Teaching ENGLISH with an OIL SOAKED NEWSPAPER Venkatachalam Salem

Teaching ENGLISH with an OIL SOAKED NEWSPAPER Venkatachalam Salem

While watching a part of ... Crazy Mohan's interview  I noted that he said many fantastic things in a very jovial way. I think this interview will inspire me to write many articles. This is the first one.

..

While chatting casually in it, he told that one can develop language even from a "scrap paper". This word "scrap paper" switched  ON a bulb in my brain and reminded me about a real life incident while teaching English. Nostalgia !!
=॥=॥=

Around 2008, I was taking English class to a batch of 4 or 5 youth aged about 20 year old. They were learning English with great interest and true dedication.

After about a month of my training with me, my students will come to know about my temperaments. About my punctuality, my style of frequently conducting classes with "timer running", giving short breaks after a stiff 20 minutes session, chatting with the students, as if I am a friend of them, forgetting my age difference, etc.

So for the first few days, I will be a strict disciplinarian. But once they fall in line with me, I will be very flexible, jovial and friendly.
-+-
One day a lad who had fully understood my temperament, approached me with an oil-soaked small piece of paper. It had some English matter printed in it. He hesitantly gave it to me. He knew I will not generally touch such oil-soaked paper, as it may stain my hand and also the course material. // The moment, I got it, he started talking, animatedly, 'Sir it had "THAT WORD" you taught us in "THAT LESSON" and "THIS WORD" that you also taught us in "THAT LESSON".

I decided to make him the focus for that day's class. I seriously started to listen with genuine interest as he talked. And in between asked him many questions to make him talk more and more regarding that. He never knew that, but went on and on for about five or ten minutes. // Finally, when he wound up, I said with a serious note in my voice, "Boys, from this you learn that even from an oil soaked dirty paper, you can learn English. So next time, you get hold of an old soaked paper with English matter printed on it, don't bother whether the vada or buggie fails on the ground and gets spoilt, but read the English printed in it.  

Please preserve the paper and bring it here and I will teach new English words from  that or you may alternatively take it home and learn a few new English words with the help of a dictionary.

Though it was an exaggerated message, I think I did an excellent job and inspired my boys that day. 

I demystified English learning to them by telling, English language learning is an art and genuine interest matters more than anything else. And that just cramming pages after pages without understanding anything or without involvement is of no use.

Thanks once again to the cinema comedy genius, CRAZY MOHAN, whose interview inspired me to write this.

Ezhilarasan Venkatachalam

Salem