4. Managing Psychological Anxiety and Hesitation of Non-native Speakers of English through Technology

The first of the numerous blessings of god that distinguished humanity from beast has been the gift of language. The desire to express thoughts moved us to dabble with sounds and symbols that could make some sense. As time passed, these incoherent sounds became meaningful words and within no time, the words of a specific region became its language. Significantly, the need to relate and connect with fellow beings has given language its required nutrition. Native languages expanded, drawing reinforcement from the interdependence of cultural and social needs.

However, Imperialism eclipsed the sovereign nature of indigenous languages, when English happened to share the blanket with native languages. Countries like India with a cocktail of languages found themselves at a threshold of conspicuous learning that was neither indigenous nor foreign. Ironically, the post-colonial era saw a strange interference of the first and second languages in each other’s habitats. The natives could not accept English as a language with ease, which was evident in the half-hearted approach in using language, resulting in anxiety and hesitation. Language grows when the thought process is in harmony with the process of expression. The misery of English users was this- while the teaching was in English, the ideas were shaping in mother tongue. The learner spent almost four hours with English (when in school) and the remaining time the native language dominated his speech. The result was a kind of communication that was neither English nor purely native. The limited availability of resources to provide for error-free dissemination of English in countries with EFL was also evident. This scenario aggravated with the increase in number of unskilled English trainers and decline in regular usage of English for the purpose of communication. In the past when the SLL (second language learners) found difficulty in usage of English, they had to fall back upon the capsule courses run across the length and breadth of the country with no positive results. The students had few textbooks for English and the rest were either in Hindi or in the vernacular languages. Even the teachers could not resort to innovative teaching methods for English learning, which slowly started discouraging the students from English. The classes were complex admixtures of regional diversities with diversified accents and dialects. This resulted in building a strange kind of fear and complex where even the brighter ones could not cope with the pressure of competing with the confident users. This psychological lacuna was largely responsible for hampering the sound footing of English in the native soil.

All the same, humankind has always accepted challenges with enterprise and resilience in order to give a tough fight to the threats that loom over its existence. Techno- boom has been one such wonder of the modern times. The blast of technology in the recent years has made life much easier by connecting the furthest parts of the globe and sowing seeds for global interactive learning. The impact is evident in the growth and promotion of English also. Now the English users in countries with EFL can have a quick and abundant access to a wide range of language tools.

In fact, CALL (computer assisted language learning) is increasingly offering solutions to the domains of ELT in countries with EFL. Since the language of technology is predominantly English, the learner first gets accustomed to accepting it as finally being there. He may like it or not English is here to stay. It is there on the internet, on the computers, on the cell phones on the tabs. You name it and it is there. It is no longer possible to escape the presence of English and invariably one has to acquire it. Yet, the best part of the bargain is that it has made English learning an interesting endeavor. The use of power points for presentations, LCD for audio-visual learning, and smart classes have dethroned the former and outworn methods of teaching and learning. The learner is no longer subject to humiliation as the learning often takes place in virtual settings and offers him enough scope to improvise, enhance and update his language from time to time.

The main deterrent to acquisition of fluency in language is the disinterest of the learner, which is no longer a hassle in the techno-smart age. Now training is 24*7, without break. Social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, encourage youngsters to stay connected with language by providing an interface of cross culture communication. The tutorials, web downloads, online-quizzes, forums have bridged the gap that formerly existed between the learner and the library. Not only computer but also devices like tabs, and mobiles have revolutionized the growth of English in EFL countries. The habit of using cell phones for sending SMS (short message service) motivates the users to work on their sentence structures and vocabulary.

Psychologists have listed anxiety and resulting hesitation to be the prime reason for hindering the pace of communication. When knowledge and skills no longer remain the prized possessions of a few chosen ones, the society witnesses a change in the phrase, ‘ I cannot do it’ to , ‘ I can’. English has now reached the doorsteps of the non-English speakers and even the senior citizens of the society can improve their English, which otherwise was thrown in the cellars. English teachers have also an access to excellent teaching modules like Oxford University Press course materials, e-books, you-tube videos that provide them prompt and easy access to global standards of pronunciations, grammar activities and graded worksheets, which are the core elements of global learning. To learn straight from the masters helps in restoring the confidence and pride in one’s own calling. The entire issue started with the idea of increasing the exposure to English language, similar to the kind of exposure one gets when using one’s mother tongue. Just as a child acquires mother tongue involuntarily, simply by being a part of that environ, likewise the seeping in of technology in the set-ups of learning ensures the full-fledged involvement of the learner with learning as a life-long endeavor, just as language ought to be.