STATE TIMES NEWS
JAMMU: Addressing the teaching staff while conducting a marathon JAM session for the teachers at JKPS Kunjwani, Principal Rajesh Rathore shared, “Teachers must be conscious learners throughout their teaching career. They must cultivate the art of elaboration. Arranging their ideas at the spur of a moment and expressing them logically must be perfected by them. On account of conscious efforts, dedication and determination, they may polish their expression to a sparkle. By and by, the expression grows precise, crisp & lucid. They have to make conscious efforts on a daily basis”.
Reflecting over some tricks of the trade, he said “Avoid being perfect, as it’s will o’ the wisp. Even native speakers feel jittery when they have to reflect on a topic extempore. Avoid showing your true emotions. Let your audience never succeed in gauging your nervousness”.
“Avoid underestimating yourself. Never utter a word about your feeble grip over the language. Never apologize for a wrong expression in English. Make the audience feel that you are a confident speaker, and your listeners will believe it too. If you make a mistake, simply keep talking and avoid committing the same mistake”, shared the Vice Principal Shashi Rattan.
“Be yourself. Project your real personality. People will appreciate interacting with you because of who you are, not because of the expression you use. It’s always advisable to keep it simple. As we keep our written expression always simple, like wise verbal expression must be simple & lucid. Avoid making your expression pompous, full of verbosity and avoid impressing people with your profound vocab. Use words and expressions that you are confident to use”, the Vice Principal added further.
“Prepare well throughout the year. Keep collecting choicest phrases, collocations, phrasal verbs. Learn by heart some transitional phrases and useful expressions. Keep your listeners’ glued to your conversation, if you know that your quiver harbours some enchanted arrows, that is, some key expressions that will make the conversation flow”, pitched in the Associate VP Roopinder Kour.
“Making eye contact can do wonders, when you’re listening or speaking to your audience. Even if you’re lost for the right expression, try not to show your face blank or start looking towards the ground. If you’re making a presentation, always attempt repeated rounds of practise so that you don’t have to read every word from your notes. Visuals can help you in a presentation”, added the AVP further.
“Keep a moderate pace of delivery. Always attempt: pause and pace. Avoid speaking too quickly, which may hamper the comprehension skills of the audience to understand you. Communication means making your audience relish your talk. Practise pronunciation, as a wrong pronunciation mars the impact of speech completely, concluded the Principal.
The wide range of interesting topics for the JAM session included NEP 2020 – Vision; Name any 5 SDGs of JKPS; Name any two things about JKPS which are unique; Your strengths and weaknesses (4 each); Tagline of JKPS Logo and its meaning; Education 4.0; Why my students are special for me; reflect on any 2 life skills enumerated by WHO; narrate any interesting anecdote in class; any imaginative idea for a substitution period; Discipline : A collective responsibility; the recipe of your favourite dish; your favorite character from any book; dealing with negativity; tell a story in least possible words; recite a poem; the best day of my life; the most successful prank I was part of; three words I would like to ban; why do people have a problem in agreeing to anything; your take on glass ceiling; why is working smarter better than working harder; which qualities do you want to see in a leader; your favourite quote; what can you do today that you were not capable of doing a year ago; do you always ask – why Me?; your views on a session like we are having today; there is never enough time; I admire… ; too much posturing : Very little work; how to promote English language; value to be caught, not to be taught; your association with the Institution.
The Principal lauded the content and expression of the teachers. He expressed his joy over their effective communication skills. He attributed the resounding success of JKiians in the Board results to the commitment and dedication of the teaching staff. He wished them good luck for grooming themselves as conscious learners of the language English.
