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Indians beat English at their language
MUMBAI: It's long been known that Indian students outperform their global counterparts in science and math. But here's a stunning finding: even students whose mother tongue is an Indian language fare better in the Test of English as a Foreign Language (Toefl) than those whose native language is English. That's according to a recent analysis by Educational Testing Service, or ETS, which conducts Toefl. British students applying to American universities are required to take the test too.
True, Toefl is typically taken by middle-class and higher-income group students. Still, it shows Konkanis and Malayalis from around the world are much better at reading, speaking and writing English than native English speakers.
Linguist Peggy Mohan explained how Indians have improved at English by drawing a distinction between bilingualism and diglossia. While the former is merely a duplication of thoughts in two languages, the latter is about one language slowly gaining more power over the other. "An English-speaking Indian has native-like intuition in English, unlike a Chinese for whom English is assembled by a more academic thought process. For an Indian, English is more like an adjunct native language. We do some of our thinking in our Indian language and other things in English — that is, we have a native competence that spans two or more languages. No wonder we do so well in Toefl."
Toefl's internet-based test was launched in September 2005-06 and since then, while Gujaratis have bettered their average mean score from 78 to 84, most others have slid down the charts. Those speaking Hindi registered 96 then, Kannadigas had scored 97 and Maharashtrians bagged 97.
"Toefl provides accurate scores at the individual level; it is not appropriate for comparing countries," clarified Walt MacDonald, ETS executive vice-president and chief operating officer.
"The differences in the number of students taking the test in each country, how early English is introduced into the curriculum, how many hours per week are devoted to learning English, and the fact that those taking the test are not representative of all English speakers in each country or any defined population," Said MacDonald.
English is gaining currency in India's rural pockets and pedestrian schools, too. And picking up the grammar of what people want, some governments have been forced to introduce the Queen's lingo as the medium of instruction in public schools. "There is a huge amount of English in the country now. Everybody knows a fair amount of English. Also, Indians are intrinsically bright. When they apply themselves to a task, they do well at it," said Yasmeen Lukmani, former English HOD at the University of Mumbai.
Kerala and Tamil Nadu have had English in all regional-language schools from as early as the records read. A Planning Commission member said that no agency or government would be able to provide the exact number of students learning English in India. "It's a nebulous area; there are so many schools teaching English today. Many of them are little more than small shops catering to those who are dropping out of government schools," he said
But many experts were surprised at ETS findings. Adil Jussawalla, who taught English as a foreign language to Indian students in London before he returned to Mumbai, said he was amazed at the scores ETS had come up with. "Probably these students are taking language courses or getting trained before taking Toefl. Otherwise, this does not tie up with another statistic which found Indian students who go abroad poor at English."
Numbers apart, experts believe India would have to address the rising tide of aspirations. Sunanda Sanyal, who was a member of the West Bengal Education Commission, said English's popularity was linked to its increasing utility in day-to-day life, whether it's buying medicine at the chemist or simply following the right bus route.
MUMBAI: It's long been known that Indian students outperform their global counterparts in science and math. But here's a stunning finding: even students whose mother tongue is an Indian language fare better in the Test of English as a Foreign Language (Toefl) than those whose native language is English. That's according to a recent analysis by Educational Testing Service, or ETS, which conducts Toefl. British students applying to American universities are required to take the test too.
True, Toefl is typically taken by middle-class and higher-income group students. Still, it shows Konkanis and Malayalis from around the world are much better at reading, speaking and writing English than native English speakers.
Linguist Peggy Mohan explained how Indians have improved at English by drawing a distinction between bilingualism and diglossia. While the former is merely a duplication of thoughts in two languages, the latter is about one language slowly gaining more power over the other. "An English-speaking Indian has native-like intuition in English, unlike a Chinese for whom English is assembled by a more academic thought process. For an Indian, English is more like an adjunct native language. We do some of our thinking in our Indian language and other things in English — that is, we have a native competence that spans two or more languages. No wonder we do so well in Toefl."
Toefl's internet-based test was launched in September 2005-06 and since then, while Gujaratis have bettered their average mean score from 78 to 84, most others have slid down the charts. Those speaking Hindi registered 96 then, Kannadigas had scored 97 and Maharashtrians bagged 97.
"Toefl provides accurate scores at the individual level; it is not appropriate for comparing countries," clarified Walt MacDonald, ETS executive vice-president and chief operating officer.
"The differences in the number of students taking the test in each country, how early English is introduced into the curriculum, how many hours per week are devoted to learning English, and the fact that those taking the test are not representative of all English speakers in each country or any defined population," Said MacDonald.
English is gaining currency in India's rural pockets and pedestrian schools, too. And picking up the grammar of what people want, some governments have been forced to introduce the Queen's lingo as the medium of instruction in public schools. "There is a huge amount of English in the country now. Everybody knows a fair amount of English. Also, Indians are intrinsically bright. When they apply themselves to a task, they do well at it," said Yasmeen Lukmani, former English HOD at the University of Mumbai.
Kerala and Tamil Nadu have had English in all regional-language schools from as early as the records read. A Planning Commission member said that no agency or government would be able to provide the exact number of students learning English in India. "It's a nebulous area; there are so many schools teaching English today. Many of them are little more than small shops catering to those who are dropping out of government schools," he said
But many experts were surprised at ETS findings. Adil Jussawalla, who taught English as a foreign language to Indian students in London before he returned to Mumbai, said he was amazed at the scores ETS had come up with. "Probably these students are taking language courses or getting trained before taking Toefl. Otherwise, this does not tie up with another statistic which found Indian students who go abroad poor at English."
Numbers apart, experts believe India would have to address the rising tide of aspirations. Sunanda Sanyal, who was a member of the West Bengal Education Commission, said English's popularity was linked to its increasing utility in day-to-day life, whether it's buying medicine at the chemist or simply following the right bus route.
