KOCHI: The fact that Kochi and Kerala as a whole are teeming with Spoken English classes is well-known. But sensing the urgency of getting children to speak English fluently from an early age, many schools in the city have been hiring the services of Communicative English teaching academies.Among the many agencies operating in the State, the two big names are the Academy of Better Communication (ABC), and Accenta Education. Seeing the rising demand from schools, the agencies have stepped up their efforts in bringing in teachers who can speak and teach the Queen’s language well. The schools of course have their own English teachers, but the problem, says Jijo James, Director Accenta Education, is that many are not able to instruct well in English. “I was at a British Council event in the State recently, where a teachers training programme was held. What I saw was that most teachers, though very knowledgeable, were mostly not fluent in English. Hence, schools are increasingly depending on Communicative English teachers sent by agencies to hold regular classes,” he says. The question is, why would schools hire agencies when they can select good candidates themselves? James points out that getting good English teachers has always been a problem in the State. “The academies on the other hand, select teachers from all over the country, so they provide better quality, something that local schools may not have access to,” he says.James though he studied in Kerala, says he could pick up English well because he was in a Missionary school. “But by and large, students here tend to speak only in their mother tongue. Even teachers teach English in Malayalam. Also, from a young age, stress is laid on writing and learning, not on speaking and listening in English. Naturally, students tend to suffer when they enter a more competitive environment. I got this feeling when I moved to Bangalore for studies. I realised how multi-cultural it was compared to Kerala.” That’s how the idea for his academy came up four years ago, “The thought behind it is not merely to make money, but to create a community of people who can speak English well,” says James.In Kerala alone, his academy has over 30 schools as his clients. The teachers are selected from all over India, with a sizeable number from Goa, he says. The starting salaries for young teachers on an average is Rs 7000 with accommodation provided. All teachers are put through a training programme, because, good spoken English does not necessarily translate into good teaching abilities.The Academy of Better Communication (ABC), is another agency that hires teachers from all over India. Amazingly, several of the young women are from Nagaland, who have come to teach in Kerala. Director of ABC, M Krishnamurthy, tells us that the academy renders its services to almost 16 English medium schools in Kochi, and over 35 in the State. The reason he cites for such demand in Kerala is the growing realisation among parents that their children have to pick up English early. “Also, there is a definite difficulty in getting children to speak in English here,” he says. And true enough, young Communicative English teachers have a tough job on their hands. We met Lavanya Binu, from ABC, who teaches at one of Kochi’s schools. She points at her voice that has gone hoarse with all the rigorous teaching. “The students are conditioned to speak in Malayalam, which makes it near impossible to get them to talk English initially. Many even asked me, ‘Maam, what is so wrong about Malayalam that we must talk in English?’ It is that mind-set,” she says. So Lavanya decided she would have to make learning fun for her class. “I held a talk show for the children where different topics such as bribery in politics, fever mania, and stale food in the city were given. There was also an exhibition we had to make English grammar interesting,” she says.James believes academies like his will thrive, as long as they are relevant and offer quality services. “Right now, they are essential in the education fabric of the State. Communicative English has become the key to progress, and parents are more keen than ever that their children must speak the language well. Naturally, schools, whether CBSE, ICSC, SSC or government-run ones are queuing up for outside help," he says.[email protected]
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