[ELTWeekly Volume 6, Issue 12 | May 12, 2014 | ISSN 0975-3036]
This paper is written and submitted by Dr. Anand Mahanand, EFL University, Hyderabad.
Abstract
We understand folklore as wisdom of people transmitted from generation to generation. They are a repertoire of traditional knowledge and wisdom. They include songs, tales, chants, proverbs and riddles and so on. We can get information and knowledge about medicines, skills, culture, rituals and other historical facts from folklore. Many forms of folklore such as tales, songs, riddles, proverbs, chants and so on have been playing a significant role in educating people since time immemorial. Among these forms, songs, stories and proverbs perform pedagogic role more than other forms do. The pedagogical role of stories and songs has been discussed elsewhere. Therefore, in this paper I will focus on the role of proverbs in teaching English. I have used proverbs from both from Eastern and Western parts of Odisha situated in Eastern India.
Before that, let us consider a few definitions of proverbs. A proverb is defined as “short , pregnant criticism of life based upon common experience.” Shipley 19970: 258). As the definition says proverbs are drawn from experience. Though they are short, they can convey a world of meaning. (Mc Arthur 1998:474) defines proverbs as “short traditional saying of a didactic or advisory nature in which a generation is given a specific often metaphorical expression” It is also defined as “ a short, pithy, popular saying, long in use, embodying some familiar truth, practical precept, or usual thought in expressive and often picturesque language.” Kuskovskaya defines them as “short sentences expressing a well known truth or a common fact familiar to experience.” (Kuskovskaya 1978: 3). The paper reports how learners draw resources from their local knowledge reservoir when we use proverbs using multilingual approach to teach English.
Key words: folklore, multilingual contexts, proverbs, pedagogy, traditional knowledge
I.Proverbs and pedagogy:
Proverbs are known by different names. They are also called wisdom literature, “adage”, ”maxim,” “aphorism,” “truism,” “precept,” “ apothegm,” “axiom”, and “dictum.” Each of them has similar connotation as proverb and each of them refers to knowledge.
Proverbs have been performing the role of disseminating knowledge to people since time immemorial. There are many proverbs that instruct people the rules and time of cultivation, how to remain healthy, sane and happy. Many of them give hints as to how to cultivate good crops. For instance the following proverb tells how to yield good quality brinjals in large quantity.
Ath Kuda sohala bihuda
Baigan phale muda muda
If you plough the field eight times ( many times) before planting the brinjal seed and loosen the field for sixteen times, then it will yield a lot.
Proverbs also teach us general rule of nature . For instance, they tell us what should we do and when there are no indication of rain.
Sravana Masara adya chauthi
Chariadu jadi megha na ghoti
Dakshina digaru bahai baa
Bhuga tupa dhari bidesha jaa
It means if there are no clouds seen in the sky on the first Chaturthi of Sravan month and if there is wind blowing from the South, take it that there will be no rain during that year. So don’t depend on agriculture, but migrate to some other place and look for work elsewhere.
We have numerous proverbs that educate people on health and medicine. For instance the following proverb tells us what precaution one has to take to avoid illness( e.g.sunstroke):
Mude pagdi pade tel
Baid sange karbu gel
If you put on a turban on your head and apply oil on your sole, you need not worry about any Vaid or doctor. Certain proverbs also tell us about food habit; how many times a healthy person should eat:
Ek bel khae jugi
Duibel khae bhogi
Teen bel khae Bania Bahman
Chaer bel khae rogi
The proverb means a yogi eats once, a man of luxury eats twice, the Bania and Brahman eat three times and a sick person eats four times. Another proverb tells us about what should we do after taking food.
Certain proverbs also warn people against certain diseases like T.B. which causes a lot of cough:
Gaon bahara basa
Khun khun kasa
Ehanku naikarba asha
If you have a house at the outskirt of the village and if someone has dry dry cough, then you should not have high hopes. You should be extra careful in such cases.
Khaiba Pita, Gaiba Gita
Tebese hoiba jagatajita
If one takes bitter food and reads the Gita
He/she will conquer the world
Apart from all these practical aspects of like, proverb teach morals and values
The popular proverb teaches us not to be arrogant about our young age and not to condemn the aged as we will also become aged one day:
Tal barda khasuschhe,
Upar barda hasuchhe
Rah rah re upar barda tor din kaal asuchhe
The lower leaf of the palm tree has become old and is about to fall down
The upper leaf which is younger laughs at him
The lower leaf says, “ Wait , wait you upper leaf
Your time has been coming.”
Here when the young palm leaf laughs at the older one, the latter reminds him to wait and see as his own time is also approaching and he will also meet the same fate. The following proverb tells us what makes a good home a heaven:
Baikuntha samana aha ate sei ghara
Paraspara sneha jahin thae nirantara.
The house where there is love and understanding among one another is like a heaven. It teaches us to have these attributes.
II.Why Proverbs in English language teaching?
These are only a few examples of how proverb teach people and communities. Now let us discuss what role can it play in the field of English language teaching. First let us consider the rationale behind using proverbs in the English classroom. Proverbs as we have noted earlier are rooted in the culture of the people. It is the wisdom tried and tested by many generations. That’s the reason why it is called wisdom literature. Since they come from the learners’ environment, learners understand them better as they are somewhat familiar with the context and meaning.
