Bhopal, Apr 8: In this new age of technology, the youths face stiff competition in all the fields and have to go through several ups and downs in their life and career.

In this scenario, those who are armed with higher education degree and the courage to face competition will are able to meet success.

These days the youth are trying their luck in different fields. For this purpose they are also trying to overcome their weakness-whether it is about communication skill or personality.

During the last 10 years the youths have been employed in BPO Call Centres just because they had communication skills and knowledge of additional language-English. They are getting jobs in other fields too but at places where English knowledge is the additional qualification, their remuneration is higher.

It is the language that maters most now. These days, not only the youths, but also other educated people are aware of the magic the knowledge of English brings to their life-social and otherwise. Every language has its own importance and use. It is, in fact, national wealth. Today, English is considered as the world language. During the last few years, its importance has gone up manifold.

Whether it is private sector or professional field, knowledge of English is becoming more and more important. These days almost all work is being done in English. If you want to use a computer, knowledge of English is a must. To a great extent, the progress of the world is due to English only as most of the scientific and other works are written in English.

People are finding it comfortable in conversation and exchange of ideas in English. In fact, very few people know how to speak or write good English. But the working knowledge is a must and the youths are getting it the hard way, by working hard to get a foothold in English.

Nobody bothers if you speak wrong English. The main thing is that you are able to communicate or exchange your ideas. That is why we speak 'Hinglish'-a mixture of Hindi and English while talking. Still, Hindi has its own importance in our country. One will be surprised to know how many languages are talked in our country and that too in different accents, according to the place and region. But in the towns, where there are competitions and jobs, the youths are eager to have a separate identity. Therefore, they are learning English-to speak and write. Not only the youths but the people of all ages are affected by the current trend to learn the language.

English had its importance earlier too. Learning of languages like French, Japanese, Spanish etc is also providing new opportunities to the youth. Since English is a world language and the work on international level is done in that language, everybody is after English now. The parents want their tiny tots to start education at English Medium Schools so that the they are properly equipped to face the world in future. In fact, English has become a necessity these days. In this context Bhopal Today Team talked to officers, educationists, Director of English Institutes, and youths -

Dr. Narottam Mishra, Cabinet Minister, (Parliamentary Affairs, Town Administration and Development.

The minister said the importance of languages has increased manifold these days. Language is a medium of communication. Therefore, knowledge of additional languages would help you to get new opportunities. I think, along with English, importance of languages like Higher Sanskrit and Special Hindi is going up. Those who have very good command over these languages are employed on higher posts in our country and are paid handsome salary. Still the basic knowledge of English is a must. It is because of English one can learn other subjects, he added.

Dr. Jaiprakash Dubey, HOD, English, Nutan College, Bhopal says that you cannot do any big and important work without knowledge of English. In this era of busy life, communication skill and good personality are a must. Therefore, knowledge of English language will lead us to success. For studying technical and professional subjects, knowledge of English is a must. Therefore, in our universities, the number of students in foundation courses and literature are increasing.

Kavita Kakkar, Assistant Professor (English, Nutan College, Bhopal opined that just because of the knowledge of English language, today's youth are getting opportunities in different fields. Knowledge of English has become a necessity these days to go to international arena. In this era of globalisation, our youth are having a tough time to learn English language. Therefore, English is a necessity as well as a hope to the youth.

Vinay Sharma, MD, British Institute, