My thoughts!

          Introduction Testing English language in Indian classrooms is challenging, yet rewarding career choice. As an English as a Second Language (ESL) teacher must learn to constantly adapt their student's needs. Many times, this means dealing with a variety of challenges and issues in the classroom, many of which are all too common occurrences. Some of challenges and issues in English language testing in Indian classrooms are given below.   Challenges in English language testing Some of the challenges in English language testing in Indian classrooms are as follows:      1. Over-crowded classes Teachers of English experience a lot of problems in handling such a big class. 60 to 70 students are regarded as the normal class size and in certain cases the class size is 100 - 120 students especially in degree colleges. It is difficult to pay due attention to individual students.     2. Over dependence on teachers Many times, students will automatically look to

          Introduction Edmund Wilson's "Marxism and Literature" published in 1938, is his study of the origins of socialism. It celebrates Marxism's ability to throw a great deal of light on the origin and social significance of works of art, but attacks the belief then advocated by that good literature can be made from ideological formulas. While Wilson wrote extensively on the relationship between political ideologies such as Marxism and Literature, he opposed any pre formulated critical frameworks, or what he called "a process of locking and distortion to make [the work] fit the procrustes bed of a thesis".       Edmund Wilson and Literature Edmund Wilson's "Marxism and Literature" is the ninth essay in his collection entitled ' The Triple Thinkers ' comprising twelve essays in literary subjects. In this essay, the author studies the place of art and literature in the system in Didactical Materialism of Marx. The auth

           Introduction A test is an assessment intended to measure a test-takers knowledge, skill, attitude, physical fitness, or classification in many other topics. A good test generally defined as one that is reliable, valid, practical, socially sensitive and candidate friendly.      Characteristics of good test The following points highlight the main characters of a good test. The characteristics are:  1. Validity 2. Reliability 3. Objectivity 4. Norms     1. Validity The first important characteristic of a good test is validity. The test must really measure what it has been designed to measure. Validity is of an assessed by exploring how the test scores correspond to some criteria, that is same behaviour, personal accomplishment or characteristic that reflects the attribute that the test designed to gauge.  Assessing the validity of any test requires careful selection of appropriate criterion measure and that reasonable people may disagree as to whic

             Introduction The needs of assessing the outcome of learning have led to the development and elaboration of different test formats. Testing language has traditionally taken the form of testing knowledge about language, usually the testing of knowledge of vocabulary and grammar. Stern notes that 'if the ultimate objective of language teaching is effective language learning, then our main concern must be the learning outcome.' All language tests are not of the same kind. They differ mainly in terms of design and purpose. In terms of method, a broad distinction can be made between pen- and -paper language test and performance test. The different types of test are as follows: -     1. Oral Tests Oral tests are used to test the overall conversational fluency or pronunciation of a particular subset of phonology and can take the form of imitation, structure responses or free responses. Oral tests can cover the range of language units and can aim to test compr

Michael West has greatly contributed to English language teaching in India in the beginning of 20th century. When he was appointed as a colonial educated in Bengal for 20 years,he made the huge survey on the problems of Indian learners. He developed many original insights inter problems of teaching English in different circumstances. Through the survey he came across with the true problems of English language learner. Hence, he decided to form some remedies in order to solve the problems and improve the standard of English language learner in India. He focused on very basic problem of learners that is lack of proper reading. He says that     " Indian boys need most all to be able to read English rather than to write it and lastly to speak it and understand it when spoken. "     - Michael West Hence, he introduced a reading scheme known as 'New Method' readers West's new method basically refers to the guidelines about reading through the set of accurate vocabul

            Introduction Without grammar, a language wouldn't work, because people couldn't communicate effectively. The speakers and listeners of any exchange need to both function in order the same system in order to understand each other. The grammar of the language in includes basic axioms such as the existence of tenses of verbs, articles and adjectives and their proper order, how questions are phrased, and more. The word grammar comes from Greek, meaning "craft of letters", which is an apt description. In any language, grammar is a systematic study and description of language .             Meaning of Grammar Grammar may be termed as descriptive science, which describes the structure of sentences, functions of the words and their relation to one another at a particular period and of a particular group of people. However, grammar means different things to different people. To the ordinary citizen, it means correct or incorrect English.          

