It was another invigorating day at Bhavan’s. The
teachers always inspire me and I try to do my best for them. The theme of the
day was ‘Spellings and Grammar in our daily life.’ It was chosen by the amiable Principal Mrs.
Elizabeth Valsan.
There was reason to celebrate, for the third year in
succession Bhavan’s school, Zuarinagar had achieved cent per cent results. The
dedicated teachers played no small part in their success. So before we began a
cake was cut and we all sang ‘Congratulations.’
Taking a look at the books on grammar in the
library, I decided to rely more on actual usage. I asked students to provide
examples of wrong usages of English grammar. The survey buoyed me to prepare my
presentation for I realized this was the elephant in the room. Every teacher is
assailed by wrong English usage by students in class. I also found succour in internet sources which were
very helpful.
I opted for a two-track mode of presentation. Over
the span of an hour I read out the 5 words every 15 minutes and asked the teachers
to spell them. The activity helped sustain their interest till the end of the
session.
SPELLING : 1. Accommodate 2. Achieve 3. Argument 4.
Chauffeur 5. Calendar
I provided examples of how Indians were using
English in creative ways. ‘Sociology,’ for instance, was read as the Hindi ‘Soch lo ji.’ ‘Antiquity’ was demystified as ‘Aunty Kutty.’
The conflation of languages caused further confusion when the word is meant in
one language but understood in another. For example, someone put on a WhatsApp
group ‘Hoddo’s daughter passed away.’ I was wondering what this meant as I did
not know any one by the name of Hoddo. It later transpired that the person
being referred to was known in the locality by his Konkani nickname ‘Hoddo’ (which means ‘one who is bald’)
The common mistakes in grammar were:
1. Subject-verb
agreement: A singular subject must take a singular verb.
2. Comma
splice: The comma is used incorrectly in a sentence, thereby altering the meaning.
3. Omission
of comma: ‘Let’s eat, Grandpa’ not ‘Let’s eat Grandpa.’
4. Misuse of apostrophe
5. Ambiguous
modifiers: inappropriate adjectives with words
6. Spellings
7. Redundant
words in a sentence: students feel that the more words they use, the ore marks
they will get
SPELLING: 6. Changeable 7. Embarrass
8. Guarantee 9. Independent 10. Colonel
Common errors of spoken
English were
cope up with (cope
with); many a times (many a time); anyways (anyway); revert back (revert); lot
many (a lot); discussing about (discussing); called as (called); loose (lose);
years back (years ago); give an exam (take an exam); emphasize on (emphasize);
marriage anniversary (wedding anniversary); more better (better); take out the
meaning of (find the meaning of); I saw a dream (I had a dream); suggest me
(suggest); I live here only (I live here); I wish I was an artist (I wish I were
an artist); Order for a pizza (Order a pizza); Me and my friends went for
dinner (My friends and I went for dinner)
Examples of Indian
English included
-Myself I am Bharati
Naik. (I am Bharati Naik)
-I am having two
brothers and two sisters. (I have . . .)
-Does she has (have) a
car?
-Today office is there?
(Are we working today?)
-That only, she is very
arrogant. (That’s what I said. She is . . .)
-Last to last year, we
got married. (We got married the year before last.)
-What is the time in
(by) your watch?
-I prefer coffee than
(to) tea.
SPELLING: 11.Publicly
12. Millennium 13. Misspell 14. Definitely 15. Flourescent
The last section of the
session was tense. We went through the various tenses:
TENSE
|
PAST
|
PRESENT
|
FUTURE
|
SIMPLE
|
She
painted yesterday
|
She
paints every day.
|
She
will paint on Sunday.
|
CONTINUOUS
|
She
was painting when the telephone rang.
|
She
is painting now.
|
They
will be painting the house tomorrow.
|
PERFECT
|
We
had painted the house before the wedding.
|
She
has painted many portraits.
|
By
the time the rains come we will have painted the house.
|
PERFECT
CONTINUOUS
|
She
had been painting before she heard a knock on the door.
|
She
has been painting since she was a child.
|
We
will have been driving for eight hours before we reach home.
|
Source:easypacelearning.com
SPELLING: 16. Gist 17. Immediately 18. Preferred 19. Separate 20. Successful
The session ended well.
The teachers were animated throughout. Teachers felt that it was a learning experience.
Using incorrect English, by using words that are not necessary, is a waste of
breath. This needs to be appreciated, particularly since the day was
International Day of Yoga.
-------------------------------------------------------------------Resource person, Dr. Brian Mendonca at the Teacher Enrichment Programme at Bhavan's School, Zuarinagar, Goa. on 21 June 2019. Mrs. Elizabeth Valsan, Principal of Bhavan's School is also seen.
Sources
'20 Spelling Mistakes We Often Make' (2016) https://www.indiatoday.in/education-today/grammar-vocabulary/story/20-spelling-mistakes-13883-2016-06-13
'14 Common Grammatical Mistakes in English and How to Avoid Them.' (2017) https://www.oxford-royale.co.uk/articles/15-common-grammar-gripes-avoid.html
'30 Common English Mistakes Indians Make' (2019) https://www.indiatoday.in/education-today/grammar-vocabulary/story/30-common-english-mistakes-by-indians-318606-2016-04-18
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