The heart of cognitive and productive deliberations of the college, the Post Graduate Department of English is a kernel of knowledge, stimulating creative and contemplative thoughts and ideas. The department started functioning on 20 June 1946,teaching First Language English for all Pre-degree and Degree students. Now it has become a full-fledged unit offering two undergraduate courses and one Post Graduate Course in English Studies. The courses offered are:
BA in English Language and Literature
BA in Communicative English
MA in English Language and Literature (Credit and Semester)
The department also offers General English Language course for all undergraduate students of the college. The B.A. Course in Communicative English gives advanced training to students in Media Studies and ELT. For its postgraduate programme, the department offers the transnational study of language and literature, along with cultural practices in English with special attention to Phonetics and Structure of English. The graduate programme features vigorous training in the four language skills. As the English language today is less and less the native speaker’s unique intellectual property and has become English without Borders. Special care is taken for the application of FLT strategies at both the UG and PG levels.
Official Email: english@sdcollege.in
Faculty
The faculty consists of 12 permanent teachers and 4 guest lecturers. Among them, 4 faculty members hold PhD and MPhil degree and three are currently involved in research. A number of faculty members are engaged in compiling, editing and publishing academic journals and books, participating and presenting papers in seminars and conferences and publishing papers in reputed journals. Many of our teachers have earned acclaim by involving themselves in Board of Studies and syllabus reformation committees. Two of us are Research Guides recognised by the University of Kerala, and the department is now gearing up to become an approved research centre of the University of Kerala. The areas of specialization are:
Literary Theory and Translation Studies
Film, Visual Communication and the New Media Studies
Culture/ Gender Studies
Environmentalism and Ecological Criticism
ELT/CLT Studies
Department Library and the Audio-Visual Room
The department library houses a stack of 6281 books and 7 journals to which the faculty and postgraduate students have access. All the projects submitted by the post graduate students and the Communicative English students as part of their on the job training are classified, catalogued and kept as part of the repository. The audio visual room is used to impart soft skills training, conducting seminars, power point presentations and lectures. The audio-visual room is equipped with state of the art facilities with the necessary tools, accessories, CD ROMS, and other electronic and digital resources and assists in ICT enabled teaching.
Extension activities
The Department coordinates national and international seminars, workshops and conferences for the faculty and the students periodically. The annual lectures organised in memory of the former faculty members of the Department are remarkable. We also offer ADD on Course for UG students and NET coaching classes for PG students. Department also takes up various practices like guidance and counselling and remedial coaching classes. The Film Club, Drama Club and the Literary Club run by the Department organise activities to instigate the artistic, literary and cultural aptitudes of the students.
The Department of English plans to conduct short term certificate programmes for imparting English speaking skills to select sections of the society especially the players connected with the tourism sector. Built around the slogan “Don’t be Shy, Try”, the department plans to impart skills to accredited guides, Tourism Police, Hotels/Restaurant staff and auto rickshaw drivers.
The students of the Communicative English (U.G) and English Language and Literature (U.G) have been identified as target groups for intensive training, to enable them to take responsible positions in the BPO industry. The learners are trained in the ICT oriented basic skills for the purpose. Another SUPW is to enhance the teaching skills of school teachers on the outskirts of the Alleppey town by imparting intensive training to select groups during weekends. This activity is intended to raise the standard of teaching which would ultimately benefit the learners in their communication skills.
The Vision of DoE
To combat with the challenges of the new knowledge society and a globalised economy the DoE has transformed itself into a learning organization to meet the challenges posed by a new century and a new mind-set. It has evolved into an organization skilled at creating, acquiring and transferring knowledge. The vision of DoE is to explore new territories of teaching-learning process and prove ourselves to be effective imparters of communication skills and thereby make ourselves useful to the society in general and student community in particular.
With more than 7 decades of selfless service, the Department has been imparting linguistic and literary consciousness among the aspiring youth. We have been able to create University rank holders for both UG and PG programmes. Many of our PG students have cleared UGC-NET and JRF.A few of our students secured admission in universities of national and international reputation like EFLU and many are victoriously positioned in different firms. Students are also encouraged to participate in intercollegiate festivals, sports and literary competitions.