Public Speaking

Broadly interpreted, any utterance whether heard by one, few, or many- may be said to be “public”. Public speaking is said to be an enlarged conversation. There is little difference between talking to one person, to ten persons, or to a hundred. The talking that goes on at the dinner table does not differ in essence from the talking that goes on at a meeting. The only real difference is that at a meeting the speaker is allowed to talk for a longer time without interruption.
The public communication form is variously referred to as “public speaking”, “public address”, and “one-to-many interaction.” It has been described as a science, an art, and a “practical art.” It is, of course, practical in that it is useful and performs numerous functions for the speaker, the listener, and for the society as a whole. Communication experts like George Kops and Richard Worth says to the extent that in an age of accelerating change and increasing uncertainty, effective public speaking is frequently the margin of difference between success and failure.
Public speaking is considered to be purposeful communication. The speaker, generally, is said to have purpose behind his/her speech. Often speeches are classified according to purpose:
1) Speeches to inform or teach the audience.
2) Speeches to interest or to amuse or entertain the audience.
3) To stimulate or impress.
4) To convince or persuade.
In short, many of the communication experts have defined the term ‘public communication’ as involving a single speaker who, in relatively formal tone and manner, presents a continuous, uninterrupted, informative, persuasive, or entertaining discourse on a subject of supposedly general interest to a sizable manner of other persons. But the term ‘public communication’ is also seen as communication involving more than two persons. In a sense we have been public speakers ever since those long-forgotten days in early childhood when most of us rose to recite “jack and Jill went up to the hill” or “Where is thumbkin” to an enthusiastic audience of relatives and friends.
Of course the importance of public speaking is observed in various factors of life. That is to say the importance of public speaking is not limited to single field. But it is also true that the words “you’re next on the stage” are almost guaranteed to bring a chill of fear to the uninitiated. Stephen Price, management consultant, states that stage fright afflicts just about everyone who’s called on to speak in public. He also says that the pain and frustration connected with public speech is difficult to imagine by those who have never lived through the experience.
Buehler.E.C and W.A.Linkugel in their book Speech Communication says that stage fright is a psychological condition caused by worry and anxiety. These emotions often overcome the speaker’s intellectual processes and interfere with his purpose, his normal self-expression, and the full utilization of his personal resources. It is possible for most of us to know about stage fright largely by its symptoms: pounding heart, flushed face, cold sweat, trembling limbs, dry mouth, loss of memory, lack of eye contact with audience, increased pulse rate, sinking feeling in the stomach, and so on. The listeners notice some symptoms and only the speaker knows others.
In short, it has been largely accepted that the fear and nervousness is part of human nature. It has been referred to feelings of excitement from anticipation before some event or happening. It is believed that if fear and tension do nothing else but stimulate the speaker to do his homework, they have performed their natural service. Fear and tension may considered to be a positive influence that sharpens the speaker’s strategy so that s/he may perform well.

Possible Sources of Stage Fright

Buehler and Linkugel (ibid) states that stage fright and its control are to a great extent an individual problem. The most common source of stage fright is said to be the concept of self-image. “ Your feeling of self-esteem is being threatened. You care too much what others may think of you.” Hence the ‘conscious self’ pushes the ‘real self’ out of the way. Another possible reason for stage fright is said to be the conflict between the thoughts and feelings. “Sweet thoughts of triumph conflict sharply with bitter thoughts of failure.” Another species of stage fright arises out of a feeling of dread or aversion to do anything before a group or imagine the audience to be much larger than it is and the very term Public Speaking strikes terror in their hearts. Some fears are believed grown out of the unknown that is lack of awareness regarding many things connected with the audience, the situation and the topic itself. Many times the strange and unfamiliar bring on that nervous and uneasy feeling.

