PVK’s Final Report on ‘Beyond the Syllabus’ an extra-mural programme conducted at the Government College for Women, Trivadrum from October 2008 to November 2011.
Background and introduction.
In 2007, a Digital Language Lab was set up at the Government College for Women or GCW, Trivandrum at an expense of about 17 ½ lakhs. At this point I had become the Head of the Department of English. Much as I disliked any position that meant administrative responsibilities, I was persuaded to take it up because a good number of my colleagues were scared that, if I declined, a certain PhD holder with claims to “aristocratic” lineage, the voice of a fog horn and a reputation for teaching linguistics and English Language Teaching or, as most folk in ‘Eng Lit’ referred to it, ‘E L T’. This reputation was built largely on this woman’s ability to learn by rote the printed notes of the Hyderabad based ‘Centre for English and Foreign Languages’ or ‘C I E F L’’s and repeat them in class with the flow of a waterfall.
We had fallen out soon after I became head of the department. At a department meeting I asked all teachers for suggestions about how we could go about improving standards in English. At this point, the GCW had stopped attracting the cream of the students in the State. This was because the two-year Pre Degree Course had been removed from colleges and entrusted to schools.
My question about improving standards had elicited a response from the lady with the booming voice. “I think,” she said in her distant thunder voice “that our students lack communicative skills.”
I responded immediately with this remark: “Please allow me to translate that. What Beena means is that our students do not know English. I have talked to a huge number of them outside the classroom in Malayalam and have found them fluent and expressive. It is not communicative ability they lack. It is knowledge of how to use English and the confidence to use it in academic and social situations.”
There were a few smiles at this point, but I realized that I had made a friend for life. That did not upset me. I was not there to win friends and influence people but to create an atmosphere in the department that ensured that each teacher did what she or he was supposed to do. Basically, that meant going to class and actually engaging them.
This, of course, was a difficult ask. The lady in question, for example, had a reputation in college for driving up to the Principal’s office at around 10.15 a.m. and then walking in, signing on the attendance register and pushing off to report later, just in time for a lecture.
This was easy during the first term, for there were hardly any classes then. Most batches were still writing their university examinations and first year students had not yet joined. There were ‘general English’ classes for II Degree students. These were in big batches of up to 90 students and often in the afternoon hours.
Here was a little trick some of the Department of English pulled off regularly to shirk their duty. They would be present appear in the campus only in time for their 5th hour lecture, starting at 2.30 p.m. The students would have been looking for them from morning, in the hope that they could get them to engage and earlier ‘free period’ and so escape from the campus early. Many students came from the outskirts like Attingal and Poovar and Nedumangad and were eager to be able to catch and early bus.
When they found that enquires from the morning about a particular teacher were answered with vague answers about their being present somewhere on the campus, the kids would leave, not wanting to waste their time.
Dr Gopinath, the woman I was talking about earlier, was a master at this tactic.
Anyway, my main concern was about the new ‘Digital Language Lab’. There was this wonderful, air conditioned hall with some 15 computers waiting to be used. As head of the Department of English, I assumed it was my responsibility to do something about it. No teacher was interested in spending any time on it.
I had a net connection at home and I had been collecting good audio material from free sites like the BBC’s ‘Learning English’ site to down load material that could be used to teach our students, including those from Malayalam medium schools, good English.
I thought about how best to use the Language Lab. The preloaded material, mostly from the Hyderabad based ‘Centre for Indian and Foreign Languages’ did not appeal to students when I persuaded some of my studentst to give it a try.
I came up with the idea of downloading audio and text files, putting each in a folder, putting many such folders inside another one and making it available to students.
Thus was born my ‘Beyond the Syllabus’ programme.
It’s success astounded me. The students who took it seriously gained enormously. The period from 2008 to 2011 were, perhaps, for me among the most rewarding in my teaching career.
