ITEM
NO. 7 :
Mr. Jacob Nettikkatt
of Nettikkadan family, who started research at home
as a hobby 50 years ago without any help from any University, Research
Institute or any individual, has made six totally new, highly useful and
patently revolutionary inventions which may be regarded as some of the greatest
and most fabulous inventions of the millennia in the linguistic field. He
has also contributed a new thesis on language teaching, which identifies the
existing problems relating to teaching languages for which he has prescribed
solutions.
One of
his inventions is “A Scientific Methodology For Learning Foreign Languages”,
which is now called “Original Communicative English”.
That
helps a person to learn any language including his own mother tongue in a very
simple, easy and interesting way with guaranteed results in the shortest time.
The existing teaching method is not a systematic teaching, but piece-meal teaching
of some matter about the language which does not produce good results even in
long time. Also it does not help learners get a picture of the language
in their mind, no matter what degree they have acquired.
The remaining five inventions of Mr.
Jacob Nettikkatt are :
(a) “ The Anatomy of Language ( The Map of Language) ” - which guides the
learner of a language about (a) what is the total area of language i.e. how
many types of sentences are there in total; (b) what portion of that
language is apportioned for written purposes (having higher standard of
usages); (c) what portion is needed to cover the entire speaking area; (d) what
portion is essential for a child to express its ideas; (e) how much more will
be needed by a child as it grows further; (f) what portion is needed to meet
its ultimate requirements as a child - which can be used by an adult as well to
cover ordinary expressions at least to 75%. Since the total number of sentences
are indicated, the learner can count how many sentences have been learnt
on a given date, and how much portion is left to be learnt in the
language. Before this invention, even a PhD. in English could not tell ‘what
percentage of language he has learned up to a given date and how much is left
to be studied’.
(b) “The Linguistic Yardstick”
-
to make awareness in people that there is immense difference between
languages. That is why the same person who learns two languages, takes
more or less time to learn one than the other. The second intention of
this ‘Yardstick’ is to project and measure unwanted complexities in existing
languages. The natives of a language usually cannot grasp these unwanted
complexities. It is also intended to establish scientifically which
language is easier to learn and which is more difficult. Before this invention,
it was not possible to compare languages scientifically to decide which is
easier or more difficult to learn and practise. The
only option was, as told by the Dean of Philology Department of
(c) “The Phonetic Alphabet”
-
which helps to write as we hear and read exactly as we write, using the minimum
number of letters and symbols, so as to take away the pain of learning
spellings and pronunciations of words by heart. In English, learning spellings
and pronunciations of words is many hundred times more difficult than learning
its grammar using this new methodology. That is because the Alphabet is
non-phonetic. We can joke : “There are
only 26 letters in the English Alphabet, but there are 260 styles of
representing sounds.” It is a
permanent problem, wastage of time, efforts and memory - for no benefit at
all. A rational modern man cannot tolerate this; it has to be amended sensibly.
(d) “ The Scientific Language - Uni Lingua ”
-
The greatest global problem today is language barrier - people of one region
cannot freely communicate with people of another region. There is no common
medium. Uni Lingua, an artificial but the
easiest language to learn and practise is intended to solve this
human problem. The grammatical requirements of Uni
Lingua are described through 39 easy suffixes/prefixes to words which can be
mastered by a person in two or three hours. When a language is so easy to learn
and practise, people will learn it even for fun. Thus
this new language will convert the world into a small village as well as
humanity into a big family for the purpose of communication of ideas between
people of any area without the need for interpreters.
(e) “ Practical Philology ” -
Philology department and courses are found in many Universities all over the
world. But they deal with mainly the history of languages as well as the origin
and relationship between languages or their words. But the Practical Philology
evolved by Mr. Jacob Nettikkatt is a is a kit of tools, fixtures, rules and
regulations as well as a lot of mysteries of language science that help one to
study foreign languages easily, interestingly and with high level productivity. It also prescribes some rules, following which
will ensure language learning much easier, faster and enjoyable. It
contains linguistic mysteries, revealing which stimulate hair-raising thrill in
the learner and motivate him to continue the studies with great interest,
energy, enthusiasm and concentration.
In order to avoid a clash
between what the Universities have to offer and what Mr. Nettikkatt
has produced, he has opted for a new name “Practical Philology” or “Practical
Language Science” to be known as a new branch of Science.
