Campus View: It’s not just about English-Vinglish

SHARMISHTHA NARAYAN SINGH

How riveting it was, when Li Keqiang, Former Premier of the People’s Republic of China, articulated, “We live in a global village. No country can live in isolation of others like Robinson Crusoe.”

This world divided by political boundaries is an amalgam of diverse people and cultures. Different countries have different languages to communicate their thoughts across. These languages transcend these geopolitical borders, in order to make this global village a more convenient and inclusive place to inhabit.

Language exquisitely fuses pain, passion, happiness, and pleasure all into an eloquent synthesis of songs, TED Talks, speeches, and podcasts and disseminates it across the confines of our cognition.

The compelling, gravelly, fervent Russian sending jolts down one’s spine, the velvety French imbuing death with a romantic allure, the cadent Vietnamese, making a fight sound like a song… and then of course, our diverse mother tongues, in which we find solace and affinity in even our darkest moments, always arouse so much passion during a cathartic release.

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Ah, languages…so intriguing, aren’t they?

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Inclusion of foreign languages

After all, language is the inception of everything.

Inclusion of foreign languages in the school curriculum is a consistent and useful effort in order to sow the seeds of understanding, cooperation and unity in the youth’s mindset from a very tender age to make them transform from “ME” to “WE”, for that’s the way to be!

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In Europe, the common goal of institutionalized foreign language (FL) education is the development of communicative competence (Council of Europe, 2001), which ideally should lead to the realization of the Barcelona Summit (2002) “mother tongue + 2” objective for every European citizen.

Delhi Public School Ranchi

Delhi Public School Ranchi is an exemplary institution, the paragon of perfection, and is never one to lag behind when it comes to giving students the opportunity and providing them with a platform to better themselves.

Bloom’s Taxonomy

In order to mould its students into the ideal global citizens, DPS Ranchi, an avid believer and follower of Bloom’s Taxonomy and Gardener’s Theory of Multiple intelligences (including linguistic intelligence) offers its students an assortment of languages like German, French, Spanish, Japanese, along with the language of the Vedas, India’s very own, Sanskrit; equipping its students with tools to adapt in this ever-changing world.

 Goethe Institute Kolkata

In collaboration with Goethe Institute Kolkata, this esteemed institution organizes several events aimed at honing proficiency in the German language.

Additionally, DPS Ranchi consistently facilitates international excursions for its students, providing them with exposure to diverse languages and cultures, thereby enriching their experiential knowledge and aiding some to figure out their location of a postal address with a white picket fence!

Fostering unity

The rich tapestry of global languages enhances inclusivity, fostering unity and understanding. Let’s drape ourselves in this intricate and vibrant tapestry of prosperity and arm ourselves across the threshold of this interconnected community as empowered and engaged contributing citizens, endeavouring to make it a better place for ourselves and our future generations.

After all, it’s not just about English-Vinglish.

(The writer is a student of DPS Ranchi)