The singing English Language Teacher

Looking at Bindyu, I would never have guessed that she was coming to the end of four
tumultuous weeks of training. She is a live-wire and forthright. Bindyu, 33, is one day
from completing her CELTA (Certificate of English Language Teacher for Adults) at the
British Council. We catch up with the CELTA aspirant, late one September evening, for
tête-à-tête, in the stillness of the Char Bhag.Bindyu, dressed in a terra-cota salwar kameez
which is in harmony with our surroundings, is upbeat: ‘I now know what teaching is
about. Am proud to have done CELTA.’

What makes this training programme special? Bindyu elaborates (gesticulating with her
hands) that the pedagogic approach is not the standard – teacher droning in front of
students – method which we were subjected to while learning language. For CELTA, the
external assessor provides a 360 degree evaluation of the aspirant’s performance in class.
The aspirant is marked on such criteria as: her position in class, knowledge of equipment
and how systematically records are kept. Time management is considered to be essential.
If a class is to be for 40 minutes, then it has to end on the dot. 40 minutes and 30 seconds
is too long, and 39 minutes 30 seconds is too short.

She tells us that she had not always wanted to become an English Language Teacher.
But, language has been a common theme in her adult life. Bindyu holds Bachelors in
English (honours) and a degree in Mass Communications (advertising and public
relations). She has an eclectic set of work experiences in the bag – she managed her own
language school, was a trainer @ outsourcing company Convergys, and was a project
manager at the British Council.

The intensive CELTA programme does entail sacrifices. Bindyu lives in Gurgaon, so the
commute to the British Council can be taxing at times. She often leaves at 6:30 am and
sees her living room only by 10:30 pm. This schedule does not give her much time with
her two children. Through it all, Bindyu’s husband has been her aegis shield. She chats
with him ‘to get out of the blues…’.

In terms of rupees and paisa, the CELTA programme will put you back by 1 followed by
5 zeros. Then there are other expenses, Bindyu adds: commuting (from Gurgaon to
Connaught Place and vice-versa), lunch (Rs. 100 a day), and expenses related to
preparing teaching aids. Total damages come up to approximately Rs.1,15,000. Looking
at Bidyu’s enthusiastic eyes, I’m certain the certificate is well worth the expense.

Bindyu had her titanic-hitting-the-iceberg moment, when she accidentally deleted a zip
file at 4:30 in the morning. She had to re-type e v e r y t h i n g - the class was only
hours away. That day, her presentation was not her best. She was marked ‘below
standard’. The evaluator, gave a detailed assessment of what went wrong and why.
Bindyu was determined to bounce back, and she did. She was marked ‘above standard’
for the remaining assignments.



We ask her where she wants to be 5 years from now. Bindyu immediately
replies that she would like to be in-charge of training in a Multi-National Corporation.
Bindyu sings light classical music. If you are a frequent visitor to Sri Fort Auditorium,
you might have seen her perform there. She hums to herself when happy.

The interview runs way beyond schedule. We reluctantly close our notepads.
Bindyu enquires if we want to know anything else. So, we proceed with our very last
question, ‘where would your dream date take place?’ She tilts her head a bit, her nose
ring sparkles in the night, and she confides, ‘Dilli Haat’.