It is almost three years since the Additional Skill
Acquisition Programme (ASAP) was launched.
[For details please view
http://asapkerala.gov.in/index.php/about-asap]
As I teach in a
teacher training college, I was particularly interested in finding out whether skill acquisition,
especially Communication Skills in English is really taking place during
ASAP training. I have often
wondered, how it is possible for mere graduates without a thorough
knowledge of the teaching-learning
process which is usually given prime focus in the course content of a BEd.
Programme, serve as effective Skill
Development Executives (SDE) for the ASAP
programme…
In regular lecture sessions in my college, I make use of
multimedia materials which I have
developed following technological
principles. During the last week of the previous academic year (2013-14) three students of mine, approached me and requested to
share the digital materials including
PowerPoint presentations which I make use
of in my training programme. When I
inquired the necessity, they said that they need it for the sessions of their ASAP programme in which they are currently serving as SDE!
This academic year
(2014-15), I came across a trainee who
attends college every day, after engaging a session in a
local school as part of the
ASAP programme. Out of curiosity, I made inquiries to find out what aspects of
teaching and learning they were taught
for teaching Communication Skills in English. I was told that no real
training in language teaching methodology was given to
SDE’s!
So when Mr. Shihabudheen, coordinator for the
ASAP programmes of Amal College of Advanced Studies, Nilambur, Kerala- a training partner institution of ASAP, invited me last weekend to engage a session in language teaching methodology for a 21-day
residential training programme for SDE’s I was
rather amazed. From Mr.
Shihabudheen, I gathered that in the
regular ASAP programme, there is no
insistence on familiarizing participants
with language teaching methodology. He also pointed out that this has unfortunately resulted in the
Communication Skills in English sessions of the ASAP programmes in colleges, reducing
itself to the conduct of ‘management type games’!
Field studies of the
performance of SDE’s which Mr.Shihabudheen, conducted made him realize that participants
need to be given some input on methodology of language
teaching. Here, it is worth noting that
it is probably the inclusion of such innovative sessions in the training
programme of ASAP offered by Amal
College of Advanced Studies, which helped
them secure a five star rating for the
training programmes previously offered!
Kudos to Mr. Shihabudeen.
I found the
participants of the residential programme for whom I engaged a session in language
teaching methodology, quite
enthusiastic and active. The
feedback which they gave also confirmed that
training in methodology of language teaching for SDE’s is
essential.
Perhaps if
those at the helm of affairs
of ASAP, taking the cue from Amal College,
incorporate language teaching
methodology as an essential component of the ASAP training programmes for SDE’s, the student population undergoing the ASAP training would begin to find the Communication
Skills in English sessions more meaningful and effective…
Those who have undergone the ASAP training
please offer your valuable
comments…
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