Use of English

Use of English in Sri Lanka is highly regarded as a good indicator of education. Many people think that English educated people tend to secure better jobs than those who have not proficient in English. English has a good demand in employment and the government spends millions of dollars to educate the people. However, one can notice the deplorable conditions of English education due to a variety of reasons. One reason may be the methodology used in the classroom and its irrevance in the modern world. Many are used to incorporating the Communicative Approach which seems to be a wrong approach. This approach has been there for a long time and no one seems to question its relevance and appropriacy. As educators, the class room teacher should be educated more on the choice of methods available to her because what may be right in one context may be wrong in another context. It is always good to be vigilant and to envisage the outcomes of a bad approach in the classroom. The teacher is in charge of the teaching process and she is accountable for the progress made by the student. No one can and should blame the teacher and everyone has a duty to help her achieve her goals in the school. I feel that she should be given mare training and a good method should be introduced to the school rather than sticking to one method. I note that we do not have our own methodologies and what we have are approaches and methods devised by foreigners particularly linguists from America and England.