Of late, the Utkal University is buzzing with skilling activities. Communication, being the mother of all skills, is naturally at a premium. If it is English communication then the stakes are even higher. This waas amply proved at a workshop on “Developing English Communication Skills” that the university’s PG Department of English organised recently.
Head of the department Prof Himansu Mohapatra set the ball of discussion on the rolling by his opening remark that globalisation and knowledge economy have made it imperative for us to be efficient communicators in English.
Delivering his keynote address, eminent Odia writer Haraprasad Das said the young generation is being beguiled into a misnomer that the facility for language could be acquired without cultural moorings that are both deep and wide. He further opined that communication in order to be meaningful have to arise out of a contested space that the present-day technology is all but eliminating.
The workshop featured well-executed technical sessions, where noted scholars crossed their swords of wit and wisdom on the ‘art of conversation’, ‘thinking on your feet’ and ‘group discussion’.
The workshop was conducted by Dr Kalyani Samantray, Dr HS Mohapatra and Sumanta Banerjee of the Emerge Finishing School. Dr SN Tripathy, Head, Dept of English, BJB (Autonomous) College, speaking at the valedictory session, reiterated the importance of English and gave useful tips on how to master the nuances of English communication from English movies and television serials. Dr Tripathy with his penchant for humour exhorted the student participants so much that they enjoyed it with rollicking laughter.
The workshop targeted mostly the students, scholars and young teachers of English in technical colleges. Senior and experienced teachers of English like Prof AK Mukherjee, Prof GR Mishra and Prof Snehaprava Das attended the workshop and interacted with the resource persons and the participants.