The present 31st issue of Fortell that we place before you is a close look at heterogeneity in classrooms that has challenged the monolithic insular prescribed text syllabi in classrooms. Teachers of English are constantly engaged in alternate pedagogies as they strive to bring the language closer to the contexts of L2 learners. S/he refers to texts that they are familiar with, idiomatic expressions, narratives that they use in their native languages to make the acquired language less intimidating. Innovation is the key as the teacher looks for new material, new processes to make the teaching learning process more effective and interesting.
Though this issue was to be an attempt at highlighting how indigenous texts are engaged within classrooms either in the teaching of their cultural contexts and diversities or in their use in teaching of the English language, the articles in this issue are not just restricted to it but instead take on different routes that are equally relevant. While G Susan Suman Bala explores the Panchatantra/ Jataka tales as a culturally relevant resource for L2 development, Anchala Paliwal negotiates with caste/ class dichotomies in the classroom. Atiya Khan looks into the needs of vernacular medium students in India, an area often neglected in Language research and development and M.R.Vishwanathan highlights the use of cinema, a medium fast gaining recognition and popularity in teaching soft skills. Sahdev Luhar examines the literary syllabi of various departments of English to pose pertinent questions related to ‘cultural hegemony’, ‘required knowledge’, ‘canon concerns’ and ‘cultural and ideological implications’ of university syllabi for literary studies. The significance of materials development is highlighted by Dipika S Patel and the need to bring in authentic materials in classrooms is argued by the qualitative study of D Vishwa Prasad and Md Shakil Akhtar. In addition, the importance of feedback in training language learners is well taken up by Santosh Mahapatra. Finally, M Ponmani and S Mekala touch upon the role of semantic functions in learning English prepositions. This issue, much like its focus, is a heterogeneous one. It offers a perspective on several aspects of the teaching of English and we hope that our readers enjoy it as much as we did while editing it. Several good articles did not find space in this issue as we were constrained by limited space but we hope to include many more as and when we go fully online. Your responses encourage us to keep going, so do write to us. As always, we look forward to your patronage and comments.
Happy reading!
Prem and Gitanjali
(Guest Editors)
Both, Prem and Gitanjali are Associate Professors of English at Maharaja Agrasen College, University of Delhi.
premksri@gmail.com Prem specializes in American Studies, Cultural Studies with a focus on the Indigenous and the Popular and English Language Materials Development. |
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gitschawla@gmail.com Gitanjali specializes in Folklore Studies, Popular Culture and Innovative Practices in English Language Materials Development. |