LANGUAGE IN INDIA

Teaching and Learning Language Through Distance Education

Kannada for Administrators: A Case Study

B. Mallikarjun, Ph.D.

Kannada as the Language of Administration in Karnataka

Karnataka has a long history of administration. The language used for administration depended on the rulers. By and large the Kannada kings used Kannada, Muslim rulers used Urdu and the British used English. However, the Muslim rulers and the British knew the importance of the use of the language of people in their day-to-day administration and thus used of Kannada wherever they found it necessary. After Independence, and after the Constitution of India came into operation, the State of Karnataka passed the Karnataka Official Language Act 1967, according to which Kannada was declared as the Official Language of Karnataka.

Karnataka Official Languages Act

This Act envisages that all the official transactions are conducted within the state in Kannada. However, due to various reasons like non-availability of materials (manuals, glossaries of technical terms, etc.), manpower (knowing Kannada well to conduct administration in Kannada because these officials were educated mainly in English), and the lack of adequate machinery like typewriters and now appropriate and user-friendly software, Kannada has not totally replaces English in government administration.

The Official Language Policy of Karnataka - Why This Slow Progress?

The Official Language policy of the state intended the use of Kannada in administration. But it was possible for an individual to complete his school education in Karnataka without learning Kannada. This incompatibility of language use in education and administration, created due to a flawed language policy, necessitated a way out.

Educated people fail to acquire working knowledge of Kannada in the school education. Since knowledge of Kannada is a precondition for some category of jobs and a post-condition for some others, the Government provides many avenues for them to learn Kannada. Some of the ways that one acquired the knowledge of Kannada were:

Having Kannada both as first language and as medium of instruction.

Having Kannada as a medium of instruction, though first language is different from Kannada.

Studying Kannada as a main or first language though the medium of instruction might be other than Kannada.

Studying Kannada as an optional subject; or as second language. Or,

Passing any language examination recognized equivalent for the purpose of government administration was considered as sufficient.

Objectives of Learning Kannada for Administration

The aims and objectives of language learning and teaching in all the above cases are different from the aim of making the language learner competent to conduct official business in Kannada. A wide gap is easily visible in terms of the objectives of language teaching, instructional materials used, teaching methodology, outcome and the actual performance of the persons coming into the government service from many of these avenues. There is a big gap between the real language needs of the professions and the language competence gained by the persons through the first four avenues. The language competence of these individuals is enhanced through in-service/orientation/ training programs in administrative Kannada.

So, far, efforts have been made to train a large number of employees of the government who do not know Kannada through conventional means such as classroom instruction, and printed learning manuals for home study, etc. While these efforts have borne fruit, a combination of several media, in addition to classroom instruction, need to be exploited. Furthermore, the learning materials used for teaching the Government officials need to be function-oriented.

Composite Correspondence Course in Kannada for Government Officials

One of the ways that the fifth option above is carried out is through the one year Composite Correspondence Course in Kannada which we deal with in this article. This course is implemented for the last 24 years and several categories of officials have benefited by this course.

In this paper, I intend to share the experience of this successful course with the readers of the journal Language in India, with the hope plans and strategies adopted or to be adopted in other states of the Indian Union will benefit by a study of this experience. Hence this paper presents an in-depth account of the course design, methodology adopted to teach Kannada through distance education, learner strategies and an evaluation of the instructional materials and the learning processes.

The Composite Correspondence Course in Kannada is for the employees of the Government of Karnataka who do not know Kannada. This strategy is one of the several steps undertaken by the Government of Karnataka, for the effective implementation of their language policy to make Kannada as medium of administration in Karnataka at all levels of administration.

Basic Kannada and Administrative Kannada

This Course has Basic Kannada and Administrative Kannada as its main language components. Basic Kannada means Kannada used in day-to-day oral and written communications and administrative Kannada is the kind of Kannada frequently used in oral and written administrative discourse in the Government of Karnataka. Both these materials are basically defined in terms of frequency of use of vocabulary, frequently used sentence patterns and a set of formats of written communications. Naturally, decisions relating to these features need a lot of linguistic and applied linguistic research.

Background Research

Before undertaking the task of designing the syllabus and learning materials we undertook an analysis of language needs of the learners since this was going to be a need-based course or special purpose course meant for specific groups of people, and not a general purpose course which anybody can opt for.

Considering these aspects, the Composite Correspondence Course set before itself the following general objectives. At the end of the course, the employees, who undergo the course will be able to perform the following in Kannada:

Listening: Comprehend the conversation, discussion in the official/formal contexts, radio news bulletins and public speeches given in normal speed in Kannada.

Speaking: Speak with ease in Kannada in the official circles (among the officials) about routine administrative matters, conduct or participate in official discussions, and speak with ease in Kannada regarding personal needs.

Reading: Read printed, typed and hand written materials in Kannada relating to routine administrative matters, matters of public Interest and newspapers with appropriate speed and comprehension.

Writing: Write short paragraphs with connected sentences, write short notes on administrative matters and draft short official communications in Kannada.

This is only the beginning part of the article. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO READ THE ARTICLE IN PRINTER-FRIENDLY VERSION.

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