ENGLISH CANVAS

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Volume-I, Issue-I , September 2020

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Content
Editor’s Note:
1. Construction of Youth Identity via Language in Kyrgyzstan: A Study of Russian

and Kyrgyz

Dr. Feruza Shermatova

2. The Art Of Being a Digital Educator
Ms. Mamta Bansal

3. Blended Learning: Need Of The Hour
Dr. Mandeep Kaur

4. Teaching English And Role Of New Technology
Dr. Vibha

5. Blended Learning : The Future Of English Language
Dr Ruchira Khullar

6. The Magic Flute: Creative Potential Of Liquid Learning In English
Dr. Nidhi

7. Bharata Muni’s Rasa Theory: Enlightenment Of Liquid Learning Through
Blend Of Emotions And Imagination
Swati Sharma

8. Technology And Indiviual Talent: Customised Blended Learning And
Innovative Methods Of Teaching In Post Covid-19 Scenario.
Dr. Nibedita Das

9. “Imagination—The Golden Pathway To Everywhere”: Technology And
Transformative Teaching Of English Literature
Dr Pratibha

10. Scope Of Blended Learning
Dr Lalita Gaur

11. Expanding Imagination Through Audio-Visual: Application Of New
Technology In Teaching Of English
Ruchi Bhardwaj

12. Use Of Audio- Visual Aids In Teaching Of English: An Analysis
Manju Devi

13. Virtual Life Sheltering Real Life
Dr. Geetanjali

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14. Application Of Parenting Skills To Teaching For Greater Student
Autonomy
Poonam Malik

15. Application Of Technology In Teaching Of English
Ms. Anju Goel

16. Virtual Classrooms: a Project Of New Era Learning
Ms.Jyoti

17. Expanding Imagination Through Audio-Visual: Application Of New
Technology In Teaching Of English
Suman Sirohi

18. Integrating Technology With English Literature, Language And Creativity
Dr. Suchitra

19. The Way Forward - Scope Of Blended Learning In Post-Covid Scenario
Harneet Kaur

20. Evolution And Extinction In Pedagogy: Scope Of Blended Learning In Higher
Educational Institutions
Dr. Komil Tyagi

21. The Integration Of Multimedia Technology In English Language Teaching: a Global
Perspective
Kusum Bhatia

22. Comparative Analysis Of The Category Of Uncertainty In Germanic And Turkic
Languages

Makhlie Nazarova

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Editor’s Note

Academic Canvas: An International Journal of English Studies has been conceived as
an online platform of exchange between researchers, educationists and practitioners of
English language and literature. The scope of the journal ranges from literature to theory,
from Linguistics to teaching of English as a second language and pedagogical concerns.
Aimed at an extensive international audience, the journal seeks to evoke resonances across
cultural, social, political and economic contexts, and understand the dynamics of English
language and literature as an interface of classrooms across the world.

The impact of latest technologies and social media on emergent literary forms is a
special area of concern, and the journal would be a keen observer of the evolving course
contents across institutions of higher education and universities.

We feel pleasure in bringing out this volume of Academic Canvas in which we have
made an effort to provide a platform to our fellow colleagues, scholars, writers and students
to share their insightful ideas and research worldwide. We assure our readers to do better in
the upcoming issues. Your encouragement and suggestions will definitely help us
improving the current endeavour.

Dr. Hemant Verma

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1.

Construction of Youth Identity via Language in Kyrgyzstan: A Study
of Russian and Kyrgyz

Dr. Feruza Shermatova*

*Former Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Washington Seattle, USA

This paper explores the issues of youth language in Kyrgyzstan in order to
research how youth, Bishkek born, and newly arrived young people from all parts of
Kyrgyzstan use the language to construct identities in communication. The language of
young people is one of the central topics in Sociolinguistics, that is a gap, subject to
research in Kyrgyzstan. As Paul Kerswill argues ‘Youth language” is labile, contingent
and transient, subject to fashion, serving as a badge of nonconformity, but above all
constructing for its speakers a set of complex identities for deployment as markers of
different stances in relation to varying interlocutors and shifting conversational
contexts’. This study will submit the data collected via public places, public transport,
places of leisure and bazar areas. Also the survey will be conducted among students in
Kyrgyz universities. As the preliminary research shows, the many educated young
people are bilinguals in Kyrgyzstan. There are two reasons to speak Russian:
a)Necessity of learning scientific and technical literature in education; b) Russian
is associated with Urbaneness, civilization and belonging to educated subculture. At
the same time, in comparison with Students of the 1990-2000, current students
especially Bishkek born young people, learn Kyrgyz; especially ethnic Kyrgyz
students display good proficiency in Kyrgyz, while this rate of Kyrgyz language use
in 1991-2000 was very low. But Kyrgyz spoken by young people, resembles Pidgin
Kyrgyz, creolized language belongs to youth community. The elements of Pidgin
Kyrgyz is frequently practiced in social media. Even the young people whose mother
tongue is Kyrgyz, use informal mixtures of two languages (Kyrgyz-Russian, Kyrgyz-
Turkish and Kyrgyz-English) in conversation. The paper also will analyze the
influences of code switching (mainly Kyrgyz-Russian) to the development of the
Kyrgyz language. In the course of the research, interactions occurring between young

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people will be examined to study how the increasing linguistic diversity within the
national population might be harmonized with the national identity.

Introduction

Kyrgyzstan is one of the post-soviet countries, that passed bilingual law: Kyrgyz
and Russian are the official languages for 6 million people in the country. As a soviet
country Kyrgyzstan was one of the most of russified countries in Central Eurasian
region. Russian remains as the dominant language especially in education and
business. As Kyrgyzstan got independence, the cultural and linguistic influence of
Soviet times continues. Alongside the independence movements, Kyrgyzstan
advocates Kyrgyz as a national language and as the language of education and
business. Kyrgyzification process becomes a widespread endeavor. Sociolinguistic
situation in the country greatly influences the young people living in Kyrgyzstan.
Youth comprises 1 769452 people of 14-28 by the January 1, 2015 and it forms 30% of
the whole population. 63% of the young people reside in the rural areas.

The ethnic, social and linguistic contents of the youth are very diverse. However
the language of youth is not studied in the framework of sociolinguistic research in the
context of Kyrgyzstan. As Paul Kerswill (2013) argues the term “youth language” is
used in inverted commas, because “languagehood” is contested by both researchers
and users. A major strand of youth language research concentrates on these new urban
ways of speaking as markers of identity: they are seen primarily as registers, or styles,
reflecting young people’s particular communicative choices (Kerswill 2013, p. 2).

Svendsen and Royneland (2008) and Quist (2008) state that Europe urban youth
languages are studied as varieties, or lects, distinguishable from other varieties or
lects by applying descriptive linguistic techniques.

Youth language construction is mainly studied in North European and Sub-
Saharan African region. London youth language is studied by Kerswill (2013), Dutch
Nortier and Dorleijn (2008), Danish (Quist 2008), Swedish (Kotsinas 1994) and
German (Wiese 2009), as well as the labelled urban youth languages Nouchi (Ivory
Coast), Camfranglais (Cameroon), Sheng (Kenya), and several others (Kiessling and
Mous 2004).

However, youth language topic is not analyzed in the post-soviet sociolinguistics as
a separate object of study. It was reflected in the papers and books related to language

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policy by Druviete 2000, Pavlenko 2008, Bilaniuk 2007, Orusbaev 2007, Smagulova
2012, etc. Sociolinguistic changes in transformed Central Asian societies were
analyzed in detail by Schlyter 2013, Korth 2005, Landau, Kellner-Heinkele 2012.

Objectives of the Study

The primary objective of this study is to examine the youth language construction
in Kyrgyzstan. The gained study will help to provide insight on how language of
youth is constructed and negotiated in the multilingual landscape of Kyrgyzstan.

Significance of the Study

This study will add to the existing literature on youth language construction,
specifically in the post-soviet context. There have been very few studies conducted on
youth language construction in Central Eurasian region.

Research Questions

The research questions for this study are as follows:1) How is youth language is
constructed and negotiated in Modern Kyrgyzstan? 2) What are strategies and
specific features of youth language in Kyrgyzstan?

The research place: Bishkek

Bishkek is the most populated city in Kyrgyzstan. Its population comprises 1
million people. From the foundation of the city to the mid-1990s, ethnic Russians and
other peoples of European descent (Ukrainians, Germans) comprised the majority of
the city's population. According to the 1970 census, the ethnic Kyrgyz were only 12.3%,
while whites were more than 80% of Frunze population. Now Bishkek is a
predominantly Kyrgyz city, with around 66% of its residents Kyrgyz, while European
peoples make up less than 20% of the population.

Young people in Bishkek use an urban, youth sociolect that mixes Kyrgyz,
Russian, and other minority languages and shares many features with slang and jargon,
to shape a new, hybrid identity. That Bishkek urban youth sociolect signifies the
communications and efforts of youth's identity construction. The practices of family,
religion, school, and mass media, Internet reflect Kyrgyzstani youth with different
possible identities. The family discourse comes to them in ethnic languages (Kyrgyz,
Uzbek, Russian, Dungan Chinese, Tatar, Azeri, Turkish, Uighur), that render history
and heritage. The voice of education asks them to place Russian at the center of a

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multilingual context, but does so in Kyrgyz. The religion calls to them in Arabic,
Russian and native languages. The media comes to them in Kyrgyz, Russian and
English. Each of these languages symbolizes specific behavior and principles of
existing and young people react via language. Bishkek urban youth sociolect
signifies the construction of a linguistic third latitude between the global, represented
by a transnational post-soviet Central Eurasian culture, and the local, represented by
tradition.

The major groups of youth use the following languages:

1. Monolingual young people (either ethnic Kyrgyz or Slavs)
2. Russian speaking young people both Kyrgyz (who do not speak Kyrgyz) and

non -Kyrgyz.
3. Bilinguals ( mainly Russian-Kyrgyz, Russian-Uzbek, Russian and other

minority languages)
4. Kyrgyz speaking young people originally arriving from regions. However, most

of them understand Russian.
5. Young people who know Kyrgyz, Russian, English and Turkish (Chinese).

The young people between 17-22 were born after independence of the Kyrgyz
Republic and their childhood narratives faced transit period, that also impacted the
linguistic situation of them.

Data collection

A sample of 100 words and sentences that are commonly used in Bishkek urban
youth sociolect in social media and daily conversation in informal settings was
collected. Each word in the corpus has informal slang meaning and they are verified
by the users of it.

Subjects

A sample of 60 students from a University in Bishkek and 20 young people
working at different places of Bishkek participated in the study.