Here is the report I prepared around the time I retired. I submitted a few copies to the lady who was then the Principal of the College. I also handed one over to the College Library. Some time later, when I was invited to the Women’s College to deliver the ‘Hrydayakumari Endowment Lecture’ I found that none of the copies were to be found. A couple of box files with all the records, including the “work sheets” of the students had also disappeared.
I still have the report I prepared during the summer holidays after I had retired in March 2011.
Here it is. I hope teachers of English will find it interesting.
Thank you very much.
PVK.
07/06/2026.
| Teaching English and Ideas in a Digital Language Lab |
| “PVK’s Beyond the Syllabus Programme 2008-2011”: Report and Assessment |
| P. Vijaya Kumar Associate Professor of English Government College for Women Thiruvananthapuram. |
| 3/30/2011 |
| This is a report on an after-class teaching initiative implemented at a government arts and science college in Kerala. It describes the entire programme and offers insights on how an innovative, internet and computer based, student-specific teaching programme of great value can be put in place and conducted. |
Teaching English and Ideas in a Digital Language Lab: “PVK’s Beyond the Syllabus Programme 2008-2011”: Final Report and Assessment
Introduction
In 2006-’07 a Digital Language Lab was set up in the Government College for Women, Thiruvanathapuram at a cost of about fourteen lakh rupees. It was networked, had a teacher console, 17 student consoles and software for English Language Teaching installed by ETNL. It was underutilized till June 2007, when a pilot project called “Beyond the Syllabus”, specifically meant for the English Literature students of the College used it occasionally. (The Language Lab was not, and is still not, connected to the internet.)
From 2008 to 2011 a carefully designed, unique programme to teach English and ideas was put in place using the Language Lab. This after-class teaching activity was called “PVK’s Beyond the Syllabus Programme”. The following is a full report on this project. It explains why the programme was set up, describes its design, gives details of the materials used, an account of how the programme functioned for three academic years and offers a set of recommendations that can be beneficial to anyone interested in teaching with the aid of computers. An appendix is also included.
Background
Apart from the desire to properly utilize a facility set up at great expense by the Government the following factors induced this teacher to put it in place.
1. A recognition that standards of English and general awareness and the ability of most students to handle ideas had declined dramatically in the recent past.
2. Clear indications that students were unhappy with prescribed text books. Alternative and more interesting sources, it was felt, could be used to teach our students.
3. Complaints from a large number of students and parents that there were too many “free hours” and that they could not be utilized profitably in the College campus. The programme, it was thought, would offer a healthy alternative in the disturbance and distraction-ridden atmosphere prevailing in our College.
4. Informal surveys have shown that less than 5% of our students have computers at home. Less than 25% are actually fee paying candidates. It was felt that compiling lessons or generating them using internet-based sources and utilising the computers in the Language Lab to let students below the digital divide gain access to them would be a valuable service.
5. Persistent complaints from parents that their children needed to improve their English language skills, especially in spoken English.
6. A conviction that simultaneous and complementary exposure to audio and textual sources of the same material was a very effective way of teaching English.
7. The software installed in the Language Lab, which had appeared attractive when the Lab was set up seemed much less so when actually offered to students. Their reaction suggested that the materials were both inappropriate and unappealing. The material was of two kinds – lessons on advanced phonetics using both text and audio or audio lessons in accents that our students could not follow. None of the students who were exposed to it on a trial basis wanted to return to it.
8. A great amount of excellent material is available on the internet. It was felt that collecting and organising them and offering them to students, with the guidance of a teacher, would be a very effective method of teaching.
9. Recreational reading, a vital part of the intellectual growth of students, has been in decline. This programme, it was hoped, could lead students back to it.
10. There is talk of a crisis in the humanities. This teacher strongly feels that the job of an English teacher is to teach correct English so that students can communicate effectively. Students of all subjects can, if taught correct usage, use English to gain access to knowledge and also learn to handle sophisticated ideas. If English teachers refocussed on this historically endorsed role they would be performing a valuable service to society. They would once again be seen as useful members of society and the sense of crisis in English teaching might disappear. English teachers have for some time stopped being proactive in upholding standards.
Against this background a programme, designed to cater to the needs of the students of our College and to appeal to them, was designed and offered for three academic years. It offered to teach English and ideas to any volunteer who enrolled.
Preparation of lessons/material.
All lessons are loaded on to the computers in the Language Lab. Each lesson has an audio file and a text file. The audio file contained a recording of the text file read, in most cases, by native speakers of English. Sometimes they also contained supplementary information on vocabulary or usage. Lessons on a wide variety of topics were collected. A single lesson would be placed inside a folder. Sets of lessons of a similar level of difficulty or of a similar nature were placed in one folder. All folders were clearly labelled.
The lessons are broadly divided into four levels: 1. Preliminary; 2. Basic; 3. Advanced – Literary Texts and 4. Advanced, – Ideas.
Most lessons come from podcasts and streaming audio sources available on the internet. (An important part of the preparation of the material was recording streaming audio from the internet, tagging them and arranging them in teachable clusters on the basis of topics and levels of difficulty.) In both length and degree of sophistication the lessons vary greatly. Some are only a minute long and use simple vocabulary and structures while others like lectures and debates extend to over one hour. In topics too there was immense variety; from topical news stories on current affairs or sports or entertainment to classic works of literature. Advanced material included that on Economics, History, Language and Linguistics, Literary Criticism, Life Sciences, Mathematics, Media Studies, Physics, Psychology and General Knowledge.
Fresh material was added to the collection of lessons almost on a daily basis. A basic corpus of about 450 lessons, covering the first three levels, was loaded on to all the computers before commencement of the programme. At the fourth level there were often only audio files or sometimes only text files. Most of them came from free sources on the net, including LibriVox, Project Gutenberg, UCTV, TED, radio stations like NPR and BBC, Guardian Unlimited, Times Online before it became a paid site, The New Yorker, The New York Review of Books, You Tube, My Space and other such sites. Some were sourced from private collections.
The entire work of collecting, tagging and arranging the material was done at the home of this teacher, using his personal resources and during his spare time. Only finished lessons were loaded on to the computers in the Language Lab.
The Teaching-Learning Method
Every student who joined had to fill in a bio data form and talk to the teacher or mentor conducting the programme. She would then be given a short talk on the basics of second language learning and on what the programme offered and a demonstration on how to access lessons. Students who were not familiar with computers were given training in how to use them. Most students took their first lesson in the presence of the teacher.
Based on this the mentor would make a judgement on the level of material appropriate to each student. The mentor would open the required folders in a computer and help the student take a lesson. Reactions would be sought and based on the inputs from the student and the mentor’s judgement the student would be pointed to other material. Students could repeatedly listen to some lessons or move on to other lessons. They were encouraged to explore all the folders in the computers and locate lessons that they found interesting.
The students were told how to pick up tips on pronunciation, usage and grammar and build their vocabulary while listening to the files. The importance of clearing doubts as they progressed was made clear to all the students. They could seek the help of the mentor, if he was available in the Lab, or seek help from a set of reference books in the Lab. (A small collection of books was kept in the Language Lab for this purpose. The collection also included magazines and a ten-year collection of articles selected from magazines like the Times Literary Supplement, New Scientist and so on. The topics covered were mostly economics, culture, history, literature and language, science and society. This also came from the private collection of the teacher.)
Students who wanted advanced material were shown a list of what was available. Some came forward with specific requests for material. Wherever possible the mentor obliged.
Students were encouraged to ask questions as they went along and to ask for specific material. A good number of them did so.
Remedial work was one of the services offered. Frequent requests for help came from a small number of students.
Students were allowed to choose the time when they could use the Lab. The Lab was kept open from morning to 5.30 p.m. for this.
The programme offered flexibility of timing, variety in materials offered and autonomy in choosing the appropriate lessons to the students. This was backed, at all times, by unobtrusive but clear guidance from the mentor.
Conduct
The programme was launched on 10 October 2008. It had seven components: 1) Vocabulary Enhancement 2) Comprehension Skill Enhancement 3) Unaided listening 4) Writing 5) Literature Special 6) Remedial Work and 7) The Ideas Club.
They were not mutually exclusive but overlapped. (See annexure 1.) [Note: No 4 “Writing” was not creative writing but the writing of clear and correct English prose.
Notices giving details of the programme were displayed on several notice boards in the College. Changes were made in many areas as the programme progressed. During the third year students were made to maintain a “Work Record Sheet”. This helped in the easier and more accurate maintenance of records. (So more statistics is available from the last year of the programme.) Requests for new material were sometimes left on the sheet. The requested material was loaded before the student’s next visit to the Lab. (Please see appendix 2 for details.)
Students took lessons at their convenience. Some would learn in 15 minute visits; others stayed at their computers for more than two hours at a stretch. Some students took more than one session in a day. The pace at which lessons were taken and the choice of new material was left entirely to students. (Requests from students for opening the Lab at 8.
30 a.m. and during Saturdays could not, regrettably, be complied with.)
Compared to the total strength of the College the number of students who used the programme in some meaningful way is not very high. (See appendix 2 for details.) However the regular users benefitted enormously.
No regular testing was done in the course of the programme. However volunteers were given tests involving transcription of audio files. The avoidance of formal testing was deliberate. A test at the commencement and conclusion would have helped gauge the progress made by students. Time and other constraints did not permit this.
Students who passed out of the College but were keen on continued help and guidance were given such support through email.
No fee was charged from anyone. The Language Lab and its computers, originally installed by the Government, were maintained by the College PTA.
Observations and findings
1. The programme was started to provide a meaningful alternative to students who complained about disruption to their classes. It was hoped that students would make use of free time to use the Lab. This expectation was to a certain extent belied. More visits were made when the College had regular classes.
2. The most noticeable improvement was seen in students from the state school stream and not always from those from the CBSE or ISC streams. This was surprising considering the fact that at the start of the programme those from CBSE and ISC streams appeared more comfortable in spoken English.
3. The number of dropouts – over 50% in all three years – is uncomfortably high. One can only speculate on the reasons for this. The idea of learning English in a Language Lab seemed to appeal to many. The realisation that there was no short cut in the Lab and that learning involved investment in time and effort may be one of the reasons for the high drop out rate. Another factor could be the exam-oriented learning students seem to favour and a perception that this form of learning would not help them pass examinations.
4. Some students asked for help with Spoken English. There were even visitors who joined the programme to practise speaking skills with the mentor. Definite progress was shown by those who sought for such improvement.
5. Since the mentor had his regular work to attend to he could not, regrettably, always be present at the Lab. Students sometimes turned away from the Lab because teacher support was not available.
6. Little effort was made to bring back the drop outs or canvass fresh students. It is perhaps a weakness of the project that only intrinsically motivated students benefitted.
7. The indifference of PG and first year FDP students of 2010-2011 to the programme is evident. Of the 75 FDP students (i.e. students of the newly implemented semesterised First Degree Programme) who joined in 2010-2011 as many as 73 dropped out. The case of PG students – in spite of availability of material that was specific to their needs – is similar. It would appear that students doing semester courses have little time for indulging their intellectual curiosity or for anything other than exam or testing oriented study.
8. In spite of this and the high rate of drop outs it is felt that the programme is beneficial. Feedback from students has been most encouraging.
9. This programme is simple and can be replicated by any teacher with some computer skills and a broad band connection. Since the internet is such a huge resource, the possibilities available for the creative teacher are enormous.
10. Since the programme makes use of free sources on the internet even without internet connectivity in the language lab, it should help transcend the geographical remoteness of certain colleges from urban areas or from traditional centres of learning.
11. This is also a very effective way of overcoming the negative impact of the digital divide. Children from homes without computers can pick up valuable computer skills along with learning English.
12. While the internet is an excellent source of teaching material and computers an effective teaching tool, active and constant teacher involvement is vital to a programme like this.
13. At a time when education is getting costlier and offered mostly for private gain this programme has demonstrated that effective and imaginative teaching programmes that benefit all classes of students can be successfully implemented in a relatively resource strapped government run institute. Indeed, this teacher suspects that nothing of a similar nature exists in any arts and science college in India.
14. All lessons are sourced from the internet. Yet the fact that the Language Lab does not have an internet facility is one of its advantages. If it had a net connection, children would easily be distracted into using the computers for frivolous and non-academic reasons like visiting social networking sites. Here the discrimination and judgement of a teacher acted as a screen between the student and the sources on the internet. Such a guiding presence is essential to preserve the quality of the programme.
15. The preparation of the material was not done using government funding or resources. This was because the procedures in place for doing so are so complicated and time-consuming that if this teacher had tried to do so, little or no time or energy would have been left for the actual mentoring. [An example: Students expressed a desire to listen to and read President Obama’s victory speech the day after it was delivered, after an excerpt was played at another similar after-class activity called ‘The English Audio Club’. In a matter of hours the BtS Programme was able to provide both an audio and text version to those who wanted to listen to it. Students were thrilled. Freedom from bureaucratic requirements made this possible.]
Recommendations
It is felt that the programme is a creative, novel and very effective way of teaching language skills and ideas and so the following recommendations are being made:
1. It is recommended that the programme be continued at the Government College for Women.
2. It is also recommended that similar programmes be implemented in other government colleges where language labs or free standing computers are available for language teaching. This would solve the reportedly serious problem of under or non-utilisation of language labs in colleges in many places.
3. The cause for the obvious indifference of students on semester programmes to this and similar learning opportunities warrants attention. Educators and psychologists should critically examine this phenomenon.
Appendix 1 Notices announcing the programme for all three years
PVK’s “Beyond the Syllabus” Programme 2008-09
The Beyond the Syllabus Programme aims at the all-round improvement of English language skills of our students. It was implemented on a limited scale in 2007-08. This year it has been extended to include all students and has the following programmes.
I. Vocabulary Enhancement
This will be a systematic, guided course in vocabulary building. After a set of initial classes, students who join will be given specific tasks with detailed instructions on how to achieve their goals. Weekly/fortnightly reviews will be held.
- Comprehension Skill Enhancement
The ability of most of our students to comprehend spoken English can be enhanced through a course of guided listening cum reading. Works will be selected depending on the level of ability of the student and on her taste and preference. The lessons will be complemented with classes on pronunciation and accents.
- Writing
This course is designed to improve the writing skills of students. It will involve some reference work and the submission of a large number of assignments. [Only a limited number of students will be allowed to take this course.]
- English Prose: From Bacon to de Botton
This programme is specifically designed for II BA English Main students. It will trace the evolution of English prose from the Elizabethan Age to today. Recorded and textual versions of important prose pieces will be provided to students along with a commentary. Supplementary reading lists will be provided to those who are interested.
- Unaided listening and literary appreciation
This will be the most advanced of the programmes. It will provide exposure to audio versions of classic and contemporary English works and some other notable books translated into English. The student will be allowed to choose from a range of fiction and drama. Written assignments will follow.
- The ideas programme
This was a part of the English Audio Club’s “Specials” of 2007-08. Interviews, lectures, debates and talks featuring some of the most important intellectuals of the contemporary world make up this programme. The list includes Amartya Sen, Martin Amis, Bertrand Russell, E. O. Wilson, Noam Chomsky, Richard Dawkins, Martha Nussbaum, J. K. Galbraith, Jacques Derrida, Vilayanur Ramachandran, Daniel Dennett and many others. The aim of the course is to make students conversant with some of the important issues and ideas that shape our world.
- Remedial work
Student-specific remedial work will be provided on request (between 3.30 and 4.30 pm.).
Apart from all this, students can participate in the activities of the English Audio Club, which uses poems and songs and music to explore various themes. The Club meets on selected Fridays.
All these programmes are open to all the students of the College. Students who enrol should take care not to let it interfere with their regular classes.
Programmes II, V and VI will involve using the Language Lab and hence familiarity with computers is a prerequisite for joining them. The Language Lab will be kept open on all working days from 3.30 to 5 p.m. for this purpose.
Students who would like to enrol should meet P. Vijaya Kumar, HoD, Department of English.
Department of English, Government College for Women
PVK’s “Beyond the Syllabus” Programme 2009-10
This programme is an extension, and continuation, of “PVK’s Beyond the Syllabus Programme 2008-09”. It will include new material but the aims and methods are similar to last year’s programme.
Aim: To help students improve their English language skills and to improve their general awareness.
Method: By providing guided exposure to participants to audio and textual sources in English.
Participation: The programme is designed for undergraduates but all students are welcome.
Time: During free periods or from 12.30 to 1.30 or from 3.30 pm to 5 pm.
The programme will have the following components:
I. Vocabulary Enhancement
This will be a systematic, guided course in vocabulary building. After a set of initial classes, students who join will be given specific tasks with detailed instructions on how to achieve their goals. Weekly/fortnightly reviews will be held.
II. Comprehension Skill Enhancement
The ability of most of our students to comprehend spoken English can be enhanced through a course of guided listening cum reading. Works will be selected depending on the level of ability of the student and on her taste and preference. The lessons will be complemented with classes on pronunciation and accents.
III. Unaided listening and literary appreciation
This will be the most advanced of the programmes. It will provide exposure to audio versions of classic and contemporary English works and some other notable books translated into English. The student will be allowed to choose from a range of fiction and drama. Written assignments will follow
IV. Writing
This course is designed to improve the writing skills of students. It will involve some reference work and the submission of a large number of assignments. [Only a limited number of students will be allowed to take this course.]
V. Literature Special. Poetry, Prose, Drama and Criticism. Each segment will cover some of
the principal works on that genre.
. VI. Remedial Work. Student-specific remedial work will be provided on request (between 3.30 and 4.30)
VII. The ideas Club. Every subject is founded on a bedrock of ideas. The aim of this part of the programme will be to introduce students to such ideas and to provide them an opportunity to further explore them. An attempt will be made to make discussions and similar methods a part of this segment. Where necessary, the help of teachers from other departments will be sought. A high level of proficiency in English is a must for taking part in this programme.
Most components of the programme will involve using the Language Lab and hence familiarity with computers is a prerequisite for joining. Participation is voluntary.
Students who enrol should take care not to let it interfere with their regular classes.
Students who would like to enrol should meet P. Vijaya Kumar, HoD, Department of English.
Department of English, Government College for Women
PVK’s “Beyond the Syllabus” Programme 2010-11
This programme is an extension, and continuation, of “PVK’s Beyond the Syllabus Programme 2008-09”. It will include new material but the aims and methods are similar to last year’s programme.
Aim: To help students improve their English language skills and to improve their general awareness.
Method: By providing guided exposure to participants to audio and textual sources in English.
Participation: The programme is designed for undergraduates but all students are welcome.
Time: During free periods or from 12.30 to 1.30 or from 3.30 pm to 5 pm.
The programme will have the following components:
I. Vocabulary Enhancement
This will be a systematic, guided course in vocabulary building. After a set of initial classes, students who join will be given specific tasks with detailed instructions on how to achieve their goals. Weekly/fortnightly reviews will be held.
II. Comprehension Skill Enhancement
The ability of most of our students to comprehend spoken English can be enhanced through a course of guided listening cum reading. Works will be selected depending on the level of ability of the student and on her taste and preference. The lessons will be complemented with classes on pronunciation and accents.
III. Unaided listening and literary appreciation
This will be the most advanced of the programmes. It will provide exposure to audio versions of classic and contemporary English works and some other notable books translated into English. The student will be allowed to choose from a range of fiction and drama. Written assignments will follow
IV. Writing
This course is designed to improve the writing skills of students. It will involve some reference work and the submission of a large number of assignments. [Only a limited number of students will be allowed to take this course.]
V. Literature Special. Poetry, Prose, Drama and Criticism. Each segment will cover some of
the principal works on that genre.
. VI. Remedial Work. Student-specific remedial work will be provided on request (between 3.30 and 4.30)
VII. The ideas Club. Every subject is founded on a bedrock of ideas. The aim of this part of the programme will be to introduce students to such ideas and to provide them an opportunity to further explore them. An attempt will be made to make discussions and similar methods a part of this segment. Where necessary, the help of teachers from other departments will be sought. A high level of proficiency in English is a must for taking part in this programme.
Most components of the programme will involve using the Language Lab and hence familiarity with computers is a prerequisite for joining. Participation is voluntary.
Students who enrol should take care not to let it interfere with their regular classes.
Students who would like to enrol should meet P. Vijaya Kumar, HoD, Department of English.
Appendix 2. Figures, tables and other details
1. Table showing details of computer use by students doing PVK’s Beyond the Syllabus
Note: Column 2 indicates the total number of days in an academic year that students used the computers in the Language Lab. Column 3 “Visits” shows the total number of occasions on which lessons in the computers were accessed.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| Year | Days | Visits | Hours |
| 2008-2009 | 82 | 851 | 900 |
| 2009-2010 | 156 | 1403 | 1040 |
| 2010-2011 | 146 | 1535 | 1409 |
| Total | 384 | 3789 | 3349 |
Note: In addition to this two teachers of the Department of English used the programme for 200 hours.
2. Month-wise details of computer use for all years
| 2008-2009 | 2009-2010 | 2010-2011 | ||||
| Month | Days | Visits | Days | Visits | Days | Visits |
| June | – | – | 11 | 117 | 20 | 275 |
| July | – | – | 21 | 210 | 20 | 407 |
| August | – | – | 17 | 171 | 14 | 132 |
| September | – | – | 11 | 109 | 15 | 130 |
| October | 11 | 123 | 15 | 260 | 13 | 162 |
| November | 19 | 211 | 18 | 186 | 15 | 204 |
| December | 14 | 165 | 12 | 66 | 11 | 90 |
| January | 10 | 126 | 15 | 70 | 11 | 45 |
| February | 12 | 60 | 14 | 67 | 9 | 52 |
| March | 16 | 84 | 22 | 147 | 18 | 45 |
| Total | 82 | 851 | 156 | 1403 | 146 | 1542 |
3. Tables showing details of participation for 2009-2010 and 2010-2011
| 2009-2010 | 2010-2011 | |||
| Category | No | Total | No | Total |
| Drop-outs | 56 | 106 | 260 | 302 |
| Visitors | 13 | 14 | ||
| Occasional Users | 15 | 10 | ||
| Regulars | 9 | 18 | ||
| Unclassifiable | 13 | – | – | |
| Repeaters (from last year) | 23 | 21 | ||
| Newcomers | 70 | 21 | ||
| Total | 106 | 42 | ||
Note: The total shown for 2010-2011, unlike for 2009-2010, is only of those who did not drop out.
Note 1:
Students from the following departments participated: Commerce, Economics, English, History, Mathematics, Industrial Microbiology and Physics.
Students from the following departments joined but dropped out: Botany, Chemistry, Home Science, Hindi, Philosophy and Psychology. No student from the Departments of Malayalam or Zoology joined.
Note 2:
Apart from curious individuals who have dropped in to see what the programme entails, four institutional visits have been made to the Lab. Teachers from the Asian School of Business, Trivandrum, and teachers and students from The Sainik School, Kazhakkoottam, the Government College for Teacher Education, Thiruvananthapuram and the Government Town UPS, Killimanoor visited the Lab and familiarised themselves with the programme.
