out by Luxmi Yepthomi, Head of Department, Dimapur Government College that the foundation for grammar is best laid at the pre-college level which in the present scenario is a pipe-dream, an overhauling of the syllabi and teaching method might be the only solution was the general consensus of the participants.