Instrument

The respondents answered a questionnaire-survey consisting of open-ended questions
to find out the situation of youth language construction in Kyrgyzstan.

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Data analysis

Young people’s responses to the questionnaire-survey are reported qualitatively.

Results and discussion:

Position of the Kyrgyz language as the core part of the youth identity

Three sociodemographic factors are likely to impact upon language use and identity
formation in Bishkek: ‘immigration, multilingualism, and relative social deprivation
(Kerswil, 2013).

Research shows that most of the students at the selected university are Russian
speaking. More than 60% students speak Russian as their A-language, and ethnic
background of them mainly comprises Kyrgyz. These young people, being born in
1995-1998 in the Kyrgyz families, got school education in Russian, talk in Russian
in the family. In the course of interview several reasons of speaking Russian as the
native language by Kyrgyz are revealed:

1. Their parents (age of 40-45 ) are Kyrgyz, originally Bishkek born and they
speak Russian as their A-language and have taught Russian to their children. They
rarely use Kyrgyz in the family or do not use them.

2. Their parents (age of 40-45) are Kyrgyz, originally from regions of Kyrgyzstan
and they speak Kyrgyz. They faced language obstacles in education in Russian at
the colleges and universities in 1991-2000. For that reason, they sent their children to
Russian schools, but they speak Kyrgyz and Russian in the household situations. They
read in Kyrgyz and watch TV in Kyrgyz.

3. Their parents (age of 40-45) are Kyrgyz, originally from regions of Kyrgyzstan.
Sociodemographic factors characterized by internal and external migration, made
them send their children to Russian schools in Kazakhstan and Russia. They usually
work in market and business areas.

4. Lack of appropriate schools conducting education in Kyrgyz in Bishkek and
lack of current methods of teaching Kyrgyz are another obstacles to develop the
language.

5. Decline of publishing books in Kyrgyz. As the professor W. Fierman (2016)
states, in order to promote the language, Kyrgyzstan has to make efficient language
products (books, manuals, TV and radio products) for the people (Radio Free Europe,
2016).

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Research shows that the Russianized young Kyrgyz have proficiency in
colloquial Kyrgyz in daily conversation. They use at buses, bazaars and villages, when
they visit their relatives. Within the experiment, 10 young Kyrgyz out of 20
Russianized Kyrgyz use “Toktotup koiunuzchu” (‘Could you stop’ in Kyrgyz) at the
bus stop, when the others use “Ostanovite, pojaluista” (‘Could you stop’ in Russian). In
addition, language use situation depends on the passengers and a driver of the bus.
Sometimes the elders can scold the young people in public places for speaking
Russian and young Kyrgyz feel remorse and try to use Kyrgyz.

The word “ostanovka” has Kyrgyz version ‘ayaldama’, but it does not penetrate
into practice. Therefore, everyone practices Russian word ‘ostanovka’.

There was a question in survey: what language do they recognize as the mother
tongue for the russianized Kyrgyz? All the Kyrgyz young people consider Kyrgyz as
their mother tongue, despite the fact they do not speak it properly. Survey asked
whether they sense some feeling for not knowing Kyrgyz. 30% of the respondents feel
shame that they do not know Kyrgyz and have intention to learn better. The others
(70%) feel that Russian is comfortable language for them and they will use in future.
10% of the respondents think that Kyrgyz should be used in all official documents,
official ceremonies in order to highlight the role of a native language, thus prohibiting
the use of other languages. They identify themselves ‘orustashkan kyrgyz’ (russianfied
Kyrgyz) and their language as half Kyrgyz (chala kyrgyzcha). At the same time, young
people develop their proficiency of Kyrgyz in order to get public jobs where knowledge
of Kyrgyz is a requirement. Kyrgyz parents started to hire private lessons of Kyrgyz
for their children. So, Kyrgyz language is being promoted slowly. The research also
identifies that ethnic Kyrgyz of 40-45 are coming back to ethnic roots and thus learning
Kyrgyz and practice it daily life and social media.

Research shows that students of ethnic minorities (25%), besides Slavs (5%), are
bilinguals, use their native languages (Uzbek, Turkish, Azeri, Tatar, Dungan Chinese,
Uighur) in the family. Absence of education in Korean made Koreans be deficient in
native tongue. Slav students show very little proficiency of Kyrgyz, as there is no high
need for learning it, they consider.

Vocabulary change in the bulk of the Kyrgyz language actively translates Russian

loan words in mass media and education. For example, avtobus-unaa (bus); samolet-

uchak (airplane); usluga- tolom (utilities);store- dukon etc. Most of them are codified

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and included in the dictionaries. However, young people tend to use Russian cognates.
Many do not read in Kyrgyz, do not watch the news on Kyrgyz T.V. which broadcasts
in Standard Kyrgyz. They do not search for Kyrgyz equivalents. As in Sounkalo's
(1995) study, this approach reflects native-language lexical deficiency.

In the course of research some depth interviews have also been conducted among

monolinguals or ethnic Kyrgyz (40%) at the selected university, whose background is

from regions, rural areas of Kyrgyzstan. The survey shows that the first impression that

attracts their attention in the city has been the use of Russian everywhere. They feel

inferiority complex of not knowing Russian. Those young people try to learn Russian,

attend courses and private lessons to have proficiency in Russian. They wish to

send their children to Russian schools in case they will live in Bishkek. At the same

time, they are proud of being Kyrgyz and value ethnic heritage. Sociolinguistic

experiment was conducted in the banks and taxi services of Bishkek, in order to

observe the reaction of young bank assistants and taxi call center assistants for

language use. If someone addresses in Kyrgyz, then the response comes in Kyrgyz. It

means that public officers are bilingual.

Code switching as the main strategy for the young people in communication

According to the bilingual character of Kyrgyzstan, Bishkek youth tends to use
code switching as the main strategy in communication. Language choice gives
identification of individuals with a social role related to the interlocutor’s status
(Scotton 1979). A disidentification, by means of a marked or unexpected' language
choice, produces an emotional response from others involved in a given role
relationship. Threat to one’s identity may occur in the process of learning second
language, because second language learning involves acquisition of alien culture and
codes of different ethnolinguistic community. Clashes of cultural identity may lead to
choose one code or another in different speech circumstances. Language usually
expresses culture. World view, self-identity, thinking, feeling, acting, and
communicating of the individuals may be disturbed by shifts from one language and
culture to another. Moreover, language may mark group identity, besides its input to
individual identity. It is also a linguistic division between members of multilingual
communities, language the person speaks presents significant knowledge about the
dominant cultural group, he/she belongs to. Joan Swann and Indra Sinka argue that
code switching may vary in definition (Swann & Sinka, 2007). Ahmad Abdel Tawwab

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Sharaf Eldin highlights that ‘any person who is capable of switching codes must be a
competent bilingual or multilingual (Ahmad Abdel Tawwab Sharaf Eldin, 2015).

John J. Gumperz defines ‘conversational code-switching’ as the ‘as ‘the
juxtaposition within the same speech exchange of passages of speech belonging to two
different grammatical systems or subsystems. . . . as when a speaker uses a second
language either to reiterate his message or to reply to someone else’s statement’
(Gumperz, 1982). Kathryn Woolard characterizes code switching as ‘the investigation
of as ‘the investigation of an individual’s use of two or more language varieties in the
same speech event or exchange’ (Woolard, 2004). Ahmad Abdel Tawwab Sharaf Eldin
claims that ‘the term ‘code switching’ differs from other language interaction
phenomena, such as lexical borrowing. Lexical borrowing is the result of lack of a
lexical terms in the speakers repertoire while in code-switching (Ahmad Abdel
Tawwab Sharaf Eldin, 2015).

Research shows that young people practice Russian-Kyrgyz code switching both in
the Kyrgyz and Russian sentences. They explain the reasons of code switching as the
comfortable way to express the ideas. Forexample: Kechee u menya dnuyha boldu.
Mamam ekoobuz na bazar poshli, produkta satyp aldyk. Ona maga sumku podarila.
The sentences have Kyrgyz structure: SOV, it means that she is trying to speak Kyrgyz
to her peers, as the sign of solidarity to speak Kyrgyz. See the figure 1.

Figure 1.

Senten Structu Russian Kyrgy Meani
ce re words z words ng of the
sentence

u SOV u Keche It was
menya Kyrgyz menya e my
dnuyha dnyuha birthday
boldu’ boldu’ yesterday
(dnuyh
a is a
youth
slang from
den’
rojdeniya

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(birthday) My
mother
Mama SOV Mama ekoob and me
m ekoobuz Kyrgyz m, na uz went to the
na bazar bazar, market and
poshli, poshli, bought
produkty produkty, some food
kupili. kupili. products.

Ona SOV Ona, maga She
sumku sumku, gave a
maga bag to me.
podarila. podaril
a

The example was used by one Russian speaking Kyrgyz student, who tries to use
her Kyrgyz to peers, as they are not Russian speaking. ‘ Speakers may switch from
one code to another either to show solidarity with a social group, to distinguish oneself,
to participate in social encounters, to discuss a certain topic, to express feelings and
affections, or to impress and persuade the audience (Ahmad Abdel Tawwab Sharaf
Eldin, 2015). However, she is incompetent in Kyrgyz, knows and practices
conversational Kyrgyz learnt at home. Her family is bilingual, but Russian dominates.
Janet Holmes argues that ‘a speaker may. . . switch to another language as a signal of
group membership and shared ethnicity within an addressee’ (Holmes, 2000).

The following example is taken from a family conversation, where a student lives
with her grandmother. The grandmother is monolingual, she speaks Kyrgyz only, but
understands Russian, while granddaughter speaks only Russian, but understands
Kyrgyz:

Grandmother: - Kyzym keldinbi (Entirely in Kyrgyz- Daughter, are you here?)

Granddaughter: - Da, prishla. Privet. ( Entirely in Russian- Yes, I am, hi there)

Grandmother: Tamak ichesinbi? ( Entirely in Kyrgyz- Do you want to eat?)

Granddaughter: Net, uje poela (Entirely in Russian- No, I have already had lunch).

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Language interchange in conversation is very typical for Russianized Kyrgyz youth.
As the research shows, bilingual young people usually know Russian better, though
they understand Kyrgyz.

Another code switching example was taken from gold seller young lady (20-25) at
the Gold Store: Algan altyn kayra (Kyrgyz words) obmen i vozvratu ne podlejit
(Russian words). ('Goods once sold will not be taken back or exchanged). In this
example, she is Kyrgyz speaking, but she uses Kyrgyz-Russian code switching in order
to show her social status, that she is competent Russian as well. Knowing Russian is
associated with education and urbaneness in Kyrgyzstan. I argue that if code
switching continues on this increasing level, in some years we will get new Pidgin
Kyrgyz, with simplified grammar and changed vocabulary. Some 25 talks on
Facebook are analyzed and youth intentionally violates the rules, shortening
grammatical endings (case endings and postpositions) of the agglutinative Kyrgyz and
using the same sounds for the different phonetic situations. Children exposed to this
hybrid language; they will learn a distorted language that will affect their linguistic
development. Children need to build their lexical repertoire in Kyrgyz. If adult
students get into the habit of code-switching, Kyrgyz words substituted by foreign
words will die

Youth slang in Kyrgyzstan

Youth language is often characterized as bad language; behavior and values of
young people are considered as isolated from cultural values of older generations and
from national traditions and mentality. Especially youth behavior is often criticized by
elders: youth life uses much consumption and pomposity which prevail over
creativity, youth values carry potential risk to lose the cultural basis of society.

Bishkek urban slang existed in the previous decades as well. They come from

from various cultural environments. Their casual expressions are usually spread by the

media as well as by bloggers on Facebook and Twitter. Each group of youth may

have their private spoken code which they may or may not share with other young

people ; hence, a word or phrase could lead to more than one interpretation. In the

course of research a sample of 100 youth slang has been collected. 60 slang words are

used in Russian, while 40 of them are slang words in Kyrgyz. Most of the slang words

express emotions and feelings. For example: офигеть, обалдеть, капец,(и др.

варианты) класс, супер, жесть, круто, прикольно, по полной прет, зай, короче,

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типа, , прикинь, ваще, потеря потерь, в смысле, черт,чмо, бакс, блин, аапупеть,
днюха, предки, пушка, чувак, телка, пацан, чикса, мырк, мыркушка, мыркотня,
ужас, хачик etc.

Examples of Kyrgyz slang are also coined out of the neutral vocabulary and usually
they have same sarcastic, humoristic effect. Most of them have subculture character,
thus speakers of the literary language do not understand them. For example, кудай
сактасын, тимеле, девеле, жөн эле, калп эле, чын элеби, Дос,айтпа, ,окай,
коой(чу),жан, кыйкырат, жардың, таш, зыңк, кыйтылдайт ко, кыйт ко, дадил,
даңгал, галдир, ашкабак, сака, өл, катык.

In addition, young people tend to use vulgar words, which they refused to include
into the research corpus. These words are mainly used by males to refer to activities
usually engaged in fast driving, fighting and playing computer games. Some words
are genderlects, i.e. they refer to females or males.

Bishkek urban slang often uses the word “myrka” for females and “myrk,
“myrkotnya” for males. The sociolect “myrk” became popular; it is even used in
newspapers as the media slang. Etymology comes from very old Kyrgyz way of calling
a person with a congested nose who talks through it. “Myrk” was a label for the male
person, usually from province, who couldn’t adapt to the city life, who did not speak
Russian. The genderlect “myrka” is used for the females usually have a provincial
style of clothing, who also do not know Russian. Facebook users and bloggers often
practice the words “myrk” and “myrka” for the both males and females who are lack
of manners, but label for not speaking Russian is gradually lost. Internal migration in
the country brings thousands of people to Bishkek and upper class, wealthy youth calls
provincial people as “myrks”, thus constructing labeling identity for those marginalized
groups.

Youth slang ‘mankurt’ is practiced by young Kyrgyz speaking people towards the
youth for being ignorant of their native language and national heritage. Mankurt is
as a term refers to unthinking slave in Turkic mythology, used by Chyngyz Aitmatov in
his novel The Day Lasts More Than a Hundred Years.

There are two terms define young people by their constructed identity: Kyrgyz
and Russianized Kyrgyz: Kyrgyz (Кыргыз) is applied for people who speak Kyrgyz
and respect national culture, whereas Kirgiz (Киргиз) (from Russian manner of

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spelling of Kyrgyz). The labels are still vital and young people construct identities in
behaving and communicating accordingly. Cultural misunderstandings may occur due
to different values and behavior.

Some slang words are created out of pop-culture, for example, the word
“kokosha” is blended from “Coco Chanel”; it is applied for the young lady who is
very stylish. The word “hachik” is used for the man, who has bad style of clothing.

There is another story for the ethnic Kyrgyz, coming back to historical homeland
from Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and China. They usually show low proficiency in
Russian, their Kyrgyz has some shared linguistic features with Tajik, Uzbek, Uighur
and Chinese. A series of short speech samples was compiled from interviews of the
young people in Bishkek. These extracts varied systematically in terms of their
dialectal features. The recordings were presented to the students of the University,
who were asked to judge the voices in terms of their owners’ regional background. The
voices judged to belong to Kyrgyz youth from Uzbekistan and Tajikistan were more
likely to be located in southern part of Kyrgyzstan. Obviously, this variety is a
vernacularised form of speech, and it is characteristic of parts of suburbs of Bishkek as
a new social dialect, where immigrants live.

Youth slang often is used to express approval or disapproval of something or
someone, label anti-social behaviours, classify (neutral and positive), refer to
technology (gaming, social-networking, the Internet, etc), refer to parties, dancing,
music and leisure and others.

Conclusion

Youth language construction is one of the important topics in Central Eurasian
sociolinguistics. Youth language is an extremely perspective topic for research.
The paper argues about language use by young people in Kyrgyzstan. Also, the
phenomenon of code switching is analyzed. This study demonstrates that many of
the most of the young people employ code-switching as a tool to enhance their
interaction with peers. The research has summarized the results of his study in Youth
language and has presented the results of the analysis of examples of Kyrgyz and
Russian slang words that are used by young people.

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Works Cited

Anna De Fina, Deborah Schiffrin, & Michael G.W. Bamberg. (2006) Discourse and
Identity.Cambridge University Press: Cambridge.

Ahmad Abdel Tawwab Sharaf Eldin (2015) Socio Linguistic Study of Code Switching
of the Arabic Language Speakers on Social Networking. International Journal of
English Linguistics; Vol. 4, No. 6; 2014 ISSN 1923-869X E-ISSN 1923-8703
Published by Canadian Center of Science and Education

Bethan Benwell, & Elizabeth Stokoe (2006). Discourse and Identity. Edinburgh
University Press:Edinburgh.

Bilaniuk, Laada (2007) “Contested tongues : Language politics and cultural correction
in Ukraine.” The Slavic and East European Journal, 51, no. 1: 196-198

Django, Paris. (2013) Language across Difference Ethnicity, Communication, and
Youth Identities in Changing Urban Schools

Druviete, Ina. ( 2000), “Language Situation and Language Policy in the Transit
Countries.” Language of the People – Language of the state. San Juan, 36-38.

Gumperz, J. John. (1982). Discourse strategies. New York, NY: Cambridge University
Press.http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511611834

Holmes, Janet (2000). An Introduction to Sociolinguistics (2nd ed.). Wellington:
Longman.

Kerswill, Paul. (2013). Identity, ethnicity and place: the construction of youth language
in London. In P. Auer, M. Hilpert, A. Stukenbrock & B. Szmrecsanyi (eds). Space
in language and linguistics: geographical, interactional, and cognitive perspectives.
Berlin: de Gruyter, pp. 128-164.

Korth, Britta (2005). Language Attitudes Towards Kyrgyz and Russian. Discourse,
Education and Policy in Post-Soviet Kyrgyzstan. Bern: Peter Lang,
http://books.google.kg/books?id=knrZ2r4N7ZMC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepag
e&q&f=false .

Kotsinas, Ulla-Britt (1994). Ungdomsspråk [Youth language]. Uppsala: Hallgren &
Fallgren.

Landau, Jacob M. and Kellner-Heinkele Barbara (2012), Language Politics in
Contemporary Central Asia: National and Ethnic Identity and the Soviet Legacy
New York: I.B.Tauris & Co Ltd, 2012.

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Pavlenko, Aneta (2008) (ed.) “Multilingualism in post-Soviet countries.” International

Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 11, no 3-4

Orusbaev, A; Mustajoki, A; Protassova, E. (2008) “Multilingualism, Russian

Language and Education in Kyrgyzstan,” International Journal of Bilingual

Education and Bilingualism, 11, no 3-4:476-500,

http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13670050802148806#.U2mieoF_ve

Quist, Pia (2008). Sociolinguistic approaches to multiethnolect: language variety and

stylistic practice, International Journal of Bilingualism 12: 43–61.

Schlyter, N. Birgit (2013) “Multilingualism and Language Renewal in Ex-Soviet

Central Asia.” in The Handbook of Bilingualism and Multilingualism,2nd ed.,

edited by Tej K. Bhatia, William C. Ritchie, 35-46. UK: Wiley-Blackwell.

Smagulova Jyldyz (2008) “Language Policies of Kazakhization and Their Influence on

Language Attitudes and Use.” International Journal of Bilingual Education and

Bilingualism, 11, no 3:440-475. Doi: 10.1080/13670050802148798.

Swann, Joan & Sinka, Indra (2007). Style Shifting, Codeswitching.

Svendsen, Bente Ailin and Røyneland, Unn (2008). Multiethnolectal facts and

functions in Oslo, Norway. International Journal of Bilingualism 12: 63–83.

Sounkalo, J. (1995). Code-switching as indexical of native language lexical deficiency

in Mauritania. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 16(5), 403-

21.

Wiese, Heike. 2009. Grammatical innovation in multiethnic urban Europe: New

linguistic practices among adolescents. Lingua 119: 782–806.

Woolard, Kathryn. (2004). Codeswitching. In A. Duranti (Ed.), A Companion to

Linguistic Anthropology (pp. 73-75).Oxford: Blackwell.

*Dr. Feruza Shermatova has previously presented this paper in Regional Conference of Central Eurasian
Studies Society, Kazan Federal University, Kazan, Tatarstan, Russian Federation, June 2-4, 2016.

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2.

The Art Of Being A Digital Educator

Mamta Bansal*

*Assistant Professor, J.C.Bose University of Science and Technology,YMCA,
Faridabad (Haryana)

Mankind has seen many revolutions and 21st century has brought another
revolution-the e-revolution. This revolution has led to the evolution of the digital
educator. As we all know that humans have evolved through different stages from a
series of ancestors. They have learnt the art of communicating and have designed and
shaped their physical world accordingly. With all the new inventions and discoveries
the modern man has become all the more capable to work and communicate faster and
efficiently. When we talk about educators we can see that modern educators have come
a long way in the process of teaching and communicating. A modern educator has been
using some simple technologies in his/her lessons or messages without being entirely
dependent on e tools and e environment. But with the outbreak of COVID 19, the
modern educator has to gear himself up for taking a big leap from modern to digital.
Life has changed in just about every way since the deadly pandemic Covid-19 break
out. The sudden shift from the traditional way to the digital has posed plethora of
opportunities and challenges for the educators. While on the one hand this predicament
has triggered the world of intellectuals to meltdown the geographical boundaries and
connect on various online platforms, on the other hand it has heighten the sense of
unease and added stress on the modern day educator who is struggling with the ‘fight or
flight’ response. This paper is an attempt to analyze and implement various creative
and innovative techniques in the process of digital learning to make it a fulfilling
experience for both teachers and students. Every aspect of our life in this present time
has been influenced and governed by the most advanced machine, known as computer.
On the same note an educator has to accept and adapt himself with the ongoing changes
in his surroundings so that the spirit of education remains alive and intact.

Digital Education has become the prime source of disseminating information and a
pivotal force in breaking all kind of geographical barriers. We can see a big change in
every part of teaching from the teaching approach and lecture design to the delivery
and teaching and learning strategies. Simple educational techniques have been used by

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the educators in various forms but the urgency of the situation has propelled the
educators to accept the new and complex forms of educational techniques. The very
first step which an educator has to take is a mental shift in the way he/she has imagined
and been conceptualizing about the teaching and learning process. When an educator
realizes that these digital tools are going to be a consistent support in learning and
instruction then the educator willingly accepts and adapts himself to the new tools. The
new tools and the new environment can be a little quirky and challenging but that also
expose and prepare the modern educator to the hidden art of being a digital educator.
As stated that learning styles are changing in 21st century, the conventional classrooms
have been replaced by virtual platforms and the conventional tools by e tools.
Textbooks can be read and studied in the form of pdfs and lectures and tutorials can be
delivered on virtual platforms. All kind of discussions like formal and informal,
between an educator and students or between students of same class or different classes
have moved out of physical settings and are being capsuled in whatsapp groups. The
new platform of education has also unlocked the opportunity of using various
computed tools and animated contents in the form of audios and videos. So to make the
lectures more interesting and informative, educators can incorporate various features
which can establish clarity and motivate the learners towards effective and efficient
learning. Multiple modes of representation have emerged. In addition, multiple forms of
communication have also emerged. In addition to one-to-one and one-to-many face-to-
face communication modalities, there are multiple forms of digital communication,
including internet chat rooms, videoconferencing, discussion forums, social networks
and more. (1) Thus the shift has brought many new things in the domain of education
for which the educator is not prepared and trained. The crisis highlights the ‘gap’ which
is both an opportunity and a challenge for the educator to respond accordingly. If the
educator accepts the change and joins the fight then slowly but surely he/she can move
along the curve but if he/she back out and wait for the resumption of the conventional
way of teaching and learning, then the gap will keep on increasing and it will become
all the more difficult for the educator to be back. So an educator has to train or equip
himself with the changing times so that he /she can participate in the dissemination of
information and knowledge. So, once the problem and need have been identified; the
goal or goals of the effort can be identified. These goals also form the basis for
determining the degree to which the effort is succeeding over a solution is developed
and deployed. (2)The use of zoom sessions for completion of syllabus and for official

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meetings can be taken as a perfect example. Most of the educators were encountering
the common problems of internet connectivity and student attentiveness while taking
their sessions on zoom. In fact most of the educators felt themselves badly wired with
the sudden shift to the online mode of tutorials, meetings and webinars. Figure 1 is an
example of the critical situation in which almost every educator found trapped.



 Fig 1: Insights from Ayaan Bansal

The example shows the manifestation of the problem of the educator with the
sudden change in the teaching mechanism for which efforts and solutions have to be
generated. On the other hand the same platform has provided greater autonomy to the
students. Students can enjoy the privilege of attending the classes from any part of the
country. Courses like MOOCs allow the students to participate from different countries
and backdrops thus giving them a chance to connect at a common platform where they
can interact and learn. But yes the biggest challenge is that the students can enter the
session just for namesake and can enjoy being dummy participants. So again the
educator has to be ready with some innovative techniques through which the students
can really become active participants. Apart from that, the educators and support teams
should be trained enough to handle all the anticipated online barriers along with the
counseling of students. Several techniques can be employed to gain and retain the
attention of the students .The digital educators can refer to ARCS model of
motivational design created by John Keller. It is a problem-solving approach to design
the motivational aspects of learning environments to promote and sustain students’
motivation to learn. According to the ARCS model, there are four interrelated phases
for stimulating and sustaining learner’s motivation in the teaching and learning
process: Attention, Relevance, Confidence, and Satisfaction. (3).The educator can

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devise some games like ‘Fastest Finger First’ or role play activities to arouse their
interest. Informative videos, short lectures can be planted in the presentation. Humor
can also be sparkled to make the session more interesting. Certain brainstorming
activities like quiz can be planned or designed to assess the development of learning.
Thus the educator has to be flexible and creative in making use of appropriate resources
to achieve desired outcomes; this often involves significant changes in learning
activities, teaching methods and instructional designs. The sudden change from formal
learning environment to informal is also preparing the educator for hybrid form of
learning which will integrate some new teaching methods like collaborative learning.
Thus the teachers’ task become more challenging as it will be a continuous act where
he/she is working on the generation and sustenance of the learners’ interest and will be
devising different strategies for the subject enrichment. The digital educator has to
emphasize the learners’ active role, and has to invest time and guidance in tutoring
about self- monitoring skills so that the students’ can understand the emergence of
virtual learning space and move further with the help of digital literacy aids. The
learners’ should be made aware of their new and changed responsibility of not just
being recipients but also active participants in the new learning space. Thus by shifting
their role from passive to participating, the educator is empowering the learners not
only to build themselves but also become a contributive force in the realm of education.
Since technology and the related devices are accessible and more comprehensible to the
generation of today, thus it will automatically attract the students’ to respond in
interactions and communication rounds.. The instructor can take the advantage of this
aspect of the students’ personalities and hence can design or frame certain questions
which can lead them to participate in a positive way. It will also help the instructor to
interact with the students and will provide him/her a chance to assess them in
situational participations in addition to exams and assignments. This will really help in
the psychological growth of the students. The students will not only enjoy their new
learning space with a constructive role but also they will provide valuable feedbacks
and inputs for research and improvement. Of course there will be some students who
can create disturbance during the session, so the teacher can assign monitoring tasks on
rotation to some high performing students who will again enable them to participate in
collaborative learning and work together as a team for a shared goal. It will thus help
the teacher to create a hybrid form of learning where the teachers and the students
mutually understand the multiple facets of technology and become front liners in

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solving each others’ problems and will promote positive interdependence. So coming to
assessment which is again a tricky but vital aspect of online assessment, the educator
has to draft certain questions which are thought provoking and directs the student to
frame more genuine answers. The questions should be such which can actually lead the
student to take up the tests more positively and with interest and where the student
wishes to contribute his ideas in a more natural way on which the teacher can assess the
student’s growth. The assessment should target at the students’ multiple personality
skills and would aim at contributing in his/her holistic development. Since the shift is
on the learner, so the main aim of the educator is to understand the goal and then
motivate the students to frame answers which reflect their true knowledge. In other
words online learning should aim at inculcating a strong sense of responsibility and
foster self reflection practices, thus formative assessments should consider the value of
an individual’s true learning. A sample question paper has been attached below to
highlight the importance of assessing the true learning by motivating the students to
think and draw inferences based on their learning so far.

J C BOSE UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, YMCA
FARIDABAD

MODERN SCIENCE WRITING AND JOURNALISM
AENG-201A
Marks: 15 marks TA: 2 hours

Note: Attempt any 2 questions out of the given questions.

Q1. Write two paragraphs analyzing the positive and negative implications of
Artificial Intelligence.

Q2. Imagine you are a scientist involved in developing a useful but potentially
dangerous technology. Write a set of recommendations on the do’s and dont’s to
be observed while putting your discovery to use.

Q3. Express your ideas in your words after looking the picture given below.

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(Total:15)

************

Works Cited
Huang Ronghuai, Spector J Michael, Yang Junfeng, Educational Technology, A Primer for

the 21st century, Springer, ISSN 2196-4963, pg 12, lines 24-28.
Huang Ronghuai, Spector J Michael, Yang Junfeng, Educational Technology, A Primer for

the 21st century, Springer,ISSN 2196-4963, pg 16 lines 34-36.
Huang Ronghuai, Spector J Michael, Yang Junfeng, Educational Technology, A Primer for

the 21st century,Springer ,ISSN 2196-4963, pg 86 lines 12-17

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3.

Blended Learning: Need Of The Hour

Dr. Mandeep Kaur*

*Assistant Professor , Gujranwala Guru Nanak Khalsa College
Affiliated to Panjab University, Chandigarh

Covid- 19 Pandemic has presented completely unprecedented circumstances and has
affected all spheres of life. Life has come to a standstill. There is no other event in the recent
history that had such a profound and pervasive impact. People are compelled to stay indoors.
Serious threats have been imposed, globally. This pandemic has made us aware of our
physical fragility, crippled our economic stability, turns the daily routines upside down,
ravaged all our plans and segregated us from our friends and neighbours. It has widely
influenced our way of thinking. In the wake of the present situation, education can also be
halted if we do no adopt any other technique. Blended learning is need of the hour to meet
the challenges of the present times. It is a mixture of learning methods that incorporates both
e- learning and face to face learning. It is an innovative and constructive mode of learning.
The reason, I advocate blended learning over virtual teaching is that blended learning
incorporates features of both face to face and virtual learning. It must be understood that
virtual learning is just a technique that we are employing in times of need having no other
alternative; it cannot be seen as a substitute for traditional or face to face learning. Although
blended learning has both pros and cons but looking into the present situation it must be
adopted. This paper is an attempt to analyze the scope of blended learning in detail.

Blended Learning is also called hybrid or mixed mode of learning. In a Guide to
Blended Learning it is defined as

A term applied to the practice of providing instruction and learning experiences
through some combination of both face-to face and technology- mediated learning. During
the technology- mediated components of these learning experiences, students are not
required to be physically together in one place but may be connected digitally through online
communities. (02)

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For example, during blended learning, one course can involve students who are
attending the classes physically in traditional classrooms and they are completing the
remaining components of the course through an online platform, outside the classroom. Al
Fiky also states in Blended Learning: Educational Design, Multi- media, Creative Thinking
that it contains features that help in moving from lecturing to student centered learning,
increasing teacher- student and student- student interactions, integrating novel evaluation
methods and providing the information and resources to students. According to Heinze and
Procter, “Blended learning is learning that is facilitated by the effective combination of
different modes of delivery, models of teaching and styles of learning and founded on
transparent communication amongst all parties involved with a course” (247).

It can be completely understood with the help of following points that clearly states
what blended learning actually includes.

Face- to- Face learning E-
Learning

Dialogue Self-
Paced

Negotiated Interaction Blended Language
Skills Learning Authentic

Application
Content

Production Practice and
Feedback

Collaboration Progress
Monitoring

It is a flexible and integrated approach that combines both synchronous and
asynchronous modes of communication. It includes both direct and indirect instructions,
collaborative and individualized teaching. As the figure shows it includes:

a) Face to face teaching- Blended learning does not exclude all elements of
traditional classroom learning. Here students find plenty of opportunities to interact with

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their facilitator. Face to face interaction proves helpful in synchronous communication
because both students and teachers get immediate feedback.

b) Availability of Course Content- Printed material is provided to students
keeping in view the traditional mode of teaching and necessary guidance is provided through
ICT mediated learning. That course content can be made to understand with the help of video
lectures.

c) Group Discussions- Group discussions helps in increasing the confidence of
the students and it also gives birth to some innovative ideas that can be further explored and
discussed.

d) E-Library- In order to meet the cognitive objectives, e- libraries provides
ample scope. Digital libraries help in bringing all the knowledge to the comfortable places of
the students and thus help in widens their outlook.

e) Virtual classrooms- Virtual class rooms make distance learning easy. It
surpasses all geographical boundaries and helps in creating a global village where everything
is possible. It also provides multicultural experience to students by giving them opportunity
to interact with the fellow learners and facilitators from other countries and cultures.

f) Online assessment- It makes the evaluation easy. Feedback and evaluation are
important to know the progress of learning. It also makes clear where the improvement is
needed. This system makes the evaluation fast, formative and transparent. Learning also
becomes reliable and objective with this.

g) Webinars- A kind of virtual seminar that helps the students in participating and
presenting their ideas in front of numerous virtual audiences. There are several platforms for
this like Zoom, Google meet, Skype etc.

h) Expert lectures in Youtube- It has become a trending way of learning and
teaching now a day where experts record their lectures and students can access them anytime.
Belonging to different fields, these lectures by renowned personalities help a great deal in
learning new things.

So in blended learning students have the option of both the modes- traditional and
modern. It also helps the teachers in becoming techno savvy and well versed with new
techniques thus proving the fact that knowledge is dynamic. Thus, use of technology has
widens the scope both for the students and teachers and has helped them in acquiring new
opportunities globally. It is helpful for the holistic development of learners as well as trainers.
Blended learning helps in making the learning process child centered. All the contents,

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materials, aids are used to cater to the needs of the learners. It is a way that constructs
knowledge and helps the students in being innovative, inquisitive and adaptive rather than
just being a passive consumer. Only a certain amount of information can be stored by human
mind in a limited period. Curious students constantly seek new information and blended
learning provides a good alternative to them by bringing the classrooms to their doorsteps.
Online quizzes, assignments are fine modes of evaluation.

In the present scenario, education system is running through transitional stage. There is
a severe need of adopting new technologies and exploring new paths in order to impart
education. No doubt face to face education has its own benefits but in the present times
blended learning seems to be the only possible option. Face- to face or traditional learning
seems to be impossible now a day. Even in future it can be done only with staggered
planning. It will require a lot of precautionary measures like staggering the starting and
closing time of the institution, holding classes in shifts in order to reduce the class size,
maintaining proper hygiene, social distancing, cleanliness and many more things. Keeping in
view the density of population in India, Indian system requires blended learning the most so
that everybody can avail the benefits. India has many challenges to face. It can help in
imparting free education to each and every one. As the material is available to students, this
easy accessibility motivates them. As Wingard says about students:

They like to have the ability to access course materials anytime, anyplace, and are
positive about the convenience and flexibility this provides them. Because blended learning
courses help in providing them with the flexibility they need to juggle jobs, school and
family (27).

It is a way that remodels the educational system. Marsh also advocated blended
learning as it provides individualized learning experience to students because teachers can
send different tasks to all the students keeping in view their potentials and capabilities. Main
feature of blended learning is flexibility. It gives both the student and the teacher opportunity
to customize class according to their convenience and requirement. This flexibility
automatically widens its scope. Most importantly, it is a time saving mode.

There are several challenges that blended learning faced in its way of successful
implementation like ensuring learners’ knowledge of technology, changing facilitators’
attitude towards effectiveness of this mode, administering and evaluating the progress of the
learner and choosing best method to deliver the necessary content. Besides this many

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technical glitches can be faced by both learner and moderator. However, blended learning
has various advantages but it also has several prerequisites. Implementing blended learning is
not a facile task. It needs well trained teachers who should be well versed with latest
technology. It is not easy to blend both traditional and modern ways of teaching. Teaching
material must be digitalized so that everyone can have an access to that. Teachers must know
how to use different platforms based on the convenience of the students. Problem solving
skills and scientific attitude is required for this. Trainers must be good observers who could
see through the responses of the students even while sitting far away from them. The success
of any new technique depends upon the positive attitude towards that.

Teachers must be flexible enough to adopt new things and ready to be innovative and
dynamic. It requires well-furnished labs, internet connectivity and computers. On the other
hand, students must also have patience and good listening skills. Equal cooperation is
required from the parents of the students. They must provide an environment to their children
in which they can study. Blended learning requires even more frequent evaluative system.
Student must be ready for this. This method has several disadvantages too like many
marginalized and poverty stricken students cannot benefit because of the lack of necessary
resources like internet connectivity, laptop, computer or supportive environment. Keeping
the students engaged and maintaining their interest is also a challenge. We are not ignoring
these shortcomings and challenges but the advantages of this technique will surely outweigh
the disadvantages if this method will be implemented with right attitude and planning. These
challenges and hindrances listed above are not so that cannot be overcome. By using well
equipped infra- structure, building proper learning environment, and clarity of tools, blended
learning has a long way to go.

Covid- 19 pandemic has highlighted the need of disseminating knowledge and it is
possible only through blended learning that opens new ways of learning even when ordinary
life has come to a standstill. Based on the above discussion, we can say that in the present
time when life has changed dramatically, e- learning is the only mode that can keep the
education on going. The effectiveness of this mode varies amongst different age groups.
Pandemic has given birth to a technology enabled learning that can happen at three levels
namely institutional level, programme level and course level. While some courses require
only face to face guidance and others can be taught either through blended learning method
or entirely through online mode. Simpson and Anderson investigated the effectiveness of
blended learning and in their results; they stated that blended learning can led to an improved

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education system. It can also increase the inclination of students towards learning as it caters
to their interests and comforts.

So blended learning is a flexible, efficient, accessible and interactive way of learning.
The success of this approach lies in the adoption of new technology and proper use of it.
Implementing blended leaning approach would reduce isolation of students and encourage
active learning. It also helps in learning team efforts, cooperation, time management and
professional spirit. We can say that, blended learning is a valuable solution to the problems
prevailing in education system, only if it is implemented in a well-planned and organized
way taking the right steps and with positive attitude.

Works Cited:
Al Fiky, A. I. Blended Learning: Educational Design, Multi- media, Creative Thinking.
Amman

(Jordan): Dar Athaqafa for publishing and distribution, 2011.
Cleveland-Innes, Martha, and Dan Wilton. Guide to Blended Learning. Commonwealth of

Learning: Columbia, 2018.
Heinze, A, and Procter. “Communication and Information Technology Education.”

Journal of Information Technology Education, vol. 5, 2006. pp. 235-249.
Marsh, D. Blended Learning: Creating Learning Opportunities for Language Learners,

Cambridge University Press: New York, 2012.
Simpson, M. and Anderson. “Redesigning initial Teacher Education.” Effective Blended

Learning Practices: Based Perspectives in ICT- facilitated education. Hershey PA:
Information Science Reference, 2009.
Wingard, R.G. “Classroom Teaching Changes in Web- Enhanced Courses: A Multi-
Institutional Study.” Educause Quaterly, vol. 27, no.1, 2004, pp. 26-30.

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4. Dr. Vibha*

Teaching English and Role of New Technology

*Associate Prof. of English, Govt. P.G.College for Women, Panchkula

Technology has always been part and parcel of teaching and learning environment.
Covid-19, the Pandemic has brought to the fore the usage of technology in teaching –
learning process. It has become an essential part of teachers’ profession. To teach English
Language effectively , traditional teaching methods like lecture giving with the help of chalk
and board is not sufficient. Technology enhanced teaching environment in more effective
manner than teaching based on lecture method. Technologies aid has considerably changed
English teaching methods. It has changed the manner of teaching from teacher- centered to
student-centered. Teachers act as facilators and guide their learners learning and this
transition is very useful to increase the learning process. Technology plays a key role in
language learning. It is to used just as aid in teaching learning process. It can never replace
teachers role in teaching.

This paper focuses on the role of using new technologies in teaching English as a
second foreign language. Covid-19 brings a drastic change in India's teaching learning
education system. Digital India concept of the government is emerging as a vital instrument
for solving the present crisis rises due to Covid-19 . It is true that technology can never
replace face to face personal communication which students have in the class. But in the
lockdown period it is the need of the hour to use technology in the education field also.
According to the reports ,of The World Economic forum, there is a sudden rush in the use of
different online apps, video conferencing apps, and online learning software in the last three
months. Our country also has witnessed an e-learning boom after Covid-19. Teachers ,in
order to have interaction with students, rely on Google meet, Zoom, Cisco, WhatsApp and
Skype. These apps are becoming the norm for students, parents and teachers. Yet, this
sudden , unexpected and immediate change to online teaching can hardly make up balance to
the absence of classroom teaching.

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The lockdown has accelerated the usage of digital technology in the field of education.
Due to lockdown, everybody is locked in their own house , teachers and students can’t go to
the campus to impart and to get education. It is an ideal time to get equipped with new tools,
apps to deliver lessons, to the students, in a meaningful manner. It has become obvious that
technology can play an important role for language teaching and learning. Many teachers
have already incorporated various types of technology(e.g. Skype, Google, you tube etc.)
into their language curricula. The use of such technology is becoming more and more
popular and many studies have been done that discuss how such technology can be used for
language teaching. English Language can also be effectively taught with the help of latest
technologies.

