This article elaborates significance of English language as the only mode of communication and its relevance in professional courses like BBA, BCA, BBA in HM

Are you someone who is always bubbling with answers during a class but cannot find the appropriate language to frame your words in? Are you someone who works hard for all the exams but gets cold feet whenever there is a formal viva evaluated by an external examiner? Are you someone who has the most ingenious ideas but cannot muster the courage to face the class teacher in a room full of students? Is it because you think everybody might laugh at you, not because of a wrong answer, but because of wrong English? Are you someone who has always wanted to take part in every team work and group project but has always found herself/himself at a loss because of poor communication skills?

If the answers to all these questions was a loud and clear or even hesitant ‘YES’, then this article is sure to interest you further if you read on!

To begin with, there is good news and bad news for you. Let’s begin with the bad one. The bad news is that this problem which you are facing, probably have faced all along, is a definitely an obstacle in the way of any career you might choose to pursue. The good news however is that, unlike many other problems of life, there is a tried and tested solution for this particular one.

There are two aspects to your problem:

1. The aspect of mastering the professional language of business, in your case, English.
2. The aspect of communication skills, which you may need to merely polish or which you may need to entirely develop from scratch.

The English language occupies a central place for students of nearly every discipline. It assumes a great deal of importance for students pursuing professional courses like BBA, BCA, BBA in HM, because it is the language that the corporate sector deals in. If you want to be a professional out there, you are expected to use flawless English while speaking, writing, communicating. This becomes a point of extreme pressure if your training of the English language has gaps in it. It is an arduous struggle if you have belonged to a school that uses Bengali as the medium of instruction, or you do not use the English language too often because your family speaks in a regional language—say Bengali or Hindi, or you simply lack confidence while speaking in English, or because your grammar is not good and you feel hesitant while using the language.

The interesting thing about being unable to speak in English however goes far from being merely a language problem to one that questions your presentability, your confidence, sometimes even your merit. It is unfortunate that you might have felt at times that you will be laughed at if you attempt to speak in the English language and therefore you have avoided the language altogether. Or worse, you might have faced ridicule from your peers and acquaintances because you have used the wrong tense or stammered in between sentences or frozen during a practical presentation to be delivered in English. A common reaction to this kind of ridicule and criticism that amounts to shaming, is to develop escapism and antipathy from the concerned subject. So, you decide to not speak in English at all. You don’t enjoy watching English movies unless they come with readable subtitles or you just avoid them completely. You stay away from reading books other than the text books recommended in the syllabus. In short, you do everything possible to distance yourself from the language and thus make it more and more impossible to learn it.

The second aspect that goes hand in hand with the first is the problem of poor communication skills. The business world speaks in the English language. The business world also relies on communication for its survival and growth. Communication forms the crux of business relationships, deals, transactions, mergers; in simple, the sustenance of the corporate world is dependent upon the communication skills of the its employees. Good communication skills are what you need to strike a deal, introduce and market an idea, device new methods of growth and outreach.

You will be intrigued to know that poor communication skills are not defects that are inherent in you, and the idea that introverts are bad communicators is actually not right. Lack of communication skills are mostly due to certain blocks and constructs that you perhaps don’t even know that you have!

• Have you ever thought for example, that you may be able to communicate in a certain language but your body language may be inappropriate and can generate wrong impressions?
• Or perhaps your communication is suffering because you have certain mental blocks about approaching people?
• Also, has it ever occurred to you that what you think is your inability to hit the correct note during formal communication, is simply the lack of knowledge about the formats for certain kinds of speech and writing which are used for communicating in the professional world?

Perhaps it is clearer to you by now that there is a ‘pattern’ of your problems and this pattern has been identified for quite a while now and there are thousands of people suffering in the same ways as you. So firstly, Congratulations! You are not alone in this. Secondly, now that we have identified the problem and analysed it, it is time for the how-do-we-solve-it section.

Learning a new language and communicating in it at the same time is a difficult task. More so when we have several social and cultural inhibitions, fear and shame and bad memories associated from the past. But the only way of learning a new language and attaining a desired mastery in it, is by using it as a medium of communication. This is where you need guidance and training, but most importantly the motivation and strength to accept your flaws and determine to correct them.

The most important thing about fluency in any language is to develop a certain liking for it and not fear. Instead of distancing yourself from the language, try to speak, read, write, listen English as much as you can. If you have friends who have the same concerns, do it with them, if not, do it on your own! Remember, learning a new language is like making a new friend, you need to spend more time with it in order to know it and understand it!

Communication too comes with its own laws which need to be taught and inscribed within you through rigorous and exciting trainings, workshops, special classes. Once you know and understand Communication as a whole, you will understand the small details that make big differences, the strategies that make one letter more appealing than another, the body language that creates a world of change in how you are perceived and accepted.

You must know, before you begin this journey towards developing good communication skills and fluency in written and spoken English, that it is going to be difficult, exhausting and demanding. But you should also know that this is going to be one such experience which will change the way you look at the world and also the way the world looks at you. Know this, language is a code, and like any code, it can be learned, but also like any code, it needs to be rigorously practiced for you to attain competence in it. It perhaps seems a big task right now, but if so many people before you have begun from nothing and come out successful after intensive training, so will you! Communication on the other hand will open up a new vision for you. You will not only be trained to speak, you will also be trained to ‘listen’ to ‘respond’ and not to ‘react’, to present yourself before an audience, to shake off your hesitations and embrace your abilities. Learning English and Communication will be part of your curriculum, rather than an individual course. But it will always occupy a crucial position in any professional or academic space. Stimulating grooming sessions by Industry experts, inventive communication classes, well-equipped Language Labs, fun and vivifying role plays, gripping debates, group discussions, fear-expelling mock interviews and special English classes for doing away with your language problems once and for all, along with a set of dedicated faculty come together at Dinabandhu Andrews Institute of Technology and Management (popularly known as DAITM), one of the top institutes for Technical and Management courses. DAITM offers its students a concerned and caring approach towards their learning needs and understands the difficulties that students face when it comes to mastering English language and communication skills. So, believe in yourself, come and be a part of this transforming experience with DAITM. It will be a journey to remember! Visit  www.daitm.org.in for more information and further guidance!