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Abstract: Communicating fluently and confidently in English is a much-needed skill today. Languages, it is believed are learnt best through practice, second language acquisition takes place in various settings and happens in every sphere thus shaping our overall behaviour. Learning of English in the Indian scenario bolsters command over all aspects, enables the clear communication of messages appropriately and fluently, which makes one more employable and job-ready. Our education is predominantly knowledge-oriented and done mostly in the classrooms. However, the needs of the day are skills which test the ability to use the language for the workplace hence the need for language training in a corporate setting. This paper is a reflection on the practices of traditional classroom teaching in relation to the modern corporate training of the language with regard to employability.Key words: Corporate Training, Teaching, Hard Skills, Soft Skills, Employability Skills Introduction: ‘Most students are not industry ready because they lack communication skills’ (Infosys,2008, 2014).“The present-day education system in India comprises of about 6,00,000 primary, 1,50,000 upper primary, 70,000 secondary school and higher secondary schools. The network of institutions of higher education includes more than 7,000 colleges of general education about 1,000 professional colleges and number of specialised institutions in industrial, scientific, technical, social sciences and research. There are 150 million students who are enrolled with an employment of about 4 million teachers. The Indian educational system is producing more graduates every year.”( The Hans India report’ 2015) But the graduates lack basic communication and problem-solving skills. They are not suitable to handle regular routine office work, which is essential for the most elementary of job levels. Employability skills: The skills that are much in need for success are called ‘Employability skills’ which consist of at least four sets of skills which are seen to be very crucial for success in any field. They are ‘Hard’, ‘Soft’, ‘Life’ and ‘Language’ / ‘Communication skills’. Recruiters and Human Resource managers around the world report “candidates with English skills above the local average stand out from the crowd and garner 30-50 per cent higher salaries than The Indian scenario: “We have come across many philosophies like naturalism, realism, idealism, modern philosophies and philosophers like John Dewey, Aurobindo Ghosh, Rabindranath Tagore, MK Gandhi who believed in traditional way of learning along with modern concepts of Nehru who had a strong belief in Rationalism. Apart from these, we had our indigenous way of educational methodology like Gurukuls, where students had to stay and learn the mantras, Upanishads by storytelling, game managing battles, moral values, leadership skills etc. taught by gurus.”(The Hans India report’ 2015) ) which was nothing but a blend of teaching and training.In the Indian scenario students are very adaptable and intelligent, yet, when it comes to selections and personal interviews, they don't do well because they lack knowledge of expression, technical English, or even basic English language skills, hence, candidates with lesser proficiency of language skills in comparison to the necessary job requirements are unemployable. As the essential goal of our education is to earn employment, acquiring the required skills are often neglected except in a few streams like Medicine, Engineering etc.. Classroom language teachingvs. Corporate language trainingThe general assumption is that we equate ‘teaching’ to general education and academics, which is not the same as training, which we equate with skill and employability.According to the Oxford English Dictionary the word ‘teaching’ means, "to cause to know something, to guide the studies of, to impart knowledge or to instruct by example, precept or experience.”Teaching usually occurs in the classroom. Teaching may pertain to the subject area and, the teacher in general, creates a ‘need’ and shows the utility of knowing, provides information, knowledge, and experience for students, the major function of teaching is seen to provide knowledge to the students, it is mostly theoretical. It aims at knowledge transfer and wisdom over a longer span of time. Its reach is extensive with gain of knowledge in general. Teaching provides breadth a broader area of knowledge in all areas and aspects. On the other train ‘as the dictionary says _is to teach a aparticular skill or type of behaviour through sustained practice and instruction. Synonyms include words like instruct, teach, tutor, coach, practice. In corporate training it is ensured that an employee has the ability and skills subset to execute a specific operation, so that the organization is able to function and do its business. Corporate training revolves on knowledge transfer. In corporate training it is ensured that an employee has the ability and the skills subset to execute a specific operation, so that the organization is able to function and do its business. Corporate training revolves on knowledge transfer. Considering its goals, the skills acquired will largely rely up on the level and depth of the training, hence the role of the trainer is crucial he/ she can influence and shape the ability of a learner. Training is formed by repeated practice of a skill to perfection” the level of proficiency at a skill is measured .” Training is demonstrative by nature it assumes that people are already in possession of the basic information and techniques and are able to apply the same. The objective of corporate training is to ensure that an employee has the knowledge and skills to undertake specific assigned duties competently. Training is more of a habit formation , it lays emphasis on acquiring skills and abilities in a shorter span of time, it aims at more in depth knowledge of a specific area of knowledge. Training is more intense and is limited to a narrow domain. It is need based and is self directed and the motivation most often is intrinsic as felt by the student. Most often training culminates in employment or improvement in its prospects. The occasions for undertaking training generally are limited and for a shorter duration of time. Language SkillsThere is a major shift from language learning practices of yesteryears where literature, that is , prose, poetry and other genres which were equated to teaching the subject , to teaching skills at all levels. Language teaching now is being coupled with soft skills at the tertiary levels. Adequate thrust is given on communication especially