English is a language used globally. It is used not only in American, Britain, Africa but
it is used as a universal language in the whole world . English is accepted as the second
language in India. According to Mahatma Gandhi ji, “English is a language of international
commerce, it is the language of diplomacy and it contains many a rich literary treasures”.

William Littlewood aptly states

The study of second language learning is an immensely rich and varied enterprise. Most
participants in this enterprise still see its ultimate justification in terms of desire to improve
learning and teaching. The people of India are no exception to English. English is accepted
as second language in India. Teachers of English face the challenges to teach English to the
students as foreign language.

The advancement in the field of science and technology have given wings to the
teachers and students to use technology and to apply it while teaching students through
audios, videos in English language class teaching. This brings harmonious setup for
refinement and research on English teaching method in the present prevalent pandemic
Covid 19 situation.

David Warlick states that

“We need technology in every classroom and in every student and teachers’ hand,
because it is the pen and paper of our time, and it is the lens through which we experience
much of our world.”

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There is significant proliferation of literature ,regarding the use of technology , in
teaching of English language. Technology has an inevitable role in changing pedagogy of
education system .It is pertinent to mention here that ,as Language teacher, we must make
ourselves equipped with latest technologies to cope up with every circumstances. There
should be preparedness for every critical situation. Most of the teachers rely on traditional
method of teaching only few teachers use technology. There is nothing wrong in traditional
manner of teaching but covid-19 has completely changed the scenario of education system. It
becomes pertinent for every teacher to make themselves aware about new technologies in the
field of education.

Teachers at present are using various online modes of teaching like WhatsApp, learning
management system, Google forms ,Google classroom,Moodle,Edmodo, testmoz ,quizzes
and many other platforms so that the study of students may not hamper in this crisis/
catastrophic situation.

In the Indian context , teaching English with the help of technology has both benefits
and pitfalls. As far as necessity and benefit of use of technologies in teaching of English is
concerned, after complete lock down of educational Institutes, the students can only be
taught through online modes. Technology has a plethora of benefits which can aid and
facilitate English learners. Technology helps in developing students interest in study. As
normal classroom teaching is not possible in the times of pandemic, so technology featuring
audio - video with animation effects cultivate students interest and motivates them to study
and their involvement. Arranging quizzes, PPT presentation, online meetings etc. also
develop their critical thinking. It is student centric rather than teachers centric. Students
would study through books ,one source, but with technology and web based learning , access
to more material on the same topic has widened. The coming decade would be the decade of
ICT. Technology not just ICT, but radio, televisionas well could take the Eklavya of the
Mahabharata and make him do better than Arjun.

Technology helps in developing student’s communication capacity. Quizzes, PPT, home
assignments etc. activate students’ thinking. The technology provides greater opportunities to
the students for their holistic development. It is true that in traditional classroom teaching
method various manners are available like group discussion, subjects question, extempore,
debates which offers opportunity for the development of communication skill but
technology increases the pace and develops the capacity of communication skill.

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Technology and teaching English effectively are related to each other. They are sides of
the same coin. The teacher now with the present situation dared to exploit it as a tool for
teaching learning process. The use of technology as a teaching- learning medium will surely
make the teaching learning process effective and efficient.

Wang in Pinar Kasaponglu-Akyol claims that there are various benefits implementing
technology in in classroom increasing student’s language competence, their writing, reading,
listening and speaking skills.

The material distributed to the students can be various, not only in the form of word
presentation but can be richer with text, visual, audio film and animation. Google
Technology like Google Drive, Google Docs , google forms, google sheets and other kinds
of technology like Moodle, LMS etc. in standard and non-standard pedagogical methods.
Teachers can motivate students and can use technology in judicious manner to increase the
enthusiasm among students when implemented correctly.

As everything has both benefits as well as pitfalls similarly technology has some
loopholes in communicating in Indian scenario. At first, technology facility is not available
to the students of rural belt. Teachers are also not well equipped and gear up with the
knowledge of technology. It is true that usage of technology in education has various
advantages but we cannot keep aside the various problems. There is lack of humane and
psychological conditioning. The immediate mechanical feedback provided by technological
mediums is no match to the teachers’ warm explanations and humanised feedback. The
satisfaction and learning level is much enhanced by humane approach. Use of much
technology also restricts students’ cognitive abilities.

Technology should be used in a balanced manner otherwise it can turn into an
impediment; thereby hampering the process of language learning. Technology is to be used
as assistance by the teacher in teaching process. If a teacher is totally dependent on
technology, teacher may not be able to lead English teaching and becomes slave to the
multimedia devices , the teacher - student interaction lessons as there is no eye to eye contact
between them . Students are totally engrossed in screen. Teacher student interaction
increases comprehension and improves students thought process and patterns. When the
interaction between them lessons a class run based on technology is just like a show where
students views only where they were earlier participants.

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Bill Gates states that,

Technology is just a tool. In terms of getting the kids working together and motivating
them, the teacher is most important.

Education based on technology and innovative education techniques serve as assistance
rather than the master. It should not be the dominating feature in the class. It can never
substitute a teacher teaching in a class having eye to eye contact with the students. Teaching
method of showing material just on screen is inappropriate. A teacher’s position cannot be
supplemented with technology usage. Even when technology is used teacher should have
dominant role.

It has rightly been said by George Couros

“Technology will not replace great teachers but technology in the hands of great
teachers can be transformational.”

Therefore, English teachers should use technology in a judicious manner to teach English as a
second language to the students. There should be balance between audio- visual impact of
technology and also to provide sufficient time and chance for role plays, language games, group
works etc. for holistic development of the skills of the students.

Works Cited

Collins, B, The Internet as an Educational Innovation: Educational Technology, 36(6)21-30,1996.

Littlewood, William, “ Second language Learning” The Handbook of Applied Linguistics. Ed.
Alan Davis and Catherine Elder. Blackwell Publishing.2006, p.502.

P.Tamilarasan,D.Anita,K.Saravan “Integrating Technology into English Language Teaching: An
Analysis “ May,2019, IJRTE.

thehindu.com “ Why e-learning isn’t a sustainable solution to the Covid-19 education crisis in
India” 11 May 2020.

www.Wordsworthelt.com/blog/use-of-technology-in-teaching-english-communication.

https://onlinelibrary.Wiley.com

https://edtechreview.in/news

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https://m.timesofindia.com/home/education/news/Role-of-technology-in-
education/articleshow/14989508.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&ut
m_campaign=cppst

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5.

Blended Learning : The Future Of English Language

Dr Ruchira Khullar*

*Designation:Associate professor, Pt JLN Govt. College, Faridabad (Haryana)

Blended learning is a style of education in which students learn via electronic and online
media as well as traditional face to face teaching. The time is now! Pedagogy is rapidly
changing. This paper suggests that Blended Learning is one of the most important
pedagogical formats that can enhance students learning, optimize the use of active learning
strategies and potentially improve student learning outcomes.

As per UNESCO data of 27.03.2020 about 1600 million students are affected by closure
of schools and colleges globally. And around 65 million teachers in about 165 countries.
Highlighting “startling digital divides”, UNESCO further emphasizes that about 43% of the
young people worldwide have no access to internet at home. This means around 876 million
students have no internet when ‘distance learning’ is the only option as colleges are closed.
But many teachers and students are not techno savy and also courses need face to face
interaction, hence The Blended Learning becomes the need of hour; the future of Higher
Education and English Language.

Higher education, and English literature in particular is completely torned, teetered and
stuttered. Thus from the eyes of this research paper I want to peep into the changes now
colleges and universities should make post covid period. The investment in e-libraries, e-
studios, e-English labs, etc. has become compulsory along with the traditional class room
teaching and hence the arrival of Blended Learning.

We all agree to the point that Blended Learning should emerge as future of English
Language but we can’t overrule the Challenges in the path of Blended Learning.

1. Access to Technology: As cited earlier almost 41% of the students not only in India
but worldwide do not have access to internet activity, electronic devices, such as laptops, I
Pads, computer or latest smart phones.

2. Course structure and designing: As blended learning means the fusion of class
room teaching and e-learning, the curriculum should also be designed and restructured in
similar way. We should redesign the present traditional course and syllabus to the new
invented blended and hybrid learning.

3. Enhanced skills: Both the teacher and the learner should be trained appropriately and
competent enough to handle the new technologies.

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4. Evaluation: With the change in curriculum the process of evaluation needs to be
changed as evaluation holds a pivotal part of our education system. The new evaluation
system can include, more of online multiple choice questions, dropbox, check box and
examinations no more depend upon the traditional application of crammed material.

5. Expenses: Technology is expensive and students in India are struggling in financial
spect especially during covid and post covid era. The research has found that more than 40%
of the students in government colleges of Haryana face financial issues and they can’t cope
up with the rising expenses of blended learning.

6. Safety and security: Cyber crime is the order of the day, and the learners should not
be thoroughly acquainted with cyber security.

7. Feedback: Feedback lays the foundation of any teaching-learning activity. Therefore,
persistent feedback should be ensured from variegated stake holders. But challenges are not
stop signs, they are guidelines, rather they are meant to be met and overcome.

Thus despite the challenges we should concentrate on the usage and essential parts of this
new pragmatic approach called blended learning.

1. Face to face learning : According to Grahim, face to face interaction, giving
directions and interaction is an approach towards collaborative teaching. The importance of
face to face learning cannot be overruled. This type of learning helps the learners to organize
their studies, and they need to be same there at a specific time and place. It is easy to gather
information through body language of teacher, and student’s language and voice.

2. Virtual Class Rooms : Virtual classroom is an online learning environment that
emphasis on on-line interaction between the teacher and student through effective use of ICT
to support and extend teaching and learning. ICT is an effective tool in Pedagogical reforms
in the present context of quality education. It includes the two ways : the rich presentation of
information changes and secondly the vast distribution and easy access to information can
mould and reform the relation between tutor and pupil.

3. Webinars : Webinar is a combination of ‘Web’ and ‘Seminar’. It is a video workshop,
lecture, or presentation hosted online with software. Webinars constitute an integral part of
blended learning specially in English language where laboratory research is not there. They
are a great way to stay up date in literature.

4. Links : Links are information on how to access blended learning programs from
home, from Android, laptop or iPad. There are several informative and useful lectures and
programmes on various websites and youtube. We can provide link to our students so that to
have easy accessibility.

5. Simulation : Simulation based learning integrates cognitive, technical and behavior
skills. Simulations are instructional scenarios where learner is placed in a world defined y the
teacher. Here teacher controls this world and uses to achieve the desired instructional results.

