www.tjprc.org editor@tjprc.org International Journal of English and Literature (IJEL) ISSN(P): 2249-6912; ISSN(E): 2249-8028 Vol. 4, Issue 2, Apr 2014, 15-22 © TJPRC Pvt. Ltd. TEACHING ENGLISH LANGUAGE AT ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY INSTITUTES IN INDIA: PROBLEMS AND REMEDIES MANINDER KAUR KAINTH 1 & MAHESH KUMAR 2 1 Research Scholar, Department of EDP, Santlongowal Institute of Engineering and Technology (SLIET), Longowal, Punjab, India 2 Associate Professor, Department of English, SLIET, Longowal, Punjab, India ABSTRACT English occupies a place of prestige in our country, even after more than six decades since the British left India. No indigenous language however has come up to replace English, either as a medium of communication or as an official language. With the Independence, in spite of many a movement against the teaching of English in India under the influence of nationalistic feeling and emotional hostility, English began to reassert its position; but, surprisingly, the number of people who can speak and write English, intelligibly and correctly, is very low. The way English is taught in our educational institutes today is to a great extent responsible for this sorry state of affairs. Our technical know-how has been acknowledged by the whole world, but still our young technical graduates stay unemployed even after scoring fairly well in their degrees. The sole reason is their lacking in communication skills which are considered as the ‘survival skills’ or ‘life-skills’ in the competitive scenario of the twenty-first century. Though, the aim of the Engineering English Course offered at various engineering and technology institutes is to enable the students to learn certainmacro- and micro-skills in the English language and use them effectively as studentswhile following other courses and later as engineers/technologists at the work place; yet, most of them who have undergone thecourse are not proficient enough to communicate effectively in the language. This paper is an attempt to trace the problems faced by both the teacher and the student in the English teaching and learning process at the undergraduate level in the engineering and technology institutes. The paper aims at presenting the contemporary situations in India with regard to English and suggesting remedies where these are called for. KEYWORDS: English Language Teaching (ELT), English as Second Language (ESL), Engineering English, English Communication Skills, Industry-Ready INTRODUCTION Background From the despised instrument of oppression to the reluctantly adopted lingua franca to the status symbol of the upper classes to its position today as a second language, English has come a long way. Before Independence, Lord Macaulay, in his famous “Minutes”, recommended the use of English for educating the Indian masses. He felt that English language was the only suitablemedium to transfer technical knowledge and scientific bent of mind to Indians. His aim was to groom a small section of Indians who could later use English as a medium of communication andbridge the gap between India and the western world. In spite of his efforts, for various reasons hecould not bring up full-fledged English –based educational system for Indians.