Constructive Attitudes to Stage Fright

Many individuals believe stage fright as a weakness but, in fact, it is common to most speakers. Most people experience at least some of these feelings at one time or another. Buehler and Linkugel (ibid) verbalize that stage fright is so prevalent that it has been experienced by many of the world’s most renowned orators. Even such famous speakers as Daniel Webster, Mark Twain, Will Rogers, and Winston Churchill complained of stage fright. But as Stephen Price says that one must find a way to release this nervous energy in constructive expression. He says that our normal reaction to all fear is either fight or flight. But “when we are giving a talk, we know that we are not going to fight the audience, and we are too responsible to run away.”
Buehler and Linkugel pronounce that the person himself is responsible for the problem i.e. stage fright. “Like your fingerprints, it is peculiarly yours, and you are the only person in the world who can cope with it.” One of the best solutions recommended by them is to use an inventory of questions for self-evaluation and find appropriate answers for them. Another best solution is practice. As Publius Syrus, an ancient Roman author rightly said, practice is the best of all instructors. Control of stage fright cannot be accomplished overnight, it comes gradually and by facing up to it. Finally, in Speech Communication, specific tactics are prescribed for the speaker like delivery of speech, purpose and bodily communication. In many of the books of communication it is said that the best way to gain confidence is to take up the challenge to speak at every opportunity. The best way to rid of the stage fright is only by confronting it. As in words of Robert Frost, “ The only way around is through.”

Features of Spoken English

Stress:
Language is a system of communication and we all serve the purpose of communication through words or combination of words. We do communicate to convey meaning and the meaning on some scale is dependent on clarity of speech i.e. pronunciation. There is much more to the pronunciation of English than its individual sounds. The organizations of sounds play a greater role in communication than the sounds themselves. Sound system involves not only vowels and consonants but also stress and intonation.
Daniel Jones (1983) describes ‘Stress’ as the degree of force with which a sound or syllable is uttered. In fact, in English and many other languages, one or more of the syllables in each content word is stressed. When words are combined into phrases and sentences, one of the syllables receives greater stress than all others. Whereas T.Balasubramanian (2002) is of the view that, of course, the greater prominence of a syllable may be due to stress or greater breath force, but often the length of the vowel in a syllable, stress and pitch change work together to render a syllable more prominent than its neighbouring syllables. In short, one can say that the English language derives much of its rhythm and clarity from the use of stressed syllables within the words and across the word boundaries. Thus, stress is important in bringing out meaning. As R.K. Bansal (1988) rightly pointed out when talking to native English speakers, most frequent cause of the unintelligibility of Indian English lies in the use of wrong word accent. And so, stress in the wrong place can play havoc with clarity of speech and can become the barrier or hindrance in communication.

Intonation:
Intonation is not a separate phenomenon and depends on the pitch of the voice i.e. frequency of vibration or the rate at which the vocal cords vibrate. Generally when we speak, we do not always speak on the same note. That is to say, sometimes the pitch rises, falls, and remains level or high or low. The patterns of variation of the pitch of the voice constitute the ‘intonation of a language’. But these changes in vocal pitch are not haphazard. The factors that chiefly determine the choice of one pattern as against the type of utterance (statement vs. question, command vs. request, simple vs. complex) is important, and subjective in that the speaker’s mood and his attitude to what he is saying are also significant. In short, intonation helps us to understand the meaning, the attitude of the speaker, the relationship between the speaker and the ‘spoken to’ and the situation.
Normally, a syllable on which a pitch change takes place is usually marked with one of the following signs, depending upon the type of pitch-change.
i. [ \ ] high fall
ii. [ ] law fall
iii. [ / ] high rise
iv. [ ] low rise
v. [ v ] fall rise
vi. [ ^ ] rise fall
It is essential in a study of speech in English to understand the four basic variations in intonation.
1) Rising intonation
2) Falling intonation
3) Falling rising intonation
4) Rising falling intonation
1.Rising Intonation is used in
· Questions, which demand an answer yes/no
e.g Do you agree?
Are you coming?
· Polite requests:
e.g. Would you switch on the fan?
· Exclamations, Greetings:
e.g. Good evening (cheerful greeting)
Best of luck (cheerful good wishes)
· Wh-questions: (asked in a friendly manner)
e.g. How’s your brother?
· Incomplete utterances:
e.g. It’s already 12’O clock. (But the show has not started yet)
2.Falling Intonation is used in
· Commands
e.g. Come here.
· ‘Wh’ questions in a neutral or unfriendly way
e.g. When are you coming?
· Ordinary statements without emotional implications
e.g. It’s 11’O clock.
· Tag questions
e.g. (It’s a lovely day.) Isn’t it?
· Exclamations, Greetings
e.g. How surprising!
Good morning (routine sort of greeting)
3.Falling rising tone is used in
· Special implication such as insinuations, apology, unpleasant news, happiness, reassurance or doubt on the part of the speaker.
e.g. I saw you at the cinema. (You said you had to study)
Sir’s here already. (So hurry up)
4.Rising falling tone is used in
· Reinforcing, indication warmth, anger or sarcasm
e.g. It was frightful.
How interesting.

