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About me



I'm Lakshminarayanan, K R, a teacher, learner and writer.

I was born in Chingleput, a town south of Chennai on 2 October 1942 to Mr K Ranga Rao and Mrs K R Kamalamma. I had my elementary education in Thelugu (state language of Andhra Pradesh, a Southern State in India) and Thamizh (spelt generally as Tamil) (state language of Thamizh Nadu, another Souther State in India). My high school education continued in Thamizh until I joined Madras Christian College, Tambaram, Thamizh Nadu to study English literature as my major in Bachelor of Arts. I did my Master of Arts in English literature at Madras University as a private candidate.

My life and career as a teacher began with my joining A.M. Jain College as a Tutor in the English Department in 1962 and served there till 1966 when I received my Masters. Then I taught English at Palniandavar College of Indian Culture for a year and came back to A.M. Jain to continue as Lecturer.

In 1968, I signed a contract with the Ministry of Education, Ethiopia to serve as a teacher in their schools. My stay of nine years there is an unforgettable one as I matured there from a youth to an adult; I was enveloped in an aura of love, affection, intimacy with the local students, teachers and population. I carry several pleasant and unpleasant memories of my stay.

In mid-1977 I went to Nigeria and served as a teacher for seven years; again, I had several pleasant and unpleasant experiences. But I continued to enjoy love, affection and admiration with the local students, principals, ministry officials and population. In 1984 I decided to return to India for good.

In 1985 I joined Sri Venkateswara College of Engineering, a self-financing institution affiliated to Madras University initially and later to Anna University. I served the institution for good twenty years before retiring in 2005.

As a teacher, I  
q        trained BE students to
·         speak to and face an audience
·         with appropriate body language
·         build or improve self-confidence
·         tackle post-speech sessions
·         listen actively and take notes
·         ask intelligent questions
·         respect speakers
·         tune themselves to listeners’ expectations

q Prepared self-evaluation checklists for speakers and listeners
q   Started Speakers’ Forum in College to
·         devote more time to individuals
·         attend to their growth needs
q Brought communication specialists for fruitful interaction
    between them and the students

I also trained faculty
q       Organised and conducted for several years
                                                “induction programme” for young and middle order
                                                faculty with stress on classroom management and rapport

q        Handled “classroom psychology” for young lecturers from
                                                technical institutions all over Tamilnadu, attending a
                                                training programme at SASTRA, Thanjavur


                                          Shared with college teachers a few thoughts on ‘self-
                                                evaluation’ in a workshop at RMK College of Engineering,
                                                Tamizhnadu                                      

I was also a (unofficial) mentor to students and faculty; I took personal interest in their problems and helped solve them:
q  over-all counsellor to first BE students at SVCE
q  lent support and strength to all semester students
q  served as a bridge between students and faculty                                     
                                                and between students and College Management
q       helped young faculty believe in their inherent
      capacity to use English as a medium


My life and career as a writer began in Ethiopia. I wrote several poems, one of which got published in The Ethiopian Herald, several articles on English Language Teaching that got published in The English Teaching Forum, a Journal brought out by USIA, and several articles for public consumption that got published in The Ethiopian Herald.

Writing and publishing continued in Nigeria and after my return to India. I published several articles in the national dailies, journals. I presented several papers in national and international conferences and seminars. All these dealt with teaching, learning, training, and assorted items related to education.

q  National Seminar on ‘teaching in large classes’ organised
      by British Council, Madras—June 1992
q  National Conference on ELT in engineering colleges
      organised by Anna University Madras—March 1998
      presented a paper on ‘English Education in Engineering
                                                Colleges
q  National Conference on Technical Education in the New
      Millennium: Management and Challenges---conducted by
      Osmania University Hyderabad during12-13 March 2000.
      Presented a paper on ‘Faculty training and Motivation---
      Ground Realities’ 
q  National Seminar on ‘the Role of Language in Teaching  Sciences’ at JSS College of Arts, Commerce and Science
Mysore on 17 December 2004. Gave an expert lecture on
‘Technical English in teaching Sciences’
q  International Conference at Bannari Amman College of
      Technology, Sathyamangalam, Tamilnadu. Presented a
      Paper on ‘Learning one’s language and another’s: a
      Perspective on teaching English to Indian children’ 
      on 27 December 2004

                                                International Conference at Sona College of Technology
      Salem, Tamilnadu. Presented a paper on ‘A case for Indian    
      Grammar of English’ on 23 June 2006 

Books and Course books:
q  Published several articles on various aspects of ELT and   
       topics of general  interest in USA, Ethiopia and India
q  Published several coursebooks for English for Engineering
      students, recommended by several universities—1993,
      1998, 1999, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2012, 2013
q  A means to an end—Allied Publishers, Chennai 1993
       a coursebook for I B.E. English, Madras University
q  The Communicating Art—SCITECH Chennai, 2004
q  Speak in English you can!—SCITECH,Chennai, 2006
q  Challenges in written English—SCITECH,Chennai 2008 [for job seekers]
q  Puzzles and Games for children—SciTech 2009
q  Pen Your Letters—SciTech 2009
q  Advanced English Communication Skills Lab written
    to meet the needs of 5th Semester B.E. Students of JNTU,
    Hyderabad—SciTech 2009
q  A Coursebook on English based on I B.E. English
          Syllabus of JNTU, Hyderabad—SciTech 2009
q  Managing Soft Skills—SciTech 2010
q  Learn to Edit in Style—SciTech 2010
q  English via Thamizh for non-English medium learners
SciTech 2013
q  A Handy Book on English Grammar—SciTech, 2011

My career as a learner that had got stuck for twenty years took off with the speed of a jet, and this resulted in

1994  Certificate as a trainer          ISTE, Delhi
          for induction of college teachers
1990  PGDTE [ENGLISH] }
1988  PGCTE [ENGLISH] }        CIEFL, Hyderabad
1987  Basic Certificate                  Association of Indian
          [Methodology and]              Universities, Delhi
          [Examinations      ]
1986  B.Ed. [English]                    Annamalai University
                                                       Tamilnadu
1986  PG Diploma                         ISSR, Salem, Tamilnadu
          [Edu. Admn.]
1966  MA   [English]                     Madras University
1962  BA    [English]                     Madras University   

Of course I’ve emerged successful as a learner also through interactions with people—known and unknown, my colleagues, superiors and learners. The fruits of such learning are my writings—published and unpublished.

During this period I wrote several poems in both English and Thamizh that carry the burden of my thought processes as a I waded through life’s struggles, successes and failures which I kept to myself. But very soon these unpublished pieces along with my published ones will soon reach readers all over the world as my autobiography entitled ‘what happens in a man’s innermost...’ to be published by Partridge Publishing, a Penguin Company.

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