Does any child learn its language, be it English, French or whatever, by learning grammar first? Do we teach what a verb, a noun and an object is to any child before it starts the uphill task of uttering a single word?

There are millions of folks around the world who never got around to going to school. Are they all mute? Has their not having learned their mother tongues in schools stopped them from speaking it?  They do articulate well in their own languages, don't they? Many of them may not even be aware of  the existence of something known as grammar which is rammed down students' throats in schools and they themselves are well off without it but all the same but aren't they  as erudite as anybody in their social milieu?

Does grammar have anything to do with language?  Yes, it certainly does. A lot, in fact. It is the  insurmountable obstacle to learning a language. If each of us takes his own example, how many of us school/college/university educated are really comfortable speaking English? Are we fit enough to sit and hold a conversation in faultless English even about day-to-day topics without lapsing into mother tongues here and there or  even let a complete diversion take over? .... There is a strong case here against the wanton use of English where it is perfectly  possible and desirable to speak in one's own tongue and this author is quite a vociferous advocate of this sensible argument. The perpetrators are rightly looked down upon with superciliousness. But I am digressing....

So, what do we do? This writer has been teaching English language, independent  of any organization, for 35 years now as a non-profit initiative and it did not take long for him to realize that he had to shun grammar as taught in schools if he had to make any headway at all. It was a bold experiment he embarked upon and found, tto his and the students' delight, that that was the way forward. And, has been at it all these years with 1000s of his students having moved on to bigger things.

How to go about it? Where to start? You must first understand that  the syntax in English language is completely dissimilar to the ones in Indian languages.  You should practice, ad nauseam, the juggling of the word order in consonance with English language syntax.  Do this in your own language.

For example,  do not go practicing  " I  drink  coffee in this restaurant in the morning" in English.  Say it in your language. In Hindi, you must go " mein peetha hoom coffee is dukaan me subhe" . In other languages like Tamil, Gujarathi or Bengali too, the saqme thing is to be carried out. Practice this as many times and in as varied sentences as you have to, to attain fluency. Remember not to attempt speaking the same thing in English at this stage. Master this and you have overcome the most difficult phase of learning English.  The rest, believe me, is easy.

Comments are most looked forward to.

Thanks