Exploring English Language Teaching and Learning Issues in Professional Students in Management Colleges

Abstract

The most significant event of the 20th century in the Indian history is freedom from the British rule. and one of the most significant takeaways from the British rule is this wonderful language English . English in India originated as a result of the need to carry trade relationship through East India Company. But Britishers wanted Indians to learn English which was only enough for them to carry the clerical jobs. But soon it was used by the Indian authors and poets to depict the conflicts, sufferings and obsessions around them. Way back in the 19th century, the English Education Act 1835 triggered the overflowing importance of English education across the country and it continues till date. English, in the first half of the 20th century was used to picture the glory of our beloved country and took up colonial and nationalistic themes to stir nationalism. The second half used English as a means of utterance of individual experiences of thrill and joy of freedom and pain or suffering of partition. Thus, there was a genuine change in the focus of the themes and subjects which can be categorised under pre independence and post -independence. Another change was marked at the outset of the 21st century. The demand for English language has been apparently carried over from the previous century in an increasing order of importance and ELT is now being interpreted as an indispensable 21st century skills in India. Be it being creative in writing skills or fluency in spoken skills, the present generation is not in a mood to risk their career for the poor proficiency level in English. However, the failure to bring a remarkable change in most of the cases, backbites the real situation of many such institutions. The first two decades of the 21st century have witnessed enormous changes owing to the technological newlinedevelopments. These technological advancements preceded by the economic liberalisation introduced in the year 1991 paved wide ways for the business relationship between India and the globe. Language remains to be at the core of the matter while establishing any relationship and so is in business. Thus, English now came into the core of all the businesses and other related practices. The aspirants for working in the MNCs grew exponentially. ELT started to take communicative approach in the schools unlike the Grammar Translation and Direct methods used earlier. The wave of change swept over to the higher education as well. The management colleges started to include English as one of the main papers in the curriculum. newlineToday, when the entire globe is facing disruptions in the wake of COVID-19 and life has come to stagnancy for most of the sectors, ELT sector has an important role to play as learning knows no lockdown and language has to be at the core of learning. For the first time in human history the learning domain is expanding more and more as the world has shrank due to pandemic. This was difficult to be imagined without a common link language. The need for an effective communication skill in English is one of the most sought after skills in the business world. The management graduates have to necessarily find out ways in which they should not be deprived of this important skill. Thus, a lot is owed by the teachers. This research work is designed to look into the methodologies being used in the management colleges and the areas of learning difficulties faced by the students in the listening, speaking, reading and writing of English. The study is focussed around following three objectives: to examine the ELT methodology among management students in the colleges of Bihar , to study the perception of learning difficulty and learning English among management students, to examine the teachers perception of the learning difficulties faced by the students of management colleges in Bihar. newlineThe entire thesis is divided into five chapters. The research study consists of both qualitative as well as quantitative study and the fifth chapter discussed the finding in the context of the four language skills. The discussion is followed by a set of recommendations made for the teachers and the management institutes which have a major role to play in influencing the learning outcome of the students and ends with a nine- step solution for making English language teaching and learning fun filled. newline