Drill emphasis is Language learning!

The modern-day fiction The Centre by Aysha Manazir Siddique emphasizes the drill technique to make sure the learning of any language in the world, which in this world of seems like a magical realism because we have innovated many new ways and means of teaching any foreign language ranging from psychological to social ones. The novel may exhibit many other themes like cultural context, romance and the heinous dimension of human life which at times looks more like cannibalism and of attempting to create a brand new cult based on language learning where people may join for learning languages but were convinced to be loyal and very few of them are tempted to join and become a part and part of the larger than life scheme of surviving forever young by making the people surrender to them physically. But the fictionalized technique of learning languages is equally the center of the story.  This fictionalized technique in the novel is however a little different even after being a drill for learning. In the novel, the institution ‘The Centre’ is a secretive place shared by only those who are proven die-hard supporters. The center gives admission at a very high cost and is situated in a secretive place which is not mostly visited by all and sundry. In the centre, the candidates are provided with all kinds of lodging, dining, and sitting facilities in the best possible manner. The candidates learn language while they listen to the recorded stories of the teachers. The learner is required to take fully concentrated lessons of three hours with headphones on the head and nothing to disturb him. There learners spend a maximum of three months and if they are sharp and intelligent, they spend just 15 days to become fully versed in speaking, listening and using that language for communication purposes. The basic technique therefore is drill of listening, be it Russian, Japanese, Urdu or any other, the learners do the drilling and become well versed in any language. 

In the story, the male and female protagonist both become experts of multiple languages by attending this institution. Though apparently it seems implausible because the drill technique is considered old, drab, and boring. But it is a fact that this technique of drills has been successfully implemented. In China, for example, many schools of English language teaching used the technique of gathering the large of number of people in a big hall and the instructor made them drill the words, phrases, and short sentences that can be used to simple conversation of messages. Many teachers practiced the drill method in the schools without teaching facilities like that of A/V Aids. This has been practiced by many teachers in other subjects also like tables, counting and remembering terms. This may sound not so modern but it is exactly as per the nature of human beings. They learn many things when these are repeated multiple times. 

Two famous theories have supported this theory as well under the umbrella of mentalism and behaviorism. The mentalists, like Noam Chomsky, believe that each human being is equipped with some natural software in the minds of humans which is triggered as soon as some linguistic patterns come across and if it is repeated, the mind absorbs it and uses it for upcoming any chance of communication. The behaviorists, who may not believe in the existence of LAD in human mind think that humans absorb language because of the habitual behavior or if they constantly undergo such happenings which may be repeated over time, so, as such language is learned. This is also true in the sense that if a language is drilled, I mean spoken, among the people, humans tend to forget such languages and instead begin learning and adopting other languages.   

Over time many new ways of teaching language skills have been introduced and some of these are working well. For example, Task Based Learning helps increase learner’s language competence. Similarly, Total Physical Response theory employs physical techniques to help learners acquire language and hence it is more enjoyable and less stressful. Then, is the Communicative Approach and Natural Approach helps increase the communicative aspect of language in real life situations, which is done all in natural way. Another way of learning a foreign language is an audio-lingual method which is based on behaviorist psychology that employs repetition and reinforcement via activities of drilling, dialogues, and pattern practices.

So, at the end of the day, if we analyze all the methods of teaching, learning and acquiring foreign and second language learning, human faculties of absorbing language are utilized at the base. So, the method told in the novel, The Centre, may be fictional but is workable for acquiring any language and can be practiced as a method of teaching language non-formally and may be made even affordable by improving its functioning and feasibility. Who says today’s fictional science of teaching may become a reality like many other concepts of science fiction introduced by imaginative writers.

Rising Pollution and Population!

The recent ban on opening of schools and colleges and advising them to conduct education online proves that we are always ready to shut down anything which can be problematic for us. But this is not the solution of the problem because there are multiple reasons and multiple issues related to this. Not only the businesses shut down but also the people get sick and ill because of the harmful effects of this fog or smog. And, therefore, it needs to be discussed and debated at a very large level so that multiple solutions could be found and the debate me give the solution about the rising issues relevant to this. For example, when a business is closed not only the business owner suffers the laws but also the people who are associated with that business, they also suffer losses. Therefore, it is the need of the hour that we should reach the root cause or some root causes of this smog so that we may be able to find some curable workable and liable solutions.

Multiple reasons are being quoted by the government authorities as well as by the experts of this type of weather condition, but no one is paying any attention to the rising population of Pakistan. The graph of the population with respect to the sources has long been adversely or indirectly proportional to each other. Which means that the sources are depleting, and the population is increasing very speedily and as a result and consequently we need to put more effort we need to burn more fossil fuel, and we need to arrange extra ordinary food for such a large volume of population. This rising level of population does have its impact in the rising of temperature of the Earth as well as inviting suffocating air in the shape of Smog in major cities of the world. Imagine the number of young people who are born and become members of the society. All these people need more and more motorbikes as well as the motorcars and if they don’t possess any of such things they need more buses to travel on the roads and consequently there is more of the exhaust of harmful gases into the environment because of rising population of young people and consequently rising number of vehicles by such people. It means more the number of vehicles on the roads the more is the Content which converts this fog into smog and harmful effects of all these things. Imagine if we had made a concerted efforts in order to control our population we may need for lesser number of these vehicles and the use of fossil fuel and the environment would definitely be not only less hot in temperature but also very little contribution into making it worse. 