Rhythm
English is said to have a stress-timed rhythm. This means that in an English utterance, the strong or prominent or accented syllables have the tendency to occur at regular intervals of time, irrespective of the number of weak or unaccented syllables between any two accented syllables. Another important aspect of English rhythm is weak forms. The weak forms exhibit reduction of the length of sounds, weakening of the vowels in them and also in the elision of vowels and consonants.

Juncture
The difference between nitrate, night rate and Nye trait is juncture. It is the combination of sounds into syllables that allows us to distinguish between ‘a nice man’ and ‘an iceman’ or between ‘keepsticking’ and keeps ticking. Usually context is sufficient to clarify the meaning. But as an effective speaker one needs to be aware of this feature to avoid ambiguity on the part of the listener.

Articulation and pronunciation
It is very much true that an intelligible speech is an asset to one’s personality; it increases one’s effectiveness as a speaker and is invaluable in professional relationships. As a learner in a speech course, one should be aware that one couldn’t afford to have speech that is substandard in anyway because of its influence upon one’s own oral communication. Lilywhite, Phelps, and Bosye, who surveyed 1,004 successful teachers on this point, found that 80.5 percent regarded “ speaking with correct articulation and pronunciation ” as the most significant aspect of speech ability in influencing their pupils to speak correctly and clearly.
Robinson,K.F. and A.B. Becker in ‘Effective Speech for the Teacher’ describes three main types of articulatory errors:
1) Omissions: leave out sounds
e.g. dint for didn’t
Goverment for government
2) Substitutions: replace a correct sound with an incorrect one.
e.g. dis, dat instead of these, that
3) Distortion: approximate the correct sound but fail to produce it exactly.

They have also identified some mistakes or misuses of speech sounds in pronunciation that are the same as these in articulation.

A) Stress the wrong syllable.
B) Place the sound in the wrong syllable.
C) Misuse one or more consonant sounds

D) Misuse one or more vowel sounds.

The Nature of Oral Communication

Communication is said to be the most important skill of human survival because one needs it to maintain contact with the world. It is true that we communicate all the time, knowingly or unknowingly. Of course, oral communication is a two way process between the speaker and the receiver, involving the productive skill of speaking and the receptive skill of understanding (listening). Apart from the speaker and the receiver there are many elements involved in the process of communication. And all of them are equally important in communication.

i. A source
ii. Stimuli received from that source
iii. A receiver
iv. Sensory receptors
v. The receivers’ interpretation of and responses to the sensations
vi. Noise
vii. Feedback
viii. Situation or context

Communication, generally, is described as a process. But it is a process of processes because it involves many processes e.g. receiving sensation, interpretation of the received sensation and responding to interpretations. Another important aspect of communication is the nonverbal behaviour. During communication, the gestures, facial expression and body movements naturally influence both the speaker and the receiver. And nonverbal behaviour does convey meaning along with the verbal message.

