Learning Outcome Based Curriculum Framework and Teaching of English in India

Abstract

The discourse regarding the teaching of English has witnessed many twists and turns in the post independent India. It has gone well beyond the initial debates whether it should continue as an official language and as a medium of instruction.  From time to time various committees and commissions were set up to keep the teaching of English in tune with the demands of time but unfortunately the recommendations made by the designated bodies were either  incongruous  with the ground realities of an Indian language classroom or they were not implemented in their letter and spirit.  Even when English language had emerged as a global lingua franca some of the commissions in India were busy in deciding whether it should be taught as a library language or as an additional language. The mismatch between the proficiency in English that our curriculum developed among the learners and the actual requirements of the learners came to the forefront after the globalisation of the Indian economy. The pass outs of our colleges and universities struggled in the job market due to their poor communication skills in English. The learners from the semi urban, rural and tribal areas were the worst victims of this mismatch as the pedagogy in vogue for the teaching of English did not train them to meet the requirements of the job market. The University Grants Commission of India issued Learning Outcome Based Curriculum Framework (LOCF) for English in 2019, which proposes a framework for the teaching of English that unlike the earlier euro-centric models in practice in India is in conformity to the Indian ground realities. The present paper will look at LOCF in the backdrop of the recommendations of the earlier commissions and committees and provide its critique in relation to the effective teaching of English in India.