President's Speech at EFLU First Convocation

President's Speech at EFLU First Convocation 

 President's Speech on the first convocation of the English and Foreign Languages University Hyderabad on 26.04.2017 

  It is indeed a pleasure to be here today for the first convocation of the English and Foreign Languages University (EFLU).  It is a young university although with a rich history of teaching and teacher training since its inception as the Central Institute of English, which was established as part of the vision of our first Prime Minister, Pandit Nehru for new India in 1958 and later as Central Institute of English and Foreign Languages in 1972. 

2        Regional campuses were established in Shillong and Lucknow to extend its reach; before it became a Central University in 2007. It is indeed a matter of satisfaction that it has been dedicated to finding solutions to big challenges in language education and preparing students for leadership in a complex world.

3        This University bears six decades of experience in envisioning and materializing an educational model for a new India from this renowned city of Hyderabad, a city that stands apart as a city of poets, painters, artists and creative minds.  A smaller India in itself, it throbs with multiple languages & cultures, cuisine and crafts of its own. It is a multifaceted city with much cherished historical legacies and futuristic vision.

4        Out of the harmonious symphony of the old and modern in the city of Hyderabad, this University of international repute emerged due to hard work and collective energies of people with international reputation. Today EFLU stands out among the Universities of South Asia with specialized competencies in the areas of language, literary and cultural pedagogies, language sciences, teacher education and research.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

5        I am happy to know that the University has built a significant research profile in language and literary studies, cultural and inter-disciplinary studies. The university’s extensive and intensive explorations in research range  from natural language processing, classical and bhasha  literatures  and  cinema studies to philosophical studies on one hand and new experimental researches in cultural  theory, performance studies and media analysis on the other.  I am informed that in addition,  upcoming domains of research at the University are –

forensic linguistics using speech recognition for forensic purposes; 

digital humanities archiving and documenting digital databases for cultural memories and cultural creations of the country;  and

cognitive science research with focus in acoustic phonetics, language disorders and language processing.

6        With its expanding research profile EFLU can play a significant role in reorienting higher education in the country as well as in other emerging nations.  It should  be possible to develop educational packages from school to University level for training and for collaborative  teaching and research.

7        Recognizing the seminal role played by the University and assisting productive expansion of its founding vision, the Government of India has entrusted EFLU with several groundbreaking and important projects such as National University Students Skill Development, National Literacy Mission Authority and Massive Open Online Courses.

8        Acknowledging the eminent role that the University evinces in Teacher training and education, the Ministry of External Affairs entrusted the university with international responsibility for training diplomats and for designing trainer training programmes.  I am told that in this regard centres for English Language training have been set up in ASEAN countries and five new centres are coming up in African countries.

9        I am happy to know that the University has initiated outreach programs such as university – industry interface and mutually beneficial dialogue with public sector undertakings, social welfare organizations, government agencies, media houses and private educational institutions.

10      On this august occasion, as we celebrate the impressive achievements of this University, let me share with you some enduring reflections that ought to guide us in advancing our vision of education.  To my mind, knowledge must pave the path of life; and living must essentially encompass pursuit of the path of learning.  From times immemorial the continent of Asia, and South East Asia in particular, opened up novel paths of learning. Wherever the Buddha traversed - seeds of knowledge sprouted and flourished. Nalanda, after Takshashila, held the beacon of light very high for over a millennium across lands and seas and welcomed drifting seekers of knowledge and provided them a lasting resting place.

11      Today sustaining and reinvigorating higher education, in India as well as in other parts of the world, has become a major challenge, especially so in public institutions.  Challenges exist for such institutions, both from outside and inside.  At least four distinct factors impinge from outside as well as inside on the administration of an institution of higher learning; According to me, these are a) escalation of costs of learning; b) narrow pragmatics, i.e. market-oriented fast-track skill acquisition, as the sole goal of learning; c) the allure of invasive dominant communication systems depleting attention span; and d) corrosion of trust.

12      Any attempt to build or re-orient higher education in such a situation requires administrative acumen.  Administrative strength and sensitivity removes hurdles in the path of learning, and allows academics to thrive, as this University has displayed.

Friends,

13      Cynicism is an easy alibi to evade responsibility.  Any institutional future is dependent upon enabling the faculty, students and the staff to overcome cynicism.  One way of achieving this is making everyone a stakeholder in collaborative institution-building.  Immersive teaching supplemented by intensive research alone can advance the vision of the University in generating new knowledge and sharing it with everyone.

14      It is important to recall that the singular feature of  vidya-dana (gifting learning) that this country has extended on a planetary scale was aimed at attaining happiness for everyone. Sarve Jana Sukhino Bhavantu says the age old mantra from Upanishad.  This shloka should be the driving impulse of any conception of education in any period or place. Kennedy inspired graduates to strive for the one of the biggest goal: that is world peace.  He said; and I quote,

Too many of us think it is impossible. Too many of us think it is unreal. But that is a dangerous defeatist belief. It leads to the conclusion that war is inevitable – that mankind is doomed – that we are gripped by forces we cannot control.