Pedagogical Implications of Oral Communication

Donn Byrne (ibid) discusses the pedagogical implications. For effective communication what he suggests is the need to develop the skills of speaking and listening as an integrated approach. Generally, in classroom much more time is given to develop the ability of students to speak and very less account is given to the skill of listening. Therefore poor understanding often generates nervousness among the students in real life situations. In order to cope up with that, the students need regular and frequent training through a programme of listening comprehension, which exposes them in the classroom to suitably varied models of natural speech from the earliest stages of the language course. So far as teaching of the speaking is concerned, the main goal in teaching the productive skill of speaking is that of oral fluency: the ability to express oneself intelligibly, reasonably accurately and without undue hesitation. By intelligibility Donn Byrne means being able to make the difference between essential sounds such as /i/ and /i:/, /e/ and /ae/and so on. The learners need an adequate mastery of grammar, vocabulary and phonology in order to accomplish an effective communication. But excessive stress on any of these may slow down progress in other area. So there should be balance. Along with grammar and vocabulary the learners need to focus on certain features such as difference between key sounds, weak forms, basic stress and intonation patterns in the area of reception as well as production. In short, it will be easy task to acquire language learning and fluency, if adequate attention is paid to all the three areas i.e. listening comprehension, oral production and interdependence of the oral skills in communication.

Enhancing Teaching and Learning through CALL

This article actually, to some extent, is an attempt to record steps taken in the direction of using CALL (Computer Assisted Language Learning) materials at a broader societal ground. To be very clear, it is partially a report on and a part of project funded by the British Council. The announcement of the project was made in June 2006 on ELTeCS website which is an online Association of English Language Teachers in India. The project is mainly handled by H.M.Patel Institute of English Training and Research in association with the Institute of English, Kolkata. The project is entitled as ‘Initiating CALL activities in Gujarat and West Bengal’.

Background and rationale of the Project:

It is an observable fact that technology has brought in many changes in the field of Education at large and ELT in particular. Although teaching English through technology in India seems to be very ambitious, since majority of the schools belong to rural India, recent initiative taken by the government and private institutions in this direction cannot be overlooked completely. For example, the government of Gujarat has made a commitment to provide computers in each school and it has begun also. However, merely the presence of hardware equipment will not make the surety of its use and benefits with the intention of which the government has made this provision.
CALL is an example of technology which is in prominent use, though limited to urban parts of the country. The large mass of teachers in rural schools can also be equipped with the skills through training.
H.M.Patel Institute of English Training and Research is one of the pioneers in creating and trying out CALL materials. It is high time to take a step further and reach out to the teachers and students at large. Thus, rationale for the project is to prepare sustainable and renewable CALL materials that the teachers could either access at home or could be given access to when they come for training at the institute. The existing instruction materials could be used for the purpose. The idea is not to make the teachers work on the material initially, but to show them the possibilities of CALL. Later on the teachers can be asked for their suggestions as to how they could adapt them to their own particular contexts. The project would also incorporate mechanisms of feedback and contact so that the work done by the teachers could be traced, monitored and possibly published.

Objectives to be achieved by the end of the project:

· To make the teachers of English aware of CALL (Computer Assisted Language Learning) materials
· To train them to use it for effective instruction.
· To create a platform for discussing and sharing best practices in using CALL materials.
· To create a network of teachers and other professionals who could tryout, review and modify the CALL materials.

