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British Council sets up language school - 12-Feb-2010

Kolkata: The English Teaching Centre, as the language school has been christened, is coming up on one floor of Mahadevi Birla Girls HS School on Darga Road.

The decision to set up the school away from its library and administrative office was taken keeping in mind the demand for English language courses in Kolkata. “We are doing it differently here, on a much bigger scale. There’s a huge demand for such courses here. If this experiment of an offsite campus proves successful, it may be replicated elsewhere,” explained Sujata Sen, director, British Council (East).

There will be a plethora of courses to suit the needs of different categories of people. English Evolution, for example, is a set of courses for learners who wish to develop an overall grasp of the language. It will also come in handy for those who wish to improve skills they have already acquired. On the other hand, English executive incorporates the demands of a professional environment and is for working executives. English Impact is for learners who wish to improve verbal fluency while facing an interview, group discussions and public appearances.

Each course will be available in seven-week capsules. One moves from one level of proficiency to another only after completing the necessary number of classes or lecture hours. At the end of every capsule, one gets a certificate according to his performance. However, completing a capsule does not necessarily mean that the learner has moved up a notch in his proficiency level.

“For most learners, moving from pre-intermediate to intermediate level would mean completing three capsules of seven weeks each. We have extremely stringent appraisal norms, so that each student coming out of our language school has a proficiency level that is above par,” said Kristian Dines, academic manager of the teaching centre in Kolkata.

Dines has come from the UK to help set up the centre here and was also instrumental in training the nine permanent teachers of the language school.

However, no one can simply walk in and register. Each aspirant has to take a test where his proficiency level is examined . This, coupled with his specific needs, would help the Council place a learner at a certain level in a particular course. The tests are presently being conducted and will go on till March 6. The first term will start from March 8 and will continue till the end of April.

“The purpose of the language school is to help people learn and use English deftly. We have hence kept the tuition fees as reasonable as possible despite the fact that the Council had to spend heavily on infrastructure. Learners have to pay between Rs 7,000-Rs 8,100 for each seven-week capsule, which includes course material and a library membership,” said Sen.

The infrastructure is being readied by the Council following international specifications drawn up by its UK headquarters. As a matter of policy, English Teaching Centres are globally being set up by the Council and right from the furniture to the teaching tools and course materials follow a uniform standard. The Kolkata centre will come up along with such schools in Delhi and Chennai.