While strongly advocating for peace he said and I quote, “Our job is not to accept that. Our problems are manmade – therefore they can be solved by man.  And Man can be as big as he wants.” Unquote

15      On this celebratory occasion, I wish all those who leave the portals of this prestigious University and carry its legacy as they move on – to attain a happy prosperous and meaningful life. I wish them Godspeed and all success in their future endeavours.

Thank you.

Jai Hind.

JNTUH B.Pharm I Year English Syllabus PROFESSIONAL COMMUNICATION IN ENGLISH 2016

JNTUH B.Pharm I Year English Syllabus R16

PROFESSIONAL COMMUNICATION IN ENGLISH

B.Pharm. I Year I Sem.                                                                                              L T/P/D C

Course Code: HS106                                                                                                  3 0/0/0 3

INTRODUCTION

In view of the growing importance of English as a tool for global communication and the consequent emphasis on training students to acquire language skills, the syllabus of English has been designed to develop linguistic and communicative competencies of Engineering students. In English classes, the focus should be on the skills development in the areas of vocabulary, grammar, reading and writing. For this, the teachers should use the prescribed text book for detailed study. The students should be encouraged to read the texts/poems silently leading to reading comprehension. Reading comprehension passages are given for practice in the class. The time should be utilized for working out the exercises given after each excerpt, and also for supplementing the exercises with authentic materials of a similar kind, for example, from newspaper articles, advertisements, promotional material, etc. The focus in this syllabus is on skill development, fostering ideas and practice of language skills.

Course Objectives:

 The course will help students to:

a.       Improve the language proficiency of students in English with an emphasis on Vocabulary, Grammar, Reading and Writing skills.

b.      Equip students to study academic subjects more effectively using the theoretical and Practical components of English syllabus.

c.       Develop study skills and communication skills in formal and informal situations.

Course Outcomes:

 Students will be able to:

a.       Use English Language effectively in spoken and written forms.

b.      Comprehend the given texts and respond appropriately.

c.       Communicate confidently in formal and informal contexts.

SYLLABUS

Reading Skills:

Objectives:

1.      To develop an awareness in students about the significance of silent reading and comprehension.

2.      To develop students’ ability to guess meanings of words from the context and grasp the overall message of the text, draw inferences, etc., by way of:

·         Skimming and Scanning the text

·         Intensive and Extensive Reading

·         Reading for Pleasure

·         Identifying the topic sentence

·         Inferring lexical and contextual meaning

·         Recognizing Coherence/Sequencing of Sentences

NOTE: The students will be trained in reading skills using the prescribed texts for detailed study. They will be tested in reading comprehension of different ‘unseen’ passages which may be taken from authentic texts, such as magazines/newspaper articles.

Writing Skills:

Objectives:

1.      To develop an awareness in the students about writing as an exact and formal skill

2.      To create an awareness in students about the components of different forms of writing, beginning with the lower order ones through;

•        Writing of sentences

•        Use of appropriate vocabulary

•        Paragraph writing

•        Coherence and cohesiveness

•        Narration / description

•        Note Making

•        Formal and informal letter writing

•        Describing graphs using expressions of comparison

 In order to improve the proficiency of the students in the acquisition of language skills mentioned above, the following text and course contents, divided into Five Units, are prescribed:

Text Books:

1. “Fluency in English – A Course book for Engineering Students” by Board of Editors: Hyderabad: Orient BlackSwan Pvt. Ltd. 2016. Print.

2. Raman, Meenakshi and Sharma, Sangeeta. “Technical Communication- Principles and Practice”. Third Edition. New Delhi: Oxford University Press. 2015. Print.

The course content / study material is divided into Five Units.

Note: Listening and speaking skills are covered in the syllabus of ELCS Lab.

UNIT –I:

Chapter entitled ‘Presidential Address’ by Dr. A.P.J. Kalam from “Fluency in English– A Course book for Engineering Students” published by Orient BlackSwan, Hyderabad.

Vocabulary: Word Formation -- Root Words --The Use of Prefixes and Suffixes– Collocations– Exercises for Practice.

Grammar: Punctuation – Parts of Speech- Articles -Exercises for Practice.

Reading: Double Angels by David Scott-Reading and Its Importance- Techniques for Effective Reading- Signal Words- Exercises for Practice

Writing: Writing Sentences- Techniques for Effective Writing-- Paragraph Writing- Types, Structure and Features of a Paragraph-Coherence and Cohesiveness: Logical, Lexical and Grammatical Devices - Exercises for Practice

UNIT –II:

Chapter entitled Satya Nadella: Email to Employees on his First Day as CEO from “Fluency in English– A Course book for Engineering Students” Published by Orient BlackSwan, Hyderabad.

Vocabulary: Synonyms and Antonyms – Homonyms, Homophones, Homographs- Exercises for Practice (Chapter 17 ‘Technical Communication- Principles and Practice’. Third Edition published by Oxford University Press may also be followed.)

