How To: English, Importance and Improvement

Over the last few years, the percentage of candidates with convent education and English medium background has increased significantly in comparison to those from vernacular medium or Hindi belt candidates. The competency in the English language has become the single most factor in selection or elimination of the aspirant.

The prominence of the English can be gauged from the fact that in the brief era of CSAT, the exam had literally turned into an English language paper. The prelims could be cleared riding on the back of CSAT. The efficacy in CSAT depended on speed and grasping ability of English reading. The mains was entirely about expression i.e. English writing. And Interview became a test of fluency and precision in English speaking.

However, some sanity prevailed in certain quarters and CSAT was cut to its size leaving many of those CSAT riders stumped in the previous year's prelims examination. But with the removal of a requirement of multiple optional subjects and added significance of essay paper and ethics paper, Mains has become a major exercise in English writing. Precisely for this reason, a sincere sixth attempt veteran is failing the exam while a first attempt 22-year-old bright girl is bucketing the first rank.

But English reading, writing, and speaking are not to be taken in the literal sense here. In all the three stages, English is necessary to cloth the mass of your content in a proper manner. In reading, it means your ability to read with speed and grasp the crux of the passage. In writing, it refers to identifying the demand of the question and writing to the point in the most simplistic yet sophisticated manner possible. In speaking, it refers to the ability to articulate better.

Today, When I look back, I consider my poor English skills as the prime most reason of my failure. My poor grammar along with my tendency to write in unstructured casual fashion was my biggest drawback in all my attempts. Friends and sympathizer came forward to help but some habits are just incorrigible. Today, I wish I master these skills and redeem my destiny.

Now the big question "how"? I come from Hindi medium background. For me overcoming the barrier of the English was one of the biggest achievement as well as most challenging task over the years. Even today, I try to overcome this English-complex every day. Here is the list of ten things which I did over the years to hone my English skills.

1. Eat, sleep, bath, pee in English.
2. Read Norman Lewis Word power made easy 7 times. You may not be able to finish it for first two or three times. But just keep going. Read it seven times.
3. Read newspaper daily. Read aloud. Keep a pen while reading it. Underline difficult words. To begin with, pick Times Of India.
4. Maintain a register of the difficult word. Whenever a new unknown word comes, do look up in the dictionary. And form a sentence which uses it. Read all the antonyms and synonyms. This needs to be done with a certain level of obsession.
5. Listen to English music and watch English movies with subtitle. Sing fast English songs. It'll help in adjusting your tongue to English words and sentences.
6. Speak as much as possible. You may not be able to utter a single word initially. You may speak in broken English. People may laugh at you. But it's OK.
7. Read novels. Begin with short stories. Read easy. Read slow. Grasp the Language. I started with Parry Mason. Then moved to Dan Brown. Later I switched to Sherlock Holmes in the initial few years.
8. Try to describe your surroundings in English. Talk to yourself in English.
9. Get a girlfriend. She will force you to speak and type in English. I have seen people making a significant improvement in short time frame. But it has its usual downside as well.
10. Have patience. It is not a one-day affair. It takes at least two years to go from 0 to 25. Later, one can pace up fast.

There is only one answer to this "practice practice practice".
For reading, read novels, read newspapers and magazine in a timed manner.
For writing, write as much as you can. Start randomly. The structure will come on your own.
For speaking, speak. Speak standing in front of a mirror.

English is our gate pass to the world. It is the single most wonderful thing that can happen to anyone. It opens you to world and the world to you. So work on it. Not for the sake of UPSC or lesser goals of life. Instead, learn it to realize your destiny.