As mentioned earlier into the article the project involves mainly two states in India, selected group of teachers from Gujarat and West Bengal would be directly benefited by this programme. The project includes CALL materials focusing mainly on ‘the teaching of grammar, reading comprehension and the teaching of poetry’. At the outset, the selected group of teachers will be trained for using those materials. Later on the material will be revised meeting their basic needs, of course with their comments and feedback. This will not only train them in using CALL materials but also instill confidence among them as they will be skilled in using technology for teaching English. What the teachers need is the guidelines and training in making use of this facility for their classroom instructions. In addition to that, the outcome of the project will not be limited to the teachers of Gujarat or West Bengal as it will be published online. Thus the entire mass of teachers in India is likely to benefit if they make use of the available materials.
The Porject is planned to follow the steps given below:
§ Selecting adequate CALL materials
§ Training the group of teachers to use CALL materials
§ Preparing feedback schedule
§ Monitoring and analyzing feedback
§ Conducting workshop: to study and revise the CALL materials
§ Revising the materials to meet the actual needs of the teachers in their context
§ Preparing the final copy of these material and publish it

The project, at present, is at its middle stage. That is, adequate CALL materials have been identified, even the teachers have gone through the training for using CALL materials for teaching purposes and the questionnaire is also distributed among the teachers for their feedback.

Conclusion:

The aim is to bring out awareness and develop skills among the teachers regarding the use of CALL for teaching English. The project is likely to improve the ELT practice in a novel way because at present the use of CALL material is done only in the urban parts of the country. With this project, efforts will be made to extend the use of CALL material to the rural parts of India, specifically in Gujarat and West Bengal. Now we need to provide specific training for language teachers. It’s high time to equip the language teachers with the skills that they haven’t developed so far.
The Project is expected to get end by May 2007. But once the project ends the actual task to utilize the outcome of the project will begin. H.M.Patel Institute of English Training and Research takes the responsibility for the continuous production and tryout of CALL materials.

Enhancing Teaching and Learning through CALL

This article actually, to some extent, is an attempt to record steps taken in the direction of using CALL (Computer Assisted Language Learning) materials at a broader societal ground. To be very clear, it is partially a report on and a part of project funded by the British Council. The announcement of the project was made in June 2006 on ELTeCS website which is an online Association of English Language Teachers in India. The project is mainly handled by H.M.Patel Institute of English Training and Research in association with the Institute of English, Kolkata. The project is entitled as ‘Initiating CALL activities in Gujarat and West Bengal’.

Background and rationale of the Project:

It is an observable fact that technology has brought in many changes in the field of Education at large and ELT in particular. Although teaching English through technology in India seems to be very ambitious, since majority of the schools belong to rural India, recent initiative taken by the government and private institutions in this direction cannot be overlooked completely. For example, the government of Gujarat has made a commitment to provide computers in each school and it has begun also. However, merely the presence of hardware equipment will not make the surety of its use and benefits with the intention of which the government has made this provision.
CALL is an example of technology which is in prominent use, though limited to urban parts of the country. The large mass of teachers in rural schools can also be equipped with the skills through training.
H.M.Patel Institute of English Training and Research is one of the pioneers in creating and trying out CALL materials. It is high time to take a step further and reach out to the teachers and students at large. Thus, rationale for the project is to prepare sustainable and renewable CALL materials that the teachers could either access at home or could be given access to when they come for training at the institute. The existing instruction materials could be used for the purpose. The idea is not to make the teachers work on the material initially, but to show them the possibilities of CALL. Later on the teachers can be asked for their suggestions as to how they could adapt them to their own particular contexts. The project would also incorporate mechanisms of feedback and contact so that the work done by the teachers could be traced, monitored and possibly published.

Objectives to be achieved by the end of the project:

· To make the teachers of English aware of CALL (Computer Assisted Language Learning) materials
· To train them to use it for effective instruction.
· To create a platform for discussing and sharing best practices in using CALL materials.
· To create a network of teachers and other professionals who could tryout, review and modify the CALL materials.