(f) JACOB NETTIKKADAN's
New Thesis on Language Learning :
Brief conclusion :
There should be two styles of teaching and two types of Grammar
Books for every language.
The reason ?:
Every language, including English, has two categories of users : (1) The
natives of the language for whom it is mother tongue ; (2) All the remaining
people in the world, for whom it is a foreign language.
At present both
these categories of people have to go to the same class to learn the language,
in the same style, because, there is only one system of teaching and one
Grammar book available - both of which follow the style of promoting mother
tongue. So, the foreign students who have to learn English are also
compelled to use the same teaching system and the same Grammar book made for
the natives, although they are not equal to the natives when they reach the
classroom. In this process of teaching, the first category of people
survive ; but the second category becomes the victims i.e. either they fail to
communicate in English or take long years to get that ability, as is
found in India and other similar countries with regard to teaching of
English.
The natives of
English language survive in the process, because they learn to speak English at
home from environment by learning how to make the basic types of expressions or
sentences in the language. Their study of making higher levels of
sentences in English will also be almost automatic, by listening to others, by
conversing with classmates, relatives and others as well as by reading
newspapers, journals and/or books in the same language.
The second
category of learners (foreign students) do not learn to speak English at home
i.e. they do not learn how to make the basic types of sentences from home
nor there is a substitute arrangement in the school to teach them how to make
each type of expression or sentence. (Such an arrangement is not
available in the existing system, because the natives do not need it).
So, the foreign students fail to grasp the things taught in the class, which
are designed for the natives exclusively. In the process, the second
category of students fail to communicate in English. But, in order to
pass the examinations, they are compelled to learn by heart such items which
may come in the examination. So, they are not at home with the foreign language
nor its teaching, yet they manage to get marks and pass the course. Later on
when they have to become teachers, they
have no other option but to share with their students their doubts, confusions,
vagueness and incomplete information which might have entered their mind when
they were studying. This deteriorates the learning of the
language in general, generation after generation.
Similarly, the
existing Grammar book is useful to the natives, because it teaches how to
correct mistakes in the language they learnt at home and also to polish it.
But, for the foreign students this book becomes a study burden, because they
have nothing with them to be corrected or polished.
Foreign students
need a Grammar book which is as per the dictionary meaning of the word
"Grammar”. According to dictionary
meaning, the Grammar book should contain 'rules for combining words into
sentences', e.g. the Grammar book should teach how to make each type of
sentence. That is exactly what is offered by Jacob Nettikkadan
through his new four-volume series of books under the caption "Easy
Way To Learn English", which is the first real English Grammar book in the
world, according to the meaning of the word “grammar” in dictionary.
HOW
WAS THE PROBLEM SOLVED ?
The problem was
solved by Jacob Nettikkadan by using 'science' in
language teaching - for the first time.
Science has helped increase speed, accuracy, efficiency, comfort, easeness and economy in every sphere of human activity,
especially in transportation, communication, production etc., but not in language
learning. Consequently, majority of postgraduates in India at present cannot
speak English as fluently and confidently as a 3 year old child in England,
though they study for 19/20 years under highly qualified (read ‘Degree
holding’) people. So, they have no chance of making a promising career and are
compelled to remain unemployed, causing untold frustration to themselves, their
families and the nation, though immense opportunities exist. The main reason
for the mentioned condition is that science is not used (as Jacob Nettikkadan has introduced) in the teaching of English (or
any other language) in schools and colleges.
To
speak about as well as to understand whether science is used in a
particular field or not, first we must know ‘what
science is’. To have a consensus on the issue, Jacob Nettikkadan ventures to define science : Science is ‘that
knowledge or application of it, which helps to increase speed, accuracy and
easiness or bring about any new product, utility, comfort, idea,
information, facility, efficiency, order, desired results and/or economy in
any field’. If we are able to achieve any of the items mentioned above in
italics, out of any activity, we have produced science. Clarity, accuracy and
completeness (in contrast to confusion, vagueness and incompleteness) which
help to arrive at a rational and logical conclusion, leading to ultimate
conviction, should be treated as the essential elements of science. If we use
science in any activity, we can get more results out of less efforts and less
time; but without the use of science, the results will be too little for too
big efforts, even in long time.