The time has come that stringent or strict measures must be taken in order to get rid of or reduce the impact of this poisonous smog. If the number of vehicles on the roads in the major cities can be controlled or can be rationed it will be possible to reduce the smoke in the environment by 50% like the city of Singapore who have a band the entry of motorcars for at least two days into the city roads. Consequently, they were able to keep their city as clean as possible. The the same maybe practiced in Pakistan not only by rationing the use of fossil fuel but also by converting all the motorbikes and rickshaws on battery operated Electric vehicles because that has proven to be the best way of preventing the occurrence of such phenomenon as that of smog. Not only does the city government must arrange buses to run on electricity and they should carry maximum number of computers to and from their workplaces that can result into production of polluted Content in the air.

Besides these mayors we need to introduce some plans for the control of population it is. It is said that either the population should be controlled or some measures to increase the available resources. Now in Pakistan, we may not be able to increase the resources. The sole solution is that we may be trying to reduce our population or at least attempting to control it because it is the only way through which number of environmental financial social and health issues can be cured. The need of the hour is also to plant as many trees as possible because plantation is the best way to reduce this carbon effect in our environment. But the plantation of trees must not be restricted to educational institutions only. We may look where the trees are needed to be planted and water can be easily supplied to these to maintain their health and proper functioning. This can be very useful if all the country is dotted with the presence of trees as it would help us reduce or control this pollution up to some extent. To give a better future to our next coming generations, we need to work on the rising temperatures pollution and especially the rising population. When we all join hands in not only doing preventive measures but also introducing revolutionary and innovative ways and means to control this rising poison in the air, we will be able to provide our next coming generations with a better future and be a better environment.

Book Review: The Centre by Aysha Manazar Siddiqui

 

21^st century cannibalism

There used to be movies and fictional tales about human flesh Eaters in the past. Many of them were about interaction between the Whiteman of Europe and the African tribes to show dexterity and prowess of the Whiteman. The tales mostly reflected the Whiteman being caught and tied near a fire cauldron where he was to be boiled and eaten or he was tied above burning wood to be roasted and eaten. The savage tribe along with their leader danced and raised strange voices to show their happiness. Sometime a white woman was also included. But all these movies had one sure outcome that the savages could never eat the victim who was saved right at the nick of time. Besides these fictional tales, occasional news about human flesh Eaters occurred and died. A few movies were also developed about civilized humans eating the flesh of their dead fellows when they were lost in an unknown part of the world because of a plane crash or ship crash. But this practice was never found or reported.

The recently published novel ‘The Centre’, y Aysha Manazar Siddiqui looks like an extension of all the fictional tales in the sense that humans eat the flesh of their fellows in an organized and well-planned way. And the beauty of the whole system is that the organization secures the consent of the body while alive. The author has very intelligently interwoven the subjects of language learning, the intercultural marriages, and the life of women migrants living as Diaspora in advanced civilizations of the world. The Centre is the central place where all subjects link up together. The Centre is the name of a beautifully constructed old building from outside yet from its inside it is converted into a hostel type of building where not only the classes of teaching English are held but also other activities go on. This is a secret place, and no one knows about it because the agreement is signed between the people who come to visit this place and live and work here, but no one tells the secret outside every member who joins this building or center is supposed to tell the secret to only one trusted person and that also after the confirmation that the secret would not be out. The visitors are required also to stay inside the building for at least three months to master the skills of language taught there. Apparently, all these people get involved only in learning the language. However, it is seen that among these members some are superior members, belonging to India, America and England. They are very rich people and are also very healthy and strong. They meet each other after intervals and when they meet, they have parties of human flesh eating.  These are the humans who have been convinced that instead of their bodies being wasted on the earth they should allow that their bodies may be eaten up by the surviving members of the center. The same keeps on happening but very soon Anisa, one of the aspiring members, enters the building to learn languages. She is introduced by her friend, Adam, who was himself expert of so many languages. She enters there to learn different languages like German so that she can improve her profession of translation of different novels and movies and earn more money but with the passage of time she finds out that there are other activities also going on especially at the time when she was able to enter into a frozen hall by chance because she developed friendship with another member of the center who was in the administration of the Centre. Very soon Anisa found that the human beings were being eaten up especially one of the kind old lady the maidservant of the center disappeared all of a sudden and her body was somehow found out by Anisa. Apparently, she became so upset and underwent counseling sessions. Therefore one of the members, Shiba, takes her in her confidence and shares numbers of things with her and they talk a lot and ultimately become friends. They visit India and Anisa lives with her for a long time and there in India she discovers that there are so many people included in this organization, and they tell the benefits of eating human flesh and that the proof is a very useful, spiritually and physically and socially as well. Instead of handing over their loved ones to the earth and wasting their bodies they thought it better that they would become the source of nourishment of the survivors. Although it was very horrible, Anisa still agreed to listen to these details and at a point she became convinced also to become the member but however ultimately, she left the whole system and constructed a new world for herself.

Of course, this is possible only in the fictional world, this may not exist at all. However, at the symbolic level the novel can be taken as a kind of description of the social political and psychological cannibalism of the capitalistic system because it has happened number of times that the people get killed if not physically, at least, mentally or psychologically or socially. They lose their lives because of the system they are forced to do the things which they would not do if they were free. Similarly, the control of the capitalistic system over the thinking or the minds of the people kills them psychologically or people get killed financially when they lose their hard-earned money, and all sources accumulated throughout their life. At such a time the physical death may not be that important but the psychological and social death becomes more important. So, it is right to say that this tale is apparently about the eating of the flesh of humans in a systematic way, but it is also a tale of the human beings suffering at the hands of capitalistic system and dying or being eaten up by this system psychologically socially, physically and mentally.