Teaching English

Many of us have different ideas on the ideal method to teach English. Many talented persons have courageously tried to shape a better and new system of English education. But a flaw always exists. In some way or the other, there is a hole in the unsinkable*, a stain on the *stainless and so on. The reason I wrote on the topic, is to share my idea, and exchange views with others.

What I dream of is a system of education which is not marks oriented, which is dynamic and more user-friendly. A student must be given a test not for seeing how much he has learnt, but for finding out how much he _*hasn't* learnt_. It is important to teach a student what he does not know, than to teach what the teacher knows best ( no offense, dear teachers ).

A language, like English, which is as difficult as any other, but far underestimated, must be taught in the right way, such that the students are able to appreciate it and most of all, understand* it, because you cannot *memorize* anything. If a person memorizes a language, it is like he is memorizing the methods of drawing something, because *languages are art.

What the current system has done ( according to me ) has made English a very .... constrained subject*, more than a way of expressing creativity. Students are taught *rules*, and not *conventions*. They are taught *structures*, and not *styles. They have thus, made it a difficult subject used as a tool to gain marks, than a creative skill to acquire talent.