(posted on behalf of zahi-ra)

...

I am a teacher of English teaching 18-23 year olds in a rural college
in Kerala, India. I paint, write poetry and translate from Malayalam to
English but my real interest is in TEFL. In rural schools in
Kerala, teachers who are articulate in this foreign language English
are rare.So teaching English through the communicative method ends up
in the students learning some absurd variety of the language which is
neither English nor Malayalam. I believe when there are no competent
instructors, it is better to teach the students to read first using the
phonic method, avoid the alphabet and the spelling reading method. When
they start reading introduce them to illustrated story books and help
them enact short plays with fairy tale themes. These are more reliable
with authentic material and might solve many of the problems
encountered by this socially disadvantaged group.What do you think?

zahi-ra