English – The Medium Of Instruction
The latest education survey has reported that today English has become the second medium of instruction in educational institutions. Hindi still occupies the first position but English has surpassed the other regional languages. We may oppose and march against English, but this survey has proved that the binding common language in the country is English, and it is the language that will only knit the world together.
English augments effective communication. We are not caught in an awkward position if we know the language. This is of greater significance if we are met wit a foreigner or are in a different nation. Many times most of us are left fumbling and trying to find out the way in a foreign locale due to not being able to understand English.
Students who want to pursue studies abroad should specifically take care to know the medium. The course would otherwise be useless and our stay valueless. Same holds true for those wanting a job abroad. How will we be able to work surrounded by English speaking people and not knowing how to communicate. To ensure that our ambitions are not curbed by this defect on our part we should learn English.
The internet has come up in a big way recently. Every information is available on the net. And the medium? It is English in maximum cases. If we are progressive and want to walk hand in hand with the rest of the crowd, internet is a necessity. But without knowing to read and write in English, we cannot command the cyber world.
Books worldwide have been written in native regional languages. They could be accessed by the rest of us. Bestsellers and good books were thus out of reach for a very long time. Today they are available to all. The reason is because they are being translated. Not only to English but other languages as well. But mostly in the former. We cannot read a book in Spanish that has been translated to french. We can but definitely read the English translation of it. Rabindranath Tagore, the Nobel laureate of India and one of the best author to ever live, wrote in Bengali. His works form a part of the syllabus in schools thanks to their English translation.
The benefits of English can be achieved by us only if the education imparting institutions make English the medium of instruction. Only then we will students of today be prepared to face the world of tomorrow. Denis Waitley had rightly said ‘Knowledge is the frontier of tomorrow’. And this is knowledge that will enable us to command the future.
