Sri Sarada Niketan College Kolu Celebrations -2012

SelvaRani Selvam -Home Navarathri Kolu 2012 at Karaikudi.

Commerce&&Business Exhibitions.

Maths Exhibition

Tamil Exhibition-some pics.

Environmental awareness Exhibition

Bio Chemistry Exhibition --some pictures

Learning and Teaching English.

ENGLISH: LEARNING AND TEACHING

DR.M.SELVAM,

Prof. of International Business & Commerce & Dean of Management Studies

Alagappa University.

E-mail ID: seldrvam2004@yahoo.co.in; marudhamselvam@gmail.com.

Mobile: 0091 9486671606.

I recollect one of my professors at Annamalai University told in a Conference that it was sufficient to teach the present generation, just 3 subjects – Vernacular, English, and Mathematics,  until 5^th Standard.  Yes, until early 1960s the teaching even in rural schools in India was on those lines only. Teachers taught; Pupils learned. Comfortable with language they could grasp most things they read and conversant with numbers they could solve puzzling maths easily. I remember my maternal uncle would test our maths skill.  Without knowledge of algebra, we solved (we were only 8-10 years old, then) problems like: (i) for Re. 3/8, you get 4¹/₈ plantain; For Re 1 how much would you get? The answer is 11. But we got that this way: Re. 3/8+3/8+(2/3 of 3/8) =Re 1. Number of plantains = 4¹/₈ +4¹/₈ + (2/3 of 4¹/₈). We tri-divided 4¹/₈ as: 1³/₈ + 1³/₈ + 1³/₈. So the number of plantains= 4¹/₈ +4¹/₈ + (1³/₈ + 1³/₈) = 8¹/₄+2³/₄ = 11. We got the answer this way only and pretty quick too. (ii) Another problem: To a flock of birds, another bird asked: You, 100 member team – where are you going? One from the flock quipped: we are not a 100 member team. But, We + Our Spouses + Half of Spouses + Half of Half of Our Spouses + You = 100. So, how many were in the flock? After mental work we would tell the answer ‘36’. There are many such mental mathematical problems. Why I tell these; there was widespread quality of education those times, now only islands of quality.

Now, only a fraction of the pupils is comfortable in English. It is no better, pathetically, in the mother tongue as well. Mathematics is an enigma for many, though every language has a subtle Mathematical basis. The regional Language in this part of India, TAMIL, is having a strong mathematical basis. The letters are classified based on the ‘duration of utterance’ (accordingly there are 3 types, the Long durational ones given 2 scores or Maththirai, the Short durational letters given 1 score and those with 0.5 duration score as well) and the depth from which sound waves emanate (from the abdomen, the throat or the nose base), and so on. That is why the ancient Saintly Tamil Lady poet Avvaiyar wrote, ‘Numbers and Letters are akin to Eyes’. That kind of importance is needed to learn a language impeccably and teach the language flawlessly.

I am saddened most students at higher studies do not have the requisite language skills. They cannot be worthy to themselves. Pathetically too, in their mother tongue! Their teachers didn’t/don’t bother, perhaps. Otherwise they could have learned. The very students didn’t/don’t bother too. Then who else would? But the nation is really bothering about. The business houses, the pitiable employers and some concerned teachers/elders are much worried. These pupils are incapable of distinguishing between a teacher who has ability and their diametrically opposite counterparts. Poorly these learners are groping in a dark room on a new-moon night (or light!!) for a black cat that is not there.

A man or woman is illiterate in a group if he/she can’t understand the language of that group. I am illiterate in ‘x-2’ languages, assuming ‘x’ number of languages existing in the world. Yes, I know only Tamil and English. I am illiterate in all other languages, including most of the computer languages too!  I am very, very sad about this. I realize the more the number of languages one knows, the better he is. I am even more saddened looking at those whose ignorance exceeds mine. Hence I write this paper. The first part of the paper is on ‘Language Learning’ and the second part on ‘Language Teaching’.

I.                   ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNING

‘Work is either fun or drudgery. It depends on your attitude. Learning is a pleasure if you love it; it is a pressure if you hate it. Let us love learning. Respect learning (எண் எழுத்து இகழேல்) is the advice by Tamil Poet Grand Lady Avvaiyar. I share my experiences in learning English. 

Learning English Language is a necessity: It’s no luxury if one knows a second language, other than mother tongue. It is a must; it is very much so in a multi-lingual country like India to have a common link language. English as a Second Language is a better choice as it happens to be the world’s business language.

Learn the Second Language as you did the First Language: How do/did we learn our mother tongue? Just like that - Hearing, Understanding, Observing, Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing in that language (without the aid of another language). All without recourse to another language, because that was our first language! In the same way learn the Second Language; without recourse to the Mother tongue. That is, get to situations which facilitate Hearing, Understanding, Observing, Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing in the Second Language. That experiential learning stands tall.

Yearn to enhance vocabulary: A research work by, West, M. (1926). Learning to read a foreign language. London: Longman, Green & Co., says that ‘one unknown word in every fifty words’ is to be the minimum threshold necessary for an adequate comprehension of a text. That is, if a passage of 50 words is given a threshold learning level requires knowing the meaning and usage of as much as 49 words. It is not minimum! It is uphill maximum, perhaps!! Common my dear students! Take a paragraph in a Standard English daily, say ‘The Hindu’. Check your vocabulary. I bet may be, only 1 in 50 would know that 49 out of 50 words. That is the reality. Let us accept. Let us attempt remedy.

There must be a craving for adding to one’s vocabulary. Your parents were happy when you first uttered ‘amma’ or Mom, happier when you said, appa’ or Dad. Further happier when you said, ‘thatha or grandpa’ and so on. Make us, the teachers happy by enhancing your vocabulary. 10 words a day. 3650 words in 365 days. That is enough for ‘survival’.  In 40 months, you have 12,000 words at your command. That much is enough for superior presentation in any forum. Studies by Carroll, Davies and Richman (1971- The American heritage word frequency book. New York: American Heritage. College English Textbooks: A Corpus-based Analysis of Lexical Coverage) reported that the top 2,000 most frequent English words translate into a roughly 80% coverage for a longer text and the 5,000 most frequent words as high as 90%. Accordingly, to gain a lexical coverage of 95%, one needs to know some 12,000 words. That is the benchmark. Where do we stand? Everyone is one’s best judge. Note down the deficit. Make good the deficit.

Mastery over Grammar and Sentence construction: Words are like bricks. Grammar is the mortar.  Sentences are like walls. Paragraphs are rooms. A good article (like this?) or a chapter in a book is a small house. Tamil grammar is supposed to be the most difficult. English grammar is far simpler. Why not learn it. By 8^th standard one must be fairly good in grammar. By 10^th Standard one must be pretty good. By 12^th standard one must be smart. At college level one must excel. At Ph.D level one must be astonishingly superior. Excuses like, ‘English is not my mother tongue; It is a foreign language’; ‘I may be short in few things’, etc are lame. Excuses will only make you excluded; never make you exclusive, or inclusive.

Threshold learning to Superior learning: From threshold learning level, one must climb up to superior learning. A superior learning level at a particular time becomes a threshold level at a later point of time forcing the person to further expand the horizon of learning. There is no end. No finish line. That is Today’s ‘top brass’ knowledge, becomes tomorrow’s ‘brass tacks’ forcing one to take efforts to sport certain level of fresh ‘top brass’ knowledge. There is life-long learning.

Learn the Language the hard way – Poetry to Prose, not the other-way round: I used to wonder at the Works of prescribed for 3^rd Form in the 1910s for Tamil. These were mostly the Works of all great Tamil Poets ranging from Avvaiyar, Kambar, Ottakkoothar, Pugalenthi and so on. I happened to read that book decades ago. You wonder. It is fact. I only refer to the text book prescribed for my father. He and his classmates leant the hard way. Poetry to Prose. That is why we start with ‘Rhymes’ in KGs.

I don’t consider the modern day poetry as depth as the older ones. Pardon me. There is paucity of vocabulary. Take the works of Arunagrinathar in Tamil Literature. The choice of words, the rhythmic nuances, the musical notes, the symphony, etc are simply unparallel. That is why it is said, ‘Vakkukku Arunagiri’, that is ‘Unparallel are Arunagiri’s words’. Yes he is a special lexicon. After reading the verses of Arunagiri I realized my ignorance in Tamil, my mother tongue, is bottomless. Unfathomable is Arunagiri’s command over words and their nuances.

English poetry is joy forever. I often quote, ‘Two roads diverged in a wood, and I took the one less travelled by, And that has made all the difference.’- by Robert Frost, whenever I teach ‘Creativity’ which needs ‘Choosing unchartered waters’. ‘Poetry is the music of the soul, and, above all, of great and feeling souls’. I will be a derelict if I don’t refer to William Shakespeare who is an epitome in English literature. I quote him on the virtue of giving or gifting: ‘The quality of mercy is not strained; It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven; Upon the place beneath; It is twice blessed-- It blesseth him that gives, and him that takes”.

Nuances of Preposition: The prepositions are like link-pins. Their essence is immense. See the two sentences. A father said, ’I want to marry my daughter’; ‘I want to marry off my daughter’.  The ‘off’ makes the right sense here. That is the job of prepositions. There are about 50 common prepositions. One must know the nuance or the subtleties of prepositions.

Extensive Reading gives the courage to write: Extensive reading of great works, magazines and dailies gives us the courage to write. Because as you read the published works of others, at times you might realize, ‘this is what my lines of thinking as well’. That author has been little ahead of you in timing. ‘OK; Now I will try; I will write’. And you write. A writer is now found in yourself. Let him keep writing life-long.

Enhanced Writing: ‘Write – Rewrite - Enhance – Excel’ is the process of good writing. First ‘Write’ along the lines of your first thoughts. ‘Rewrite’ as you gain more insight after reading what you have written. ‘Enhance’ your writing by going for apt words, contexts, contours and configuration. Excel yourself by further elevating your own presentation with authoritative quotes, ‘verbatim’, ‘thus spoke’, ‘point blank’, etc by a thorough reading.

Enlightening Speech: You should become a good speaker as well, know. The process is simple. Listen- Speak – Express- Accent – Modulation - Wit- Reply by Payback. Listen to great orators. Learn. Try speeches. Your maiden speech may not be a great hit. But prepare well. You must ‘Express’ your views short and sweet.  Right ‘Accent’ accelerates your altitudinal ascendance. There is no short cut. Learn by listening and reading phonetics. Voice modulation comes now. This expresses your command and confidence. You, like singer just play. Add ‘wits’ to add liveliness to the environment. Lighter veins always ‘refresh’. Even the laptops need ‘refresh’. Human brains definitely need.  Occasions arise when you have to comment, contradict and so on. Try to ‘Reply by Payback’- that is by the same coins;  that is, the words used by the other person opposing you.

Epoch making presentations: You want your works stand distinct. You can do it. Proliferate your work with appropriate ‘Axioms, Maxims, Clichés, Idioms, Metaphors, Phrases, Quotes, Similes, etc’, as may be needed, keeping in mind the audience or target readers.   

Spice with Greek and Latin Phrases: You know, in my 10^th Standard Algebra & Geometry classes in SRH School Thiruvaiyaru, my great teacher Late ( by effect eternal) Sri  N.Krishnamurthy would write ‘QED’ at the end of Proof and tell, ‘Quod Erat Demonstrandum’. I captured the acronym well, but only faintly its meaning then. I mined the real purport of the Latin Phrase while doing my Ph.D. I got that this is the phrase traditionally placed in its abbreviated form at the end of a proof or argument. But for my great teacher I would not have encountered the phrase and learnt the same. I cherish him. Salute him. This is where a great teacher stands out among good teachers. Similarly when I first noticed, ‘RSVP’ on invitations, from dictionary I got it as, ‘Respondez S'il Vous Plait’, meaning Reply, if You Please. Ab Initio (from the beginning), Raison d'être (Reason for Existence), Quid Pro Quo (something in return), Ceteris paribus (other things being equal), consensus ad idem ( mutual understanding), Magna Carta (Great Charter), Sine Qua Non (indispensable/essential action), etc are Greek and Latin phrases that add spice to the presentation.

Language Learning, On-going: Language Learning is an ongoing process. On-going learning is the sine-qua-non of gaining grip over anything. There is no short-cut to learn language. Spoken English is not a substitute for Written English. Both must be right English. The committed goes on learning. I wish everyone is committed to on-going learning. It makes one a-cut-above-the rest.

II. LANGUAGE TEACHING

If one has learned the knowledge and skills one can transfer the same to others. Otherwise do learn it first. Then attempt the second. Good teaching happens when competent teachers with non-discouraging personality use non-defensive approaches to language teaching and learning. They must cherish their job and their customers- the learners. Of course, learners must have learning on top of their daily agenda.

Competence is the first thing. It is better everyone builds relevant ‘core-competences’. In addition to learning, ‘delivery skills’ are needed. That will come, anyway. Not difficult. Because, you can’t hide what you have. Also you can’t exhibit what you don’t have. Teachers must yearn to be competent. Competing to deliver the best to the students is the quality to be inculcated among the teachers. Their job is more responsible. They have to make their wards smarter than themselves. So competence is first. The competence must come to the fore in the form of rich vocabulary, eloquent grammar, presentation lucidity, etc to enthral the learners.

Non-discouraging personality: Language teachers are loaded with fundamental responsibility. It is through their teaching and training students understand any subject. In fact every teacher must do some language teaching as they teach their subjects. A teacher must be a non-discouraging person. As motivation makes wonders, a good teacher needs to be a great motivator as well. At least not a de-motivator! It does not mean one should not point out mistakes. Personality aspect here is all about ‘how’, not about ‘what’. 

Non-defensive approach: Language teaching requires some forceful and articulated delivery. Language would tell the level of confidence. Defensive approach is patently weak. Perhaps one is not that much fine or confident. There is some wavering, perhaps. That must go off. Self-determined individuals are non-defensive in their behaviour, researchers say. Be self-determined. The synonym of ‘non-defensive’ is not ‘Offensive’, please note.

Cherish the students: Cherish the students; cherish their innovative errors, which can’t be made by the teachers even with great efforts! There is learning for the teachers in these ‘innovative errors’ too. Gently correct their mistakes and the mistakes. That is cherishing the students. The language skills the students are equipped with now will go with them forever. So the sowing must be effective. Tell them that every hard-work and every sweat-drop ultimately convert an ordinary into extra-ordinarily competent person on the earth. Tell them, ‘no one has ever drowned in sweat’. From the sweat cometh the ‘sharp and smart’!

Boost your brain power!!

In a small get-together, all the guests greeted themselves by shaking hands. The number of handshakes exchanged were 36
altogether.Can you guess how many guests were present ?
Answer follows.

Imagine that there are only 4 guests namely A,B,C,D.Okay.Now the exchanges were like this. That is,

A to B,   A to C ,  A to D, 
B to C , B  to D, and  C to D . that is 6 hand shakes.= 3! {FACTORIAL 3 =3*2*1.where * is meant for multiplication.}

If there were ' n ' persons, the number of hand shakes is {n-1}!. i .e ,{n-1}{n-2}..............3.2.1.=Sum of first n-1 natural numbers.
Sum of 1 to n terms=n{n+1}\2

So number of hand shakes={n-1}{n-1+1}\2
                                       ={n-1}n\2  =  36   given.

                                       =n2 -n -72 = 0
                                       ={n-9}{n+8}=0
                                    n   =   9.
  So  9 guests were present.

ELITE

To develop commnication skills and literature knowledge among students of all affiliated colleges of Alagappa University  a two days Inter -Collegiate Seminar, ' English Learning Ignites Triumphant Excellence' '---ELITE  was organised.Delegates delivered lectures on interesting topics , Literature mellows man,Literature - an aesthetic art,Tone up and Tune up skills in English and English for triumphant excellence.

GREATNESS OF WOMEN

Civil Services Exam --ways to success.

Do Neutrinos travel faster than light?

E=MC^2

Albert Einstein's  famous equation of

Mass- Energy :  E = MC2.

The velocity of light, C interrelates, space and time. In 1905,  Albert Einstein postulated that the speed of light with respect to any inertial frame is independent of the motion of the light source and said ‘c’ had relevance outside of the context of light and electromagnetism.

Now a meter is defined as: the distance traveled by light in: 1⁄299,792,458 of a second.

Do Neutrinos travel faster than light?

According to scientists the neutrinos raced from a particle accelerator at CERN outside Geneva, where they were created, to a cavern underneath Gran Sasso in Italy, a distance of about 450 miles, about 60 nanoseconds faster than it would take a light beam. That amounts to a speed greater than light by about 0.0025 percent (2.5 parts in a hundred thousand).

The speed of light is approximately 186,282 miles per second. 

Time for light to travel 450 miles= 450/186282 = 0.002415692337 second.

                                              = .002415692337 X 1000000000= 2415692.337 nano second (ns).

Time taken by Nutrinos to travel 450 miles= 2415632.337, that is 60 ns faster or earlier.

GOD PARTICLE

                                                     God Particle

The Large Hadron Collider is a proton-smashing collider built in a 27-km or 17 mile tunnel  - a long machine created by physicists, where trillions of protons are made to collide with one another at mind-boggling speed in the hope that from the debris of these collisions scientists may spot the elusive particle that would explain the formation of the stars and the planets.