Acknowledgments
A programme of this nature and magnitude could be implemented only with the help of various people. This teacher would like to acknowledge the contribution of the following people:
Dr Hema, for her vision in taking the initial steps to set up the Language Lab; Dr Ganga Devi, for her energy and attention to detail while planning the Lab; and Dr Kamini for her help in unravelling the bureaucratic tangles in which the commissioning of the Lab threatened to get caught. The service of the College office is remembered with warmth.
The three Principals whose support helped in the carrying out of the programme merit thanks. They are Dr Radha, Prof Lalitha and Prof Annammma Jacob.
A huge debt of gratitude is owed to those who provided help with technical matters. They are Prof Unnikrishna Panickar, Dr Harish P and Mr Amar Vijaykumar.
Immense support was given by friends and former students who loaned teaching material that was not available in India. They will be unnamed but not unremembered.
Inputs and the support of Prof Khyrunnisa A were invaluable.
For inspiration, thanks are due to the late Prof K.K. Neelakantan, Prof B. Hrdayakumari, and Prof E. Sreedharan.
The enthusiasm of Ms P.C. Celine and Dr Anitha Dhamayanthi, teachers of the English Department, in accessing the most advanced of the materials systematically convinced this teacher of the utility and quality of the programme. Thank you very much.
The support of the College PTA in providing timely computer service is acknowledged. Special thanks are due to Ms Dharmaja, Ms Suma, Ms Sheeba and Ms Sheji.
Above all, this teacher is grateful to the intellectually curious students of the Government College for Women for their support.
Appendix 3
List of students who earned credit points from the mentor for regularity, commitment, degree of improvement, use of high quality material or a combination of these.
| Sl no | Name | Subject | Period |
| 1 | Ananthalakshmi R | B Com | 2010-2011 |
| 2 | Ashwala L | M Sc Home Science | 2009-2010 |
| 3 | Athira P S | B A English | 2008-2011 |
| 4 | Archana G S | B A English | 2008-2011 |
| 5 | Arya M S | B Sc Physics | 2010-2011 |
| 6 | Aswathy G L | B A English | 2010-2011 |
| 7 | Devi Bhagavathy | Industrial Microbiology | 2010-2011 |
| 8 | Geethu G L | B A English | 2008-2011 |
| 9 | Jiji S S | B A English | 2008-2011 |
| 10 | Lekshmi Prakash | B A English | 2008-2011 |
| 11 | Monika N D | B A Economics | 2009-2011 |
| 12 | Nandini Pradeep J | B A English | 2008-2011 |
| 13 | Nazia R Hassan | B A English and M A English | 2008-2011 |
| 14 | Nasnin S | B A English and M A English | 2008-2011 |
| 15 | Neena Gopi | B A English | 2008-2011 |
| 16 | Nidhila | B A English | 2008-2010 |
| 17 | Nisha N D | B Sc Mathematics | 2008-2010 |
| 18 | Niranjana Nair P | B A English | 2008-2011 |
| 19 | Praveena P | B Sc Industrial Microbiology | 2010-2011 |
| 20 | Priya G G | M A English | 2009-2010 |
| 21 | Ramya G | B Sc Physics | 2010-2011 |
| 22 | Rinku Winston | B A English | 2008-2011 |
| 23 | Sajitha Raj | B A English | 2008-2011 |
| 24 | Shanthipriya B | M Sc Mathematics | 2010-2011 |
| 25 | Shradha S | B Sc Industrial Microbiology | 2009-2011 |
| 26 | Soumya Vasudevan | M A Economics | 2008-2010 |
| 27 | Surina Mol R | B A English | 2008-2010 |
| 28 | Sreeja R R | B Sc Industrial Microbiology | 2010-2011 |
| 29 | Vidhya S | B A English | 2008-2011 |
| 30 | Vinaya | B A Economics | 2009-2011 |
Note: Three of these students studied in the CBSE stream; 3 in ISC and 24 in the State stream.
P. Vijaya Kumar / PVK
profpvk@gmail.com
Thank you. Nandri. Namaskaram.
PVK 07/June/2026
PVK's Book mark 