Grammar: Verbs-Transitive, Intransitive and Non-finite Verbs – Mood and Tense—Gerund – Words with Appropriate Prepositions – Phrasal Verbs - Exercises for Practice

Reading: Sub-skills of Reading- Skimming, Scanning, Extensive Reading and Intensive Reading - The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost -- Exercises for Practice

Writing: Letter Writing –Format, Styles, Parts, Language to be used in Formal Letters- Letter of Apology – Letter of Complaint-Letter of Inquiry with Reply – Letter of Requisition –- Exercises for Practice

UNIT –III:

From the book entitled ‘Technical Communication- Principles and Practice’. Third Edition published by Oxford University Press.

Vocabulary: Introduction- A Brief History of Words – Using the Dictionary and Thesaurus– Changing Words from One Form to Another – Confusables (From Chapter 17 entitled ‘Grammar and Vocabulary Development’)

Grammar: Tenses: Present Tense- Past Tense- Future Tense- Active Voice – Passive Voice- Conditional Sentences – Adjective and Degrees of Comparison. (From Chapter 17 entitled ‘Grammar and Vocabulary Development’)

Reading: Improving Comprehension Skills – Techniques for Good Comprehension- Skimming and Scanning- Non-verbal Signals – Structure of the Text – Structure of Paragraphs – Punctuation – Author’s viewpoint (Inference) – Reader Anticipation: Determining the Meaning of Words – Summarizing- Typical Reading Comprehension Questions. (From Chapter 10 entitled ‘Reading Comprehension’)

Writing: Introduction- Letter Writing-Writing the Cover Letter- Cover Letters Accompanying Resumes- Emails. (From Chapter 15 entitled ‘Formal Letters, Memos, and Email’)

UNIT –IV:

Chapter entitled ‘Good Manners’ by J.C. Hill from Fluency in English – A Course book for Engineering Students” published by Orient Blackswan, Hyderabad.

Vocabulary: Idiomatic Expressions –One- word Substitutes --- Exercises for Practice (Chapter 17 ‘Technical Communication- Principles and Practice’. Third Edition published by Oxford University Press may also be followed.)

Grammar: Sequence of Tenses- Concord (Subject in Agreement with the Verb) – Exercises for Practice

Reading: ‘If’ poem by Rudyard Kipling--Tips for Writing a Review --- Author’s Viewpoint – Reader’s Anticipation-- Herein the Students will be required to Read and Submit a Review of a Book (Literary or Non-literary) of their choice – Exercises for Practice.

Writing: Information Transfer-Bar Charts-Flow Charts-Tree Diagrams etc., -- Exercises for Practice. Introduction - Steps to Effective Precis Writing – Guidelines- Samples (Chapter 12 entitled ‘The Art of Condensation’ from Technical Communication- Principles and Practice. Third Edition published by Oxford University Press)

UNIT –V:

Chapter entitled ‘Father Dear Father’ by Raj Kinger from Fluency in English – A Course book for Engineering Students” Published by Orient BlackSwan, Hyderabad

Vocabulary: Foreign Words—Words borrowed from other Languages- Exercises for Practice

Grammar: Direct and Indirect Speech- Question Tags- Exercises for Practice

Reading: Predicting the Content- Understanding the Gist – SQ3R Reading Technique- Study Skills – Note Making - Understanding Discourse Coherence – Sequencing Sentences. (From Chapter 10 entitled ‘Reading Comprehension’ - Technical Communication- Principles and Practice. Third Edition published by Oxford University Press.)

Writing: Technical Reports- Introduction – Characteristics of a Report – Categories of Reports –Formats- Prewriting – Structure of Reports (Manuscript Format) - Types of Reports - Writing the Report. (From Chapter 13 entitled ‘Technical Reports’ - Technical Communication- Principles and Practice. Third Edition published by Oxford University Press.)

Exercises from both the texts not prescribed shall be used for classroom tasks.

References

1.      1 Green, David. Contemporary English Grammar –Structures and Composition. MacMillan India. 2014 (Print)

2.      Rizvi, M. Ashraf. Effective Technical Communication. Tata Mc Graw –Hill. 2015 (Print).

Politically Correct Language

Politically Correct Language

The communist party in the United States of America first used the term politically correct in the 1930s to discipline its members. however, it was not until the 1980s, that this term came to be universally accepted to mean marked by or adhering to a typically progressive orthodoxy on issues involving especially race, gender, sexual affinity or ecology.

What is a politically correct language?

A politically correct language is a language that does not offend the political sensibilities of people regarding matters such as gender, race, sexual affinity, age and ecology. Thus, all terms and phrases that allude to such issues are eliminated.
For example, Chairman is not gender neutral and is replaced by Chairperson.

Examples of Politically Correct Words and Terms

Race and Ethnicity

Old word or term                              Politically correct alternative    
Negro/black/Afro-American             African-American
Asian                                                 Asian-American

Age

Elderly, aged, old                             Older person, senior citizen, older people

Disabilities and illness

Blind                                    Visually challenged
Mute/dumb                            Vocally challenged


Gender

Actress                             Actor
Anchorman                      Anchor
Forefathers                       Ancestors
Workman                         Worker
Housewife                         Homemaker