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6. Assessment : Assessment or immediate feedback in hybrid learning facilities the
learner to get automatic feedback on submission of his / her task, unlike the traditional mode,
enables the teacher to get genuine feedback from the students as they voice there concern
without any inhibition, ultimately escalating into effective teaching and learning process.
Additionally, the time saved by automated feedback can be utilized by the teachers to
inculcate high order skills such as creativity, critical thinking among the students.

7. One in one coaching : One in one coaching sessions are an opportunity for students
to share these ideas. As five fingers are not same; so are our students, individual differences
exists. All the learners are not alike as far as learning capability is concerned, some are quick
learners while others being slow graspers. Digital material being available round the clock;
the slow learner can go through the contents as per his / her speed.

Today the world is facing pandemic as the corona virus sweeps its way around the globe
and its impact is just the only beginning. The crisis has lead in many deaths, large number
are infected and have moved the world to a serious situation of global health emergency. The
need of the hour is not to panic, hence it led to a total lockdown world over and India is no
more an exception. The shut-down of the educational institutes has led to many apprehension
among the students and teaching fraternity. However, alternative method are being
considered to face such situations, new alternative methods, online teaching, teaching based
on power point presentations and other methods are being used for the betterment of the
students.

The sudden declaration of closure of colleges and lockdown has further enhanced this
situation terribly. The students are in state of dilemma and stress and wanted to know what is
their future? And we find only one answer to all questions Blended Learning or Hybrid
Learning.

Even though government is trying to run many programmes for the betterment of the
students but still some questions remain unanswered. In the present scenario seeing the
conditions and the solutions the educators are trying to build, we could only say that online
class is not the solution rather it is an addition to in-person teaching and other teaching
methodologies. It is temporary solution for the betterment of the upcoming generations in
difficult times.

The challenges in hybrid learning are although minimized with the use of many e-
teaching or e-learning apps. The apps such as Google Class-Room, Zoom, Easy Class, Go to
Meeting, Google duo and many others have been adopted to teach the students as far as
possible.

As colleges move towards online-only classes for instructions, there is also a concern on
the quality of the work being provided to the students, also the students living in the remote
areas which lack the resources are at major loss. Studies says student’s performance,

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particularly for students who are already struggling, suffers, in the online courses, thus a
juxtaposition of online and face to face learning is requirement. Other research has found that
upto 20% of college students have issues accessing effective technology including working
laptops and reliable high speed internet.

Thus, we find zoom, classroom, and Hybrid model can be future of higher education and
English language too. With pandemic resulting in closure of colleges and universities across
the world, both teachers and students have quickly got comfortable with remote classroom.

This paper delineates the inter-relationship between technology, creativity, teaching and
learning of English literature and language. We are living in the era of digital humanities
which is born by the intersection of digital technology and humanities disciplines. In such a
scenario, teaching has become a challenging job. The spread of covid-19 and global demand
of English has compelled the teachers to adopt new teaching methods as physical classrooms
has shifted to the vertical space. The present scrutiny intends to look at how blended learning
has transformed the teaching of English Language by allowing the young minds to wander
freely.

Conclusion : It’s time for reframing future in English language. Firstly online
coursework will become standard and all the infrastructure to support it (technology, course
designing, sound studio, student support system services) will be need of the hour for
universities and colleges. While the higher education system seems to be in crisis, it has
endured reformation, revolution and more.

I end up with 4W’s and 1 H:

1. What new education policy says?

2. Where the learner looking for a changed system?

3. Why global markets are not accepting graduates as it is?

4. When teacher will start ICT based pedagogy?

5. How we can get the solution for all these odds?

Works Cited

Graham C.R., “Blended Learning Systems : Definition, Current Trends, and Future
Directions.”

Bonk Curtis J. and Charles R. Graham, editors, “The Handbook of Blended Learning :
Global Perspective.”

http://thetimeshighereducation.com

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Ey-Parthenon’s the other Looming Educational Debt Crisis : Institutional Debit and
safeguarding the interests of students : A new student centered financial health metric
for higher education institutions.

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6.

The Magic Flute: Creative Potential Of Liquid Learning In English

Dr. Nidhi*

*Assistant Professor Of English, I B (Pg) College, Panipat (Haryana)

A word about the title will perhaps be the most appropriate beginning for the present
‘paper’, for, the theme that the organisers have marked out for the purpose is most pertinent
to the circumstances the world is passing through at present. It touches the very heart of the
matter and makes for a kind of preparation for the type of education we are going to impart.
What is important is not the system of education—old or new—but the method of teaching
the changing circumstances are forcing us to evolve to suit the changed know-how. The
seminars or the webinars, being ordinarily organised around, deal with the dead wood of the
past. But here is one aiming at transporting us to a new learning zone—creating a kind of
awareness—asking for a kind of will and vision to live with Covid-19. The theme and the
subthemes are all intertwined like the concentric ripples that spread when a piece of stone is
dropped into a pool of standing water. How, after all, “to draw out the best in man—body,
mind and soul”? Shorn of the imagery, symbolic rigmarole and allegorical implications it
carries in its womb, it comes down to the simple theme of handling the system of teaching
English during the period we are passing through. The theme and the sub-themes suggested
by the organisers seem to be quite straight and simple. But their simplicity is simply
deceptive. Most appropriate is the symbolic significance of the “Magic Flute.” But the
“Magic Shadow-show” seems “deceptively” simple. And yet, as Jacobs and Rosenbaum
point out in the very opening chapter of English Transformational Grammar (1968): “The
most puzzling scientific mysteries are often uncovered when scientists investigate natural
phenomena that are taken for granted” (3). The seemingly obvious problem in hand begins to
admit of a lot of complexity as and when it is viewed in the light of questions such as these:
What exactly does the term “Magic Flute” here mean? What does the term “Liquid-learning”
stand for? And, what is “Creative Potential”, especially the “Creative Potential in English”?
Everything about the subject, highly fascinating as it is, asks for a lot of concentration.

Though at the surface level the questions are all very simple and straightforward, they
cry at bottom for some elaboration, and ask for clarification of the sense in which they have

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been used in the present context. For, whatever sense or meaning the scholars, critics,
researchers, writers of “glossaries” and lexicographers, may bring to bear upon each of these
terms in general, they still require some elaboration of the specific shade or shades of
meaning each of them carries in the present context.

Consider, for instance, the term “Magic Flute”. Whatever its dictionary definition or
meaning elsewhere, in the present context it simply stands for a fairy tale of darkness and
light, finding … way in the world … a feast for the ears and for the eyes.

Similarly, the term “Liquid Learning”, as used in the present context, carries
kaleidoscopic implications in its curves and folds. It is not always easy to put it straight
across. It is, in fact, a kind of “transformational and interactive educational experience"
which shapes learners' vision going beyond and embraces a vast variety of methodologies
and platforms “blending together physical, digital and natural environments”, so that the
learners may avail of it anywhere in the world under all circumstances.

Even the term “Creative Potential”, especially the “Creative Potential in English” is not
so simple an affair as it appears to be. It means “Ability to raise expression of individual
creative abilities and creative performance through creativity training.”(https://www...)

Translating a little classic—a Rubai (a typical type of quatrain)—by Omar Khayyam
(1048–1131), a world famous Persian poet of the twelfth century A.D., says Edward
FitzGerald in Rubayyat…:

For in and out, above, about, below

’Tis nothing but a Magic Shadow-show

Play'd in a Box whose Candle is the Sun

Round which the Phantom Figures come and go (46).

What is important in the present context is the expression italicized in the Rubai—
Magic Shadow-show—which FitzGerald has appropriately used in the sense of a story
projected through shadows generated by figures or hand gestures. That is perhaps the finest
projection of what Covid-19 has forced us to in the field of education. All our traditional
institutions, with all their buildings, libraries, canteens and laboratories, with all their
centuries-old paraphernalia have lost their conventional significance. All our classrooms and

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lecture-theatres with seating arrangements for hundreds of students, with raised platforms for
teachers with chairs and tables and lecture stands, black-boards with or without a couple of
electronic devices for PowerPoint Presentation and so on are all lying unused and deserted.
Covid-19, a horrible invisible enemy, has forced us to a world where everything has been
locked down. The students and the teachers have all been forced to hide themselves in the
nooks and corners of their houses—in pigeons holes, as it were—to keep them hidden even
from their near and dear ones. None is ordinarily allowed to come out to the streets, roads or
market-places unless there be something very special and unavoidable. Under the
circumstances, who cares for the normal working of schools, colleges and universities?
Things have suddenly been pushed to a kind of doldrums. The situation is, obviously, a very
critical one especially in the field of education which has had normal working routine over
the centuries.

Since the very dawn of civilization, man's life on earth has continually been under a
Himalayan heap of challenges—asking for drastic re-orientations and re-adjustments. This
has particularly been the case in the field of education, a kind of preparation in Bapu’s well-
known words, “to eke out the best in man—body, mind and soul”, in order, of course, to lay
hands on what is excellent and worthwhile and gives sense and meaning to life.

One of the most revolutionary challenges was the proverbial onslaught of Lord
Macaulay who came out with the system of 3- R's, aiming at popularizing reading, writing
and simple arithmetic—to prepare, in his own words, a cheap army of clerks or babus, Indian
by blood and race—"children of the soil”—who could occupy white collared jobs, doing
mechanical exercises without poking their nose in the affairs of the White Masters (cf.
Panipati 34-35). The system—almost equally traditional as it was—served its purpose for
over a century till Bapu, “Father of the Nation”, tried in his own way to replace the system of
3-R’s with a new system of 3-H’s, aiming at enlightening the head, sweetening the heart and
training the hands to prepare upcoming Independent youth as the shapers of their own
destiny as free citizens of India i.e. Bharat (cf. Panipati 34-35). But because of the accidents
of history and paucity of funds, the system has, somehow, been laming on for another
century.

But now Corona or Covid-19 has brought everything to a standstill, resulting in a kind
of heavy lockdown in all educational institutions including universities and other temples of
learnings, forcing us to think of new ways and means to work out a new system. The

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paraphernalia we have all been using over the centuries has become utterly useless. Covid-19,
the invisible enemy, is horrible enough to waylay anybody anywhere in human crowds. How
can the students enter the lecture-theatres or classrooms? They are locked up at homes like
all others in the country. To continue with any type of teaching/learning, we require
everything new—online classes, online demonstrations, online lessons, online practices,
online tests, online assessments, online examinations, online evaluations, in fact, online
everything. Everything is required to be reshaped and remoulded. The earlier challenges—
centring round 3-R's or 3-H's—required at best re-orientations and re-adjustments of the
existing system. They revolutionied things, no doubt, but the existing infrastructure remained
more or less in use, keeping the new system going on the rail lines laid centuries ago. But
Corona or Covid-19 has resulted in a kind of trepidation, a revolution of revolutions asking
for a wholesale replacement of the earlier paraphernalia. And because there seems to be no
end to the present situation in the near future, everything is required to be completely
overhauled, including teaching aids.