As mentioned earlier into the article the project involves mainly two states in India, selected group of teachers from Gujarat and West Bengal would be directly benefited by this programme. The project includes CALL materials focusing mainly on ‘the teaching of grammar, reading comprehension and the teaching of poetry’. At the outset, the selected group of teachers will be trained for using those materials. Later on the material will be revised meeting their basic needs, of course with their comments and feedback. This will not only train them in using CALL materials but also instill confidence among them as they will be skilled in using technology for teaching English. What the teachers need is the guidelines and training in making use of this facility for their classroom instructions. In addition to that, the outcome of the project will not be limited to the teachers of Gujarat or West Bengal as it will be published online. Thus the entire mass of teachers in India is likely to benefit if they make use of the available materials.
The Porject is planned to follow the steps given below:
§ Selecting adequate CALL materials
§ Training the group of teachers to use CALL materials
§ Preparing feedback schedule
§ Monitoring and analyzing feedback
§ Conducting workshop: to study and revise the CALL materials
§ Revising the materials to meet the actual needs of the teachers in their context
§ Preparing the final copy of these material and publish it

The project, at present, is at its middle stage. That is, adequate CALL materials have been identified, even the teachers have gone through the training for using CALL materials for teaching purposes and the questionnaire is also distributed among the teachers for their feedback.

Conclusion:

The aim is to bring out awareness and develop skills among the teachers regarding the use of CALL for teaching English. The project is likely to improve the ELT practice in a novel way because at present the use of CALL material is done only in the urban parts of the country. With this project, efforts will be made to extend the use of CALL material to the rural parts of India, specifically in Gujarat and West Bengal. Now we need to provide specific training for language teachers. It’s high time to equip the language teachers with the skills that they haven’t developed so far.
The Project is expected to get end by May 2007. But once the project ends the actual task to utilize the outcome of the project will begin. H.M.Patel Institute of English Training and Research takes the responsibility for the continuous production and tryout of CALL materials.

TEACHING THROUGH TECHNOLOGY AT PG LEVEL

Introduction

The field of ELT has been in the state of change for last so many years. At present it is unquestionably influenced by the innovations in technology. Technology in general and computers in specific has revolutionized the field of English Language Teaching. The use of computers is not limited to programming and planning in corporate sector. It has certainly become an essential feature of a modern classroom. The classroom no longer remains limited within the four walls but extends its horizons to the nook and corner of the world and makes the teaching-learning process more meaningful. Computers can bring the whole world into the classroom.

Technology Aided Language Learning

TALL(Technology Aided Language Learning) has been an indispensable feature of M.A.ELT programme offered at H.M.Patel Institute of English Training and Research for last four years. Here the students are trained and motivated to use technology for the purpose of language teaching. The students learn to prepare Technology Integrated Language Learning materials to teach poems, grammar, vocabulary and prose; take up projects related to the topics. They prepare a detailed Project Plans and implement them in peer teaching/teaching the juniors/ schools. They learn to teach through projects by conducting research on the characteristics of project based learning. They prepare assumed student samples including multimedia presentations, newsletter, brochures and websites and write reflective reports on their experience of implementing PBL (Project Based Learning). They prepare support materials like guidelines, templates, tests/quizzes and evaluation rubrics for the school students. They participate in inter/intra showcasing and the final exhibition organized by the institute. They get first hand experience of working on a project and learn to assign project work to school students and facilitate their learning through appropriate implementation plan, support materials and specific need based help.

Use of Technology in M.A. [ELT]

M.A [ELT] is a two years programme in which the students of final year conduct an English Enrichment Programme, where in they teach either the students of college or school. This assignment of conducting enrichment program is a practical feature of their syllabus. These students as a part of their methodology paper design and offer a six week English Enrichment Course to the college or school students on the campus. Thus the topics in their methodology paper like, Course Design, Materials Production, English Enrichment Course, Teaching Language and Literature are integrated with the ICT Programme. The students are divided into groups and each group select the topics they would like to work on and prepare a set of multimedia materials which focus on grammatical/communicative competence and language enrichment. They use the computer for not only preparing their materials but also for other purposes like announcing their programme, preparing the schedule, assigning duties and responsibilities, registering students and planning the budget, assessing the students and analyzing the effectiveness of the course, etc. The materials prepared by the students and teacher educators are available in the website www.eltcops.com and a link to this is also provided by the Intel website www.educationinindia.net and the institute website www.hmpenglish.com.

