Lucknow: Now you can finally talk English, walk English and even squat in English. On the sidepath of the posh Samta Mulak crossing in Lucknow, Aditya Kumar runs roadside English speaking courses that promise to teach you “angrezi” within half an hour. Kumar comes here everyday at 4 pm on his bicycle that is fitted with signboards, promising to make you English literate in a jiffy, and takes his roadside classes till sunset.
“These classes are mainly for those who cannot afford to take tuitions. I belong to Farukkhabad and I realised that without a working knowledge of English, you cannot hope to get a good job in any field. Since I do not have sufficient space at home where I can call such students, I teach them on the roadside without charging a penny,” says Aditya.
In the roadside classes, the students can get a working knowledge of English. “I teach them basic sentences like ‘How are you, my name is —, may I come in, thank you, welcome, see you again etc. I cannot teach them how to write English on the roadside but I do give them pamphlets when these common sentences and phrases are written in Hindi with translations. I teach them how to pronounce the words and how to strike a conversation,” he explains.
Aditya, who is in his early forties, claims that he can teach a student to speak English within one month, provided the student also works hard.
The response to Aditya’s roadside classes has been so positive that he has now started similar classes on the Kapoorthala crossing as well. “For a living, I take tuitions throughout the day and I teach students in groups to earn money,” he says and adds that he has been teaching English for the past 15 years. Aditya’s roadside students include lawyers, salesmen, waiters and even boys form good families.
“Today, even a waiter is expected to speak in English and with multinational stores coming up in Lucknow, the demand for English speaking salesmen is on the rise. Young people who need a job come to me for help and I fee very happy if I can teach them the basics of the language,” he says.