Proverbs are also packed with meaning. They can be decoded and interpreted in different ways. They have the potential s for different tasks decoding, interpretation, translation and so on. They are also suitable for thought formation and critical thinking. The can be used well for exhibition of language skills through a variety of exercises. Finally, as a body of wisdom literature, they can teach values and moral education.
III.Selection Criteria
Selecting proverbs for learners is not an easy task. There are different kinds of proverbs. Some are exclusively meant for adults. Some are linguistically difficult, others are contextually difficult. One has to select proverbs which will be suitable for children’s interest age group and easy to comprehend both linguistically and contextually. Proverbs meant for school children should not only be interesting but also be educative. There are certain proverbs already available in their first language syllabus. They could be utilized as the learners are already familiar with them and it will be easier for them to translate them into English and also transfer the meta-linguistic abilities. Some example of them could be:
1.Phampa maathiara sabada beshi
Empty vessel makes a lot of noise
2.Alpa vidya bhayankari
A Little learning is a dangerous thing
3.Gharjila megha barshe nain. Bhokila kukura kamude nahin
A barking dog hardly bites.
4.Tulasi dui pataru base
Morning shows the day
5.Ekata hin bala
Unity is strength
Some proverbs are musically beautiful and rhyming. We should consider all these aspects while choosing them.
IV.How to use proverbs in a multilingual class room?
Using proverbs in a multi lingual classroom requires adequate planning and imagination. It is more different from using English proverbs.
We can give different kinds of tasks for this purpose. Some of them are given below:
- Interpret and Explain
The teacher asks a student to tell a proverb in his/her first language. Asks another student to translate it into English and asks the class to interpret the proverb in English.
- Find the English equivalence of the proverb
The teacher asks a group of students to tell a proverb each in their first language then asks another group to supply the English equivalence of the ones given by the first group.
- Match the part one with part two
- Where there is a will a. is golden.
- Silence b.there is a way.
- Birds of same feather c.is not gold.
- All that glitter d. flock together.
- Prevention is e. better than cure.
- Fill in the blanks.
- All is well____________
- To err is human, to ___________
- It is no use crying over__________
- It is better to give than to _______
- Haste makes__________.
- Faith will Move the ________.
- Find a story for your proverb.
The teacher divides the class into two groups. Each one in the group tells a proverb in the their first language. Then translates it into English with the teacher’s help and writes on the black board. Each one writes the proverb in their note book and find a story to explain the proverb. Each one tells a story to the class to explain the proverb. For instance for the proverb “ Truth always triumphs” one can tell the story of King Harischandra. For “ Unity is Strength” they can tell the story of the old man and his five sons.
V.Conclusion
Many feel that there is a threat to our local languages and culture with the advent of globalization and with the intrusion of English. For instance, Robert Phillipson calls it a killer language. Some scholars including Alastair Pennycook are concerned with the role of English in the globalized contexts. Tove Skutnabb-Kangas argues for linguistic human rights and mother tongue education. On the other hand, in India, scholars and activitists like Kancha Illaiah, Chandrabhan Prasad, Meena Kandaswamy argue for English language education for the deprived children. When we cannot resist English as it is needed for empowerment and for inclusive growth, we also need to be aware of the concerns highlighted by the scholars who have pointed out the potential threat of English and also the merits of using mother tongue. Hence, we need to integrate the teaching of English to our local languages and traditions. This will help our local languages to survive. The National Curriculum Framework (2005) also asks for it. Needless to say, this will facilitate better learning of English. Infact, the author tried out using local proverbs to teach English in a High School in Balangir district of Odisha. Students recollected proverbs and stories from their environment and engaged in group activities and writing. They also used proverbs and stories they had learned in their L1 text books. They were motivated and very happy that proverbs and stories from own culture are discussed in the classroom. It is need of the hour to utilize proverbs and other folk materials to teach English in multilingual contexts like ours.
References
Dash, Sabeshwar. (1985). Prabada O Prabachana Sankalana (An Anthology of Folk Sayings and Proverbs) Cuttack: Grantha Mandir.
Kuskovskaya, S (1987). English Proverbs and Sayings. Minsk: Vysheushaya Shkola Publishers.
Saraswathi, V. Ed. (2004). Idioms and Proverbs. Chennai: Emerald Publishers.
Shipley, Joseph. (1970). Dictionary of World Literary Terms. London: George Allen & Unwin Ltd.
Phillipson, R and Skutnabb-Kangas, T. (1996). English only world inside or language ecology? TESOL Quarterly 30(3) 429-452.
The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Proverbs. 1982. Third Edition1998. Oxford: OUP.
About the Author
Dr Anand Mahanand has been on the faculty of English at the English and Foreign Languages University, Hyderabad for more than fifteen years. His areas of interest include English for Academic Purposes, Language through Literature and English in Multilingual (Indigenous) Contexts. He has conducted and supervised research projects and published books, materials and research papers in these areas. He has been working in the area of using local resources for English language education. He has prepared text books using riddles, folksongs, folktales and proverbs to teach English. His major publications include Study Skill in English (co-authored), Tribal Folktales from Orissa (2009), English through Folktales (2011),Representations of Tribal India in Fiction (2011),Real English (co-authored 2010) , English for Academic and Professional Skills (2012) and Riddles for the Classroom (2014)