on the Spoken skills. When we learn a language, there are four skills that we need for complete communication. These are called the four language skills namely Listening, Speaking, Reading, Writing . English language labs have come into being in the last two decades for integration of these skills. These labs are made mandatory to develop skills useful in a wide variety of situations the development of language skills are can be made more structured, sequential, and multisensory and include: to develop skills useful in a wide variety of situations the development of language skills are can be made more structured, sequential, and multisensory and include: · Phonological awareness, with an emphasis on phonemic awareness accent neutralization that is reduction of mother tongue influence on the English we speak, as an important feature. · Reading practice at the word and text level, designed to develop accuracy and fluency· Syllable division, morphology as well as vocabulary expansion· Spelling and legible handwriting· Comprehension and composition · Speaking skills· The effective use of language i.e. pragmatics- which is demonstrated in usage of a language including comprehending lectures and tutorials, writing lab and technical reports, undertaking projects, making presentations, conducting / participating in seminars and interacting with clients in various job scenarios. In recent years spoken skills have gained an urgency and a lot of prominence owing to globalization and the consequent boom in international work opportunities owing to multinational companies. Relationship between teaching and training in the context of English language acquisitionTeaching and training are supplementary to each other and there are times when they must work hand-in-hand. For the activities, which require both cognitive and psychomotor domains of knowledge, both teaching and training are required.At times, teaching can interfere with training and vice versa, balancing the teaching and trainingincludes skill training which is essential along with academic or theoretical knowledge.Schools have begunto emphasize the teaching of teamwork, communication, and other soft skills, along with knowledge.Students also need to develop broad social and cognitive skills and the ability to apply knowledge. Classroom and Corporate methods and StrategiesThe following measures could be initiated to help students attain the required level of proficiency, which calls for redesign of the present curricula, improving teaching-learning methods and resourcefulness of teachers in salvaging the situation. There are existing conditions, difficulties, constraints and challenges that hinder proper execution of impartingtraining. An urgent change has to be brought about and the present methods under practice should be reviewed with regard to a) government policies b) AICTE/University/College guidelines c) established curriculum, d) existing Resources, Infrastructure, e) student abilities and, capabilities, f) appointment of qualified teachers, g) assigned number of teaching hours per faculty, i) inclusion of impart of employability skills, industry skills andlife skills in the curriculum. Conclusion: Employability can be attributed to the differences in English scores as well as small but existing differences in performance in other domain skills. This can be well brought about by making a few changes in the teaching practices by incorporating more experiential learning, having more of Class discussions and Brainstorming from guided practice to role plays, debates, decision mapping or problem trees, educational games and simulations, incorporating technology with lively audio and visual activities as in the language labs. Further, as Rabideau, 1993 says selection of appropriate reading texts provide language input and also provide an opportunity to learn vocabulary in context and grammar. By integrating other disciplines into the lesson that will make the content more significant to the learners and will create higher order thinking skills across the areas)as in the classroom teaching. “By integrating language into other contents, it focuses not only on learning a second language, but using that language as a medium to learn mathematics, science, or other academic subjects”.(R.Oxford, 2001). Therefore, teaching and training which are equally important concepts find their logical place in English Language Teaching. References1.Basic Language Skills (2017, 25 March) retrieved from https://www.hsutx.edu/offices/literacy-learning/basic-language-skills/ 2. Subitha G.V (2013, January 29) Is the current educational system imparting life skills education? retrieved from http://www.indiaeducationreview.com/articles/current-educational-system-imparting-life-skills-education2017, May 30 3. National Employability Report, Engineering Graduates 2014 (2014). Retrieved from http://www.aspiringminds.in/docs/national_employabilityReport_engineers_annual_report_2014.pdf4. Oxford, Rebecca,( 2001,September) Integrated Skills in the ESL/EFL Classroom. ERIC Digest. retrieved https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED456670.pdf5. Rabideau, (1993,March) Integrating Reading and Writing into Adult ESL Instruction. https://www.ericdigests.org/1993/instruction.htm 6. Reilly Tarey, (1988, May) ESL through Content Area Instruction. Washington DC: ERIC Clearinghouse on Languages and Linguistics. retrieved http://www.ericdigests.org/pre-929/esl.htm 7. Nair,A(2015,January,21) Yawning skill gap cause for concern by Radhakrishnan retrieved from The Hindu archives http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-opportunities/yawning-skill-gap-cause-for-concern/article6806605.ece 8. Sarkar, A. K and S.K Choudhury(2014, April10) ‘Reasons for Low Employability of Engineering graduates’ retrieved Business Today archives http://businesstoday.intoday.in/story/a.-k.-sarkar-s.k.-choudhury-on-engineering-students-employment/1/205041.html 9. WheeboxIndia Skills Report for (2014), retrieved https://wheebox.com/india-skills-report-2014.htm10. Common European Framework of Reference For Languages (2017, May4) retrieved https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_European_Framework_of_Reference_for_Languages11. Education, Skill Development Impact On Economic Growth In India (2017, May29).retrievedhttp://www.thehansindia.com/posts/index/Hans/2015-09-16/Education-Skill-Development-impact-on-Economic-Growth-in-India/176280 influenced by the skills of labour force in India12. Difference Between Teaching and Training(2014 September 24), retrievedhttp://www.differencebetween.com/difference-between-teaching-and-vs-training/
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