Fluency to Accuracy

A great educationist from Ranchi once asked, genuinely puzzled, "Why are they making all this fuss about different methods to teach children how to communicate in English? Didn't every butler in the club of the British Raj speak in English? They didn't go to fancy schools!"

I suppose he has a point. What made the butlers speak English fluently?

• They were thrown into an English-speaking atmosphere without any preparation.
• They had to earn a living.
• No one was going to penalise them for incorrectness if they managed to communicate.
  

Given this situation, it is not going to be very difficult for anybody to pick up a language. It is necessity which compels human beings to shed inhibition and begin to do something they have never done before. So, it is not surprising that butlers managed to learn 'butler English'. However, what might have been almost impossible for them would be to write correct English.

A good English teacher often toils with the task of helping children move from the point of fluency to the point of accuracy. Many aspects that go to refine language are at work when one is trying to create a readable, interesting, error-free piece of writing.

Choice of words is crucial for communication. The same word communicates different things in different contexts. There are some people who are experts in misquoting others to achieve personal gains. Successful advocates play with words to misrepresent ideas and save a client. Theatre uses punning on words to provoke laughter. Words are very powerful tools.

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