English Enrichment Course : 2006-07

With the commencement of first the term, the final year students were eager to conduct English Enrichment Course. This year they had decided to offer the programme to Standard XI students of T.V.Patel Higher Secondary School. This time the focus of the course was to enhance the skills of reading comprehension among the students with the use of functional English. For this purpose they were asked to make use of the new textbooks published for standard VIII, IX and X. The course was designed for a period of five weeks. The students were asked to work in groups of three for the TAL Project. Further each group of M. A. (ELT) Seniors was paired with a group of M. A. (ELT) Juniors. In addition, the students who joined the English Enrichment Course were divided into groups and they were paired with the senior and junior groups. All this resulted in a lot of interaction, differences of opinions, discussions of various kinds and decisions taken in a democratic manner.

Ø Stepwise Summary of the EEC Programme

Step 1: The students were asked to carry out the in-depth study of the textbooks of standard VIII, IX and X which are in use at present in schools of Gujarat, choose a lesson of their interest which can be related to project.
Step 2: Attend an orientation session and understand the nuances of Project Based Learning. Get introduced to teaching through projects.
Step 3: For the selected lesson work out a number of language tasks and communicative tasks and prepare a multimedia presentation to teach the lesson. At the end of the teacher presentation assign a project work to the school students.
Step 4: Within group brainstorm project ideas and think of innovative projects based on students’ real life scenario.
Step 5: Give optimum time to surf on internet and make use of the relevant material.
Step 6: Follow the Intel Unit Plan template and prepare a detailed unit plan.
Step 7: Sharing the work with peers, juniors and revise it as per the feed back obtained. Reflect on the experience of working on Technology Integrated Project and assess overall learning experience. Write a reflective report summarizing the whole experience along with suggestions and plans for future use.



Outcomes of the Programme

Teaching with the help of technology has many advantages as it attains several objectives at the same time. Students learn to work collaboratively; they discuss their problems, share their opinions and offer suggestions to each other to derive at particular action. Students learn to take decisions on their own and become self dependent. Simultaneously, students also develop high order thinking skills as they prepare and critically analyze the exercise and materials that they prepare. Again redrafting and modification of materials also strengthens their originality of ideas.

One of the great benefits of this sort of project work is that students learn to do things on their own. Here the learners are forced to raise questions and decide their track of assignment. Of course, they are all equipped through the resources like internet and library. But they are trained to find out means to meet the expected ends. Here M.A. [ELT] students themselves take responsibility for the whole programme and take decisions for a number of things. This is yet another important self-learning skill which they were not familiar with. Starting from decisions as to how to arrange the classroom furniture to what to teach at which level, which activities to start with and what cultural programmes to have on the last day of the English Enrichment Course, is all made by the students themselves. The teacher is available only to help as a last resort as an additional source rather than the main source.

Along with the computer skills the students also develop insight for teaching. Since the student-teachers observe each others’ performance as a classroom teacher they come to know the sort of strategies they need to form while and prior to the teaching. They also learn to provide constructive feedback and ways of improving on a particular weak point. They realize what sort of advance preparation is required prior to the teaching work and how to stimulate the urge of learning among the students. Certainly, technology play a crucial role as it stands for support all the time. Students get opportunities to benefit from collaborative learning by producing TALL materials in groups and at the same time stretch themselves and contribute individually by working on a specific project. Ultimately, they understand the potential of technology to bring the whole world into the classroom and extend the classroom walls to encompass the entire universe. They learn to guide their students to become better learners and efficient communicators.