Now what about the teaching aids in liquid learning classes? The aids being aids are
after all aids. Whether audio or visual, or both rolled into one, they are all a fabulous dream
used only by the “affluent” teachers as well as students. What aids, for instance, do we truly
have in our traditional classrooms? Even the best institutions do not provide anything beyond
the blackboard. Most of our institutions do not have even PowerPoint Presentation
arrangements in the lecture-theatres. With the possible exception of extension lecture-hall,
we cannot even dream of anything beyond that. Even the best temples of learning do not
subscribe to Journals—so very costly as they are and are thought to be useful only for the
selected few, interested in them for ulterior purposes. Most of the teachers, even those at the
PG colleges, do not open even the textbooks in the classrooms. Thinking of audio-visual aids
is like entering the fabulous world of dreams. And dreams being dreams, as we know, do not
have any bones in them even as realities being realities have no flesh about them.

What we actually require in a virtual classroom is the presence of a teacher—a good
teacher—a teacher with a will and a vision, ever ready to walk a mile free, ready to take care
of everyone of “the sheep under his control with a lantern in hand” (like Christ in the Bible).
Like a magic man with a magic flute in his hand always producing notes that are really
fascinating. But every piper, as we can confidently croon, is not the Pied Piper of Hamelin

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(as in Robert Browning’s world famous little classic). Every teacher, fully conversant as
he/she is not with the new technology that can be helpful in the presentation of the “Magic
Shadow-show”, cannot be the Pied Piper of Hamelin—a magic piper the tune of whose flute
could fascinate the whole crowd of budding scholars. The stuff on the college rolls, rural as
well as urban, being of a kaleidoscopic variety—consisting of drifters, whistlers of the
moment, pleasure seekers, music makers, mere time killers, drummers, gilded, nincompoops,
paupers and whilers away of their parents’ heavy purses cannot all be equally mystified by
the magic tunes in the physical absence of the teacher.

Most of the learners are like horses brought to the pond without any will to drink.
Which Piper can exercise his magic on one and all? In the traditional classrooms, the learners
are considerably controlled by many a trick of the teacher's resourcefulness—over-riding
them one way or the other—body language, personal examples, a harsh eye of the teacher,
strength of the “red-ripe” and a little fear of rules and regulations involving punishment too,
and, of course, a bad name to the family. Most of the scholars on rolls—just mediocres and
time killers as they are—weigh heavy upon the acute minority of the real scholars who
cannot even afford the technological instruments required for the purpose. But what about
the virtual classrooms? Especially during the lockdown period? Normal routine, disrupted as
it is due to Covid-19 and is feared to remain so without any hope of return to what we have
been used to over the centuries, has become a thing of the past.

Consider, for instance, the recent memo-orders of the DGHE, Haryana Government,
which reads: “It has been brought to the notice that all students are not able to access online
e-learning platforms due to various reasons. To meet this short-coming, the Department of
Higher Education, Haryana and the Department of Technical Education, Haryana shall be
airing radio shows to promote distance-learning/ learning-from-home through radio...” And,
as the memo continues: “The students of Haryana are the main target audience of the
broadcast, so that they are able to learn by the radio platform, as well...”(See Memo-order
dated 29/06/2020)

What does the forgoing memo-order show, after all? Nothing, if not the brute fact that
what we have been doing so far by way of liquid or fluid teaching/learning through online

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classes in virtual classrooms has failed to click. Whatever the reason, or reasons, it has failed
to serve the purpose it was designed for. And, who can be 100% sure of the success of the
radio sessions the department is going to start? That, too, may turn out to be a blind jump in
the dark! Many more such discrepancies may come up during the trial. What Corona or
Covid-19 has forced us into is really a tight corner. It will need a thousand attempts to make
the Magic Shadow-show a real success. Hence the hit and trail nature of the online classes in
process!

One word more. Online classes designed for liquid and fluid learning, however, cannot
be held all through the day, as the routine classes we have been used to. The time period will
have to be minimized taking into consideration the specialized and expert advise of all
concerned especially the health specialists who can favour us with their tips about the mental
health of all involved. Most important should be the opinion of “health engineers”, especially
the mental health experts. In a kind of overenthusiastic fervour for online classes, the
authorities must take care of that aspect too. For, the reward should not be an enlightened
army of handicapped scholars who can do things but are not in a position to do because of
physical hazards. This is also the general opinion of a community of social surveyors too
(Times of India, 24 June, 2020, p. 9). The realisation of the potential of liquid learning must
not be at the cost of national health. When all is said and done, the price should not be higher
than the nation can afford to pay. The fact, however, remains that this liquid learning in
online classes is at best a temporary stay against confusion, a poor substitute, in fact, for the
system the country has been used to over the centuries. The marvelous dust has been cruelly
rubbed off from the golden wings of a butterfly!

Works Cited

Abrams, M. H. A Glossary of Literary Terms. 1957; rpt. Bangalore: Prism Books Pvt. Ltd.,
1993.

FitzGerald, Edward. Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám. Bernard Quaritch, 1859.

https://www.igi-global.com/dictionary/creative-potential/6159
Jacobs, R.A. and P. S. Rosenbaum, English Transformational Grammar. Blaisdell, 1968.

Memo No. DHE- 010009/78/2020-DD-Cordination-DHE Dated Panchkula, the 29/6/2020.

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Panipati, Dr Kumar. ed. Asslam ae Hind kei Shah-e-ShaheedaN Asslam. Panipat: Adabi
Markaz, 2019.

---.“Education System of Bapu's Dreams”, Asslam ae Hind kei Shah-e-ShaheedaN Asslam,
34-35.

Times of India, New Delhi. “64% of parents favour online classes”, Times Nation, 24 June,
2020, p. 9.

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7.

Bharata Muni’S Rasa Theory: Enlightenment Of Liquid Learning Through
Blend Of Emotions And Imagination

Swati Sharma*

*Research Scholar, Department of English, Starex University, Gurugram

In the pandemic situation of COVID-19, the process of learning has now transformed into
technical learning. There are a number of applications which are being used by billions of people
for the motive of e-learning like WhatsApp, Zoom, Google Classroom, YouTube, Microsoft
Teams etc. It becomes necessary for a teacher/presenter to work upon expressions while his/her
presentation in order to present effectively. If a person is angry then his/her tone rises, similarly,
face expressions and sentiments also play an indispensable role. Whenever we talk about
sentiments, one thing appears in mind, i.e., Bharata Muni’s ‘Rasa Theory’. In the field of
literature ‘rasa’ can be defined as something which creates poetic pleasure. This feeling of poetic
pleasure is to be felt by the spectators by the blend of emotions and imagination. In order to
create that poetic pleasure a person needs to understand about rasa. Rasa is formed from the
conjugation of determinant, consequent and transitory emotion. In Natyashastra the writer
elucidates every aspect that is to be represented by an actor to reach poetic pleasure. In order to
enlighten the process of liquid learning we need to understand how various emotions differ from
each other. A brief study of ‘Rasa Theory’ can help a person to present his/her perspectives with
better expressions.

Drama is said to be one of the most vibrant genres of literary expression. It is not limited
to theatres; it is something which leaves impact on people. Actors or writers express their
emotions and imagination while performing or writing a drama. In order to reach poetic pleasure,
it becomes necessary to understand the indispensable role of emotions while writing or
performing any piece of art. The term ‘Drama’ has been originated from a Greek word which
means an ‘action’. “Drama is a composite art in which the written word of the playwright is
concretized when it becomes the spoken word of the actor on the stage.” (Reddy 31)

Drama refers to the stories dealing with various subject-matters. According to the subject-
matter the genre of a particular drama is decided. For example, laughter deals with comic genre,
death deals with tragic genre and so on. The motive of drama is not just to entertain people, it is
something which purifies the heart for salvation. It is through drama only that people feel relaxed.

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“Drama is the form of composition designed for performance in the theatre, in which actors take
the roles of the characters, perform the indicated actions, and utter the written
dialogue.” (Abrams 93)

Bharata Muni is considered to be ‘The Father of Indian Theatrical Art Form’. His
Natyashastra is the foundation of Indian dramaturgy. It is a treasure house of knowledge which
praises dramatic art as a comprehensive study to learn virtue, ethics and behaviour. The word
Natyashastra is composed of two words ‘natya’ and ‘shastra’. ‘Natya’ means ‘to act’ and
‘shastra’ means ‘the rules’. This book is a paragon in the history of literary criticism in the
Indian Literature. It is an anthology of six thousand sutras divided into thirty-six chapters. It
comprises suggestions related to not only the direction and production but also the costume,
make-up, movement of eyes and neck and the body posture. The present system of education has
been transformed from classroom teaching to online teaching. One of the major problems faced
by students during online lectures is that they feel uninvolved. It becomes important for a
teacher/trainer to make students feel that they are attending online lectures just as normal
classroom lectures. Bharata Muni tells about rasa in his work which can help a teacher/trainer to
work on his/her skills by gaining knowledge about different rasas. The work is not only limited
to rasa theory but also elucidates every aspect of Indian drama including dance, stage and music.
These aspects can be adopted by teachers also to make their lectures effective so that students
may learn maximum through any medium; whether offline or online.

Bharat Muni has penned down this compendium to increase the knowledge of common
man. The author of the Natyashastra prefers to call it a ‘Prayoga Shastra’- a framework of
principles of praxis or practice. Natyashastra is also named as the ‘Natyaveda’ and it is
considered as the ‘Fifth Veda’ because it consists of the elements from all four Vedas as
mentioned below:

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;tqonksZfHku;ku~ jlkukFkoZ.kknfiAA^^ ¼‘kekZ 19½

1. Rigveda- Pathya (text) 2. Samaveda- Geet (songs)

3. Yajurveda- Abhinaya Kala (Body language) 4. Atharvaveda-Rasa (Aesthetic)

Natyashastra has a happy adoration of the world as it is considered as an offering ‘puja’
to the stage. For the first time, the play was enacted on the occasion of the Banner Festival of
Indra. The play was based on the imitation of the situation in which daityas were defeated by
Gods. To protect the dramatic performance of Bharata and his sons from the evil spirits,

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