Accuracy and fluency are the two parts of language. For becoming an ideal person accuracy and fluency both are important important. Accuracy refers to the use of correct forms where utterances do not contain errors affecting the phonological, syntactic, symentic or discourse features of the language. It refers to the correctness of language being produced by the speaker. It is the ability to produce grammatically correct sentence. Accuracy is the clear and articulate speaking and writing. In this it is important to spelled words and /or pronounced it correctly. The language should be appropriate to the situation and/or context. Fluency is derived from the Latin word fluens which means "to flow". It may be defined as the ability to get across communicative intent without too much hesitation and too many pauses to cause barriers or breakdown in communication. It is the ability to read /speak accurately, quickly and with appropriate intonation and expression. In this the speak

The ability to use language effectively is appropriately described as an art, and writing skills are a life long necessity. Composition is an art of associating the words and sentences and expressing the thoughts in an eloquent way. There are two types of composition - guided composition and free composition. Guided composition refers teachers involvement and his/her guidance to the students. In guided composition the student is given a good deal of help according to the structure and vocabulary items to be used in a particular piece of writing. Its aim is to support learners in psychologically and cognitively difficult activities. The teachers is working with the groups to guide them in correct use of the target language. In guided composition students are provided the rules about writing by the teacher and they are not allowed to violate the rules. Written exams in schools and colleges are the example of guided composition. In free composition, the student is free to make use of a

               Introduction Officially English has a status of assistant language, but in fact it is the important language of India. After Hindi it is the most commonly spoken language in India and probably the most read and written language in India. Indians who know English will always try to show that they know English. English symbolises in Indians minds, better education, better culture and higher intellect. Indians who know English often mingle it with Indian languages in their conversations. It is also usual among Indians to abruptly move to speak fluent English in the middle of their conversations. English also serves as the communicator among Indians who speak different languages. English is very important in some systems - legal, financial educational, business - in India. Until the beginning of 1990s, foreign movies in India weren't translated order in Indian languages, but were broadcast in English and were meant for English speakers only. The reason Indians give

             Introduction " The study of language is the foundation of all other learning. Language defines us as human. To be human is to use language and to talk is to be a person". Language is a medium of communication. English is a powerful vehicle of communication serves as a link language in a multicultural and multilingual society like India and also as a global linguistic mediator. Prof. Jacob Tharu says " English is no longer some remote but a powerful mystery, lying hidden in the world of textbooks in examination ".    Aims of English language teaching     in India In India now English exist as a second language and the aim of teaching English in India is to help students to acquire practical command on English. "Thomson and Wyatt said that Indian students should not only understand English when it is spoken or written but also should be able to speak and write it". Thomson and Wyatt has told the four specific aims of teaching Eng

An objective test is one which is free from any subjective bias either from the tester or the marker. It refers to any written test that requires the examinee to select the correct answer from among one or more of several alternative or supply a word or two and that demands an objective judgement when it is scored. Some of the advantages of objective test are - 1. Objective test gives scope for wider sampling of the content .  2. It can be scored objectively and easily. The scoring will not vary from time to time or from examiner to examiner. 3. This test reduces (a) the role of luck and (b) cramming of expected questions. As a result, there is greater reliability and better content validity. 4. This type of question has greater motivational value. 5. It eliminates irrelevant factors such as speed of writing, fluency of expression, literary style, good handwriting, neatness, etc. 6. It permit stencil, machine for clerical scoring. Thus scoring is very easy. 7. It measures the

Earlier Kothari Commission was known as Indian Education Commission (1964-1966). The commission was set up by the Government of India on 14th July 1964 under the chairmanship of Daulat Singh Kothari, then chairman of the University Grant Commission (UGC) had submitted its report on 29th June 1966 with 17 recommendations. Among the 17 recommendations, according to the Kothari Commission Report the 3rd recommendation i.e; Development of Languages has 5 subdivisions from which B and E i.e; Three Language Formula and International Languages are mentioned with the guidelines of English in education. The Three Language Formula is designed by CABE (Central Advisory Board of Education) in 1961. Three Language Formula is a third language which is apart from Hindi and English. The Three Language Formula by CABE is modified by Kothari Commission. According to the CABE, earlier the Three Language Formula is as follows- a.  Mother tongue or any regional language. b.  Hindi or any other languag

             Introduction Study skills, academic skills, or study strategies are approaches applied to learning. They are generally critical to success in school, considered essential for acquiring good grades, and useful for learning throughout one's life. Study skills are an array of skills which tackle the process of organising and taking in new information, retaining information, or dealing with assessments. This include mnemonics, which aid the retention of list of information effective reading; concentration techniques; and effective  note-taking. While often left up to the students and their support network, study skills are increasingly taught in high school and at the university level. More broadly, any skill which boosts a person's ability to study, retain and recall information which assist in and passing exams can be termed a study skill, and this could include time management and motivational techniques. Study skills are discrete techniques that can be lear

                  Introduction "The Wasteland", by T.S. Eliot, is widely regarded as "one of the most important poems of the 20th century" and the central text in modernist poetry. The Wasteland is known not only for its probing subject matter but also its radical departure from traditional poetic style and structure, incorporating historical and literary allusions as well as unconventional use of language. The wasteland is one of the most outstanding poems of the twentieth century. It has been hailed as Eliot's masterpiece - the supreme triumph of the poetic are in modern times. The Wasteland expresses with great power the disenchantment, disillusionment, and disgust of the period after World War I. In a series of vignettes, loosely linked by the legend of the search for the Grail, it portrays a sterile world of panicky fears and barren lusts, and of human beings writing for some sign or promise of redemption. The three examples by which Eliot express

            Introduction William Butler Yeats, the winner of Nobel Prize for literature and one of the greatest modern poets, is regarded as a romantic poet by many critics. Not only that he claimed himself to be one of the last romantics there are so many reasons for which W.B. Yeats is called a romantic poet. In fact, there were almost four phases of its poetic career and gradual development was conspicius in his poetic life. He began writing poems in his first phase of life in the romantic and pre-Raphaelite tradition. There was an echo of Spencer, Shaelly , Keats and a great influence of Blake, Coleridge and Wordsworth in his poetry.            Aspects of Romanticism Before going through Yeats poems, we should have a glimpse of the fundamental aspects of romanticism.These aspects are subjectivity, imagination, emotion, love for nature, love for art and beauty, nostalgia, escapism, idealism, symbolism, mysticism, art for art's sake etc. William Wordsworth and his f

                    Introduction William Yeats is often considered to be the 'last romantic' as opposed to being the founding father of modern poetry. Yet one can not simply place Yeats into just one mould, one rigid and defined style of poetry because as a writer during both periods of Romanticism and Modernism, Yeats straddles the line between the two periods and incorporates 'romantic ideologies' into his modern work. His poems seen as the examples of modern liyerature. In his poems, we found astounding variety, political note, realism, religion, mysticism and so on. And all these matters have made him a true modern poet. By nature he was a dreamer, a thinker,who fell under the spell of the folklore and the superstitions of the Irish peasantry. He is a prominent poet in modern times for his sense of moral wholeness of humanity and history.             Elements of Mysticism Yeats may be credited primary with the owner of contributing the elements of myst

Critic, poet, impresario and propagandist, Ezra Pound was one of the shaping forces of modernism, with connections to the era's most influential writers or prose and poetry. In championing liberatory effects of free verse and skillfully practicing the technique of collage and allusion,Pound placed a value on novelty and formal experimentation that help define what we see as the avant grade to this day. His 1909 collection of poems, Personae, showed his deep engagement with both traditional lyrical froms, like the dramatic monologue, and radically new forms of expression. In an introduction to the Literary Essays of Izra Pound, T. S. Eliot declared that Pound "is more responsible for the 20th century revolution in poetry than any other individual". In his article " How I Began ," collected in Literary Essays, Pound claimed that as a youth he had reserved to "know more about poetry than any man living". Through his criticism and translations, as well a

                       Introduction " Symbol gives voice to the dumb things; it gives body to the bodiless things. "                                                 - W.B. Yeats The Symbolist movement in France, from which Yeats took much of his inspiration, was largely formed in reaction to the dominant naturalism of the age. Symbolist writers railed against what they saw as naturalism's obsession with mere exteriority, with precise, unerringly detailed description of the material world and everything in it. In response, Symbolism laid great emphasis on the treatment of fleeting sensations and experiences, those all - to - brief movements of qasi - mystical epiphany which often come to us at certain points in our lives. In place of the objectivity of naturalism symbolist stressed the importance of the subjective for art in general and poetry in particular.            Symbolism a major way of                  conveying his ideas Symbols were vital in that