This experiment is guided by the theory associated with the British physicist Peter Higgs who, with five other physicists, proposed in a paper in 1964 that space is permeated by a force field. This invisible field, a kind of “cosmic molasses,” coats other particles when they pass through it and gives them the mass that allows them to combine into bigger forms of matter. You can’t see the molasses, but it should be possible to establish its presence by the traces it leaves behind. The Higgs boson is its manifestation, but even this eludes observation.

Six thousand physicists who were involved in this amazing experiment hailed the discovery of the Higgs boson, or what looked like it, as a milestone in the quest to understand nature.

Some solved model questions for basic numeracy for CSAT Examor CSAT Examor CSAT Exam.am

Basic numerical skills  or quantitative aptitude is essential for every individual who aspires to become an administrator by coming out successful  in Civil Services Exam..Some model problems are given below.

Quest. No(1)

The price of petrol increases from Rs.70 to Rs75 per litre.By  what percentage a person can decrease the  consumption of petrol so that his overall budget does not change ?
5x100 /70 = 7.14 %
 Let the Priceof petrol be Rs x per litre.
Let the cosumtion be y.
Then,
Total expenditure = Rs. xy. per month.
Increased  price= Rs1.0714x. per litre.
consumption = xy/1.10714x = 0.933y
Decreased  consumption of petrol to tally his overall  budget= 1-0.933=0.067=6.7%.

An easy method to solve..
Imagine a person consumes 30 liters petrol per month.
Then expenditure=Rs.30x70.=2100.
Present  expenditure after hike=Rs.30x75=2250 .
Decreased consumtion to tally the budget=2lit=6.7%

Suggetions for IAS,IPS&other Civil Services Career aspirants.

* Aspirants must develop their lingual ability to do well in the CSAT and also in the Main examination and in the Personality test.

          *Aspirants must develop their numerical ability and problem solving skills to do well in CSAT.
            Candidates must practice to solve many puzzles in Mathematics. By writing model  tests in a simulated
             environment, this skill can be developed.
          *  Aspirants must develop special  reading habits. Extensive reading of multiple news papers and                  magazines  is to be cultivated.
         *Aspirants must take interest in general studies &current affairs right from school -college studies so that   general knowledge is gained as a routine.
         *Candidates must make complete and thorough coverage of syllabus, with additional stress on important topics.
         *At the examination ,judicious  allocation of time over the number of questions to be answered is a must.
         *Candidates should not leave hope, even if the success does not turn up in the first one or two  attempts.Experience gained from the earlier attempts can be used to one's advantage in the next attempt.   
          *Besides one should choose quality coaching institute.
           *Engineering graduates in large number can come forward to take up the exam as their success rate is higher than that of other students.
           *Candidates must  capitalize on educational achievements of their family members.
           *Hard work, methodical preparation ,perseverance, etc are needed. Above all, a great degree of commitment and achievement motivation is a pre- requisite for success in the Civil Services Examination.
         

Civil Services Examination-- A View.

Blooming Flowers from our garden.

The spectacular sight of the flowers and their fragrance fascinate everyone.I used to click those beautiful blooming buds in  my camera, when they blossom in our garden.

One poet says,, ' What is this life if full of care,

We have no time to stand and stare.''   To.spend some time to admire nature gives relaxation....True!...

When we look at nature's wonder , our heart is filled  with joy and our mind is peaceful. Each and every petal speak volumes of infinite charm!!

15th College Day Celebrations.

 'Formal education will make you a living Self education will make you a fortune',. The moment of pride in getting Champion Awards.

Some tourist spots.

Madurai Meenakshi Temple forms the heart of the 2500 year old temple city Madurai It was nominated for world wonder.    Madurai is the true representation of the cultural ethos of India .During Navarathri festival, 'KOLU' formation in the temple is amazing.

Vaigai dam in Theni District provides water for irrigation for Madurai .

Also it is one of the famous tourist destinations of Tamil Nadu.

Vaigai dam in Theni District provides water for irrigation for Madurai .

Also it is one of the famous tourist destinations of Tamil Nadu.

Madurai is the true representation of the cultural ethos of India .During Navarathri festival, 'KOLU' formation in the temple is amazing.

Marudamalai  Temple, one of the abodes of Lord Muruga is located 15 KM west of Coimbatore ' &.situated in the high land of Western Ghats.