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.
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