Enhancing Interactional Competence in Engineering Classrooms

Abstract

Teaching language is not an easy task in the 21st century classroom. English is taught extensively in India and the teacher has to be competent enough to deal with students of different origins and interests and capabilities. The Indian syllabus mainly focuses on written communication and very often it is found that learners don’t communicate in English. The employment milieu, on the other hand, demands communicative competency which is most often lacking. Effective technology integration is an alternative method to support second-language acquisition and facilitate teacher productivity. In Constructivist teaching, learners are actively involved and it fosters critical thinking and provides a platform for the students to question the material presented. The English teachers in Engineering Colleges are prepared to integrate technology to support the learning needs of students but technology should only be used as an ancillary tool to enhance the learning environment. A teacher may adopt techniques to make the textbook an effective and enjoyable training tool for the learners using various interesting methodologies. This paper explores some of the language activities
that are found helpful in developing the learners’ ability to communicate freely and spontaneously in English.