Misleading English Language Course Advertisements

Off late, the capital has witnessed a tremendous increase in the number of various professional institutes, especially those, which proclaim that they cater for those underprivileged, who want to speak English. Local newspapers are full of advertisements about English courses, which are offered at various institutes at varying fees. These institutes boast that they can groom an individual to meet the modern day needs.

However, a question often arises in one’s mind about their authenticity. There are various institutes which are operating with various names and are charging hefty money. If one visits them, then one can clearly make out that they themselves are ill-equipped to teach the students.
The so called teaching staff is ignorant about English language. "The teachers themselves are unacquainted about the language. If you talk with them then most of them speak incorrect English with lots of grammatical errors and fumble a lot so how can they groom those students," says RC Shukla, a resident of Vikas Lok lane.

Echoing the same sentiment, Pankaj Purohit, a student says, "No doubt English is a global language and plays a very important role in a country like India besides being in great demand in day to day business. However, hardly any institute in the city teaches it properly."

Sometimes it is really absurd to read the advertisements that these institutes not only teach English but also British and American English. They further train students for the interviews for Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) and Knowledge Process Outsourcing (KPO) companies. In addition to this, they have courses (with fees ranging from Rs 2500 to Rs 4500) like personality development and confidence building to face any interview within 7 to 15 days.

"I think even today English rules the roost. Those, who speak this language, are seen with respect and those, who cannot, are looked down upon even if they are very talented. I am not against English language but it is our Indian mentality, which has given birth to these institutes," says an annoyed student Pramanshu Singh.

"Some of these institutes are registered but others are not. But you see, in our country it is easy to get things done by greasing the palms. There should be stringent rules to obtain registration, as they are doing less of constructive work and are only filling their coffers," adds Pramanshu.

If one reads the pamphlets then a closer look shows that the course is not designed to impart but rather to misguide and mint money. Some say that they will teach English language by playing English songs, which seems ridiculous.

"I think that they should purchase some good CD's designed by University Grants Commission (UGC) to impart knowledge. But they are only minting money and misguiding those, who are actually interested to learn but they cannot and by the time they realise, it is too late", says Gaurav Gupta, a resident of cement road.