Remoulding the English teaching culture
 A fresh emphasis is now laid on teaching of English at various
levels. The plan was first termed as 'teaching English as a second
language'. The term has gradually shifted on to various other spheres.
Today the learning is known as 'life skill', a better term. The
teaching of English and learning methods change from time to time. The
earliest teachers of English in our country were closely linked with the
colonial ruling when the textbooks had been brought down from England.
While a series called 'New Method Readers' was in vogue, a series of
supplementary readers too was introduced. These supplementary readers
were known all over the world as 'A L Bright Story Readers', a series
designed by one of the British publishers named Alan Lane.
Together with the New Method Readers, there are some other texts used
in public schools. One well known textbook is titled as 'First Aid in
English'. The other was an Indian textbook titled as 'Desk Work' a
series of workbooks designed to teach general grammar and parts of
speech.
The New Method Readers contained not only mere grammar lessons but
also a creative introduction to other branches of literary studies.
There were stories, fables and parables of all types simplified for the
use in schools.
 But somehow the situation changed with the emphasis on more oriental
forms. The local English teachers, especially trained in Training
Colleges, had the opportunity to test their skills and abilities in the
field of teaching English.
Long before the teaching of English was taken into the hands of the
Ministry of Education, the series of books titles as English with a
Smile by W H Samaranayaka entered the scene.
By this time his well known work Practical English was utilized
widely by the teachers of English all over the country. A parallel
series of English teaching texts came to be known Deepali English
Readers by D V A S Amarasekara who later became the professor of
Mathematics at the University of Colombo. He was more known as Professor
Douglas Amarasekara. I came know him in the mid-sixties in the field of
theatre where he proved to be a mentor in the use of musical score for
theatrical works.
He helped me by creating the score to my Sinhala stage adaptation of
Henrik Ibsen's Hedda Gabler. He was, as we understood him, an all
rounder with a high calibre of knowledge in Greek classics. He was also
a keen enthusiast in the teaching of English both at school and
university levels.
As an instructor of English (not a lecturer of English) I once sought
advice from him. That was the moment I came to know of his series of
English books written in late 40s and 50s. He told me that the local
flavour as he denoted his concept should enter the teaching of English
as a variant to the existing patterns. We had long discussions on the
subject. His advice was to experiment constantly on teaching and
learning methods of the study of language.
Towards late 50s there were many more books used as classroom texts
to teach English. The Radiant Way, a series of Indian books, was
introduced. This, it looks, had been successful from the viewpoint of
some English teachers. I am not too sure of the verdict. At the
university level of teaching English, pioneers have been A M G Sirimanne
and Regi Siriwardhana, who, if I remember right, designed special
courses leaving aside the text used at the time.
This was 60s when all universities commenced their 'English Teaching
Units'. Specially trained English teachers were employed as an
experimental stage in the process. Some of the teachers had already
proved like graduates but devoid of knowledge on teaching methods. As
time passed, this barrier had to be lifted. Specialists from various
foreign countries were invited. Teaching and learning English workshops
were seasonally held. These gave a new impetus to the teaching of
English.
But still one issue lingered on. Are we teaching the right kind of
English geared to the social necessities and improving the academic
abilities such as the acquisition of new information from various
sources other than the classroom texts? This was a necessity to
understand on the part of the educationist.
With the spread of teaching and learning English as a compulsory
need, quite a number of bilinguals too appeared in book markets. One
book was titled as Kathabahata Ingrisi. Several weekly papers too
appeared in the news stands.
Bilingual texts or parallel readers too were printed. All in all the
terms such as Spoken English , Basic English have come to denote the
live situation. But talking to the specialists in the subject of
teaching, a rare species, in the academic sphere, one comes to know that
a necessity to design new works is a must.
English teaching classes too have appeared in the society conducted
by so called veterans in the field. It so happens to tax the
participants and end up in either a fiasco or a tragedy. This shows the
necessity of scientifically moulded works for the teaching of English.
Most publishers are fond of earning a colossal amount of money
overnight from these publishing ventures. But the real ideology has to
be emphasized in a better manner. It looks as if some state sponsored
English teaching programmes are secretive and confined to so called
educational projects alien to the rest of the academia.
May the barrier be lifted soon! The teaching of English at all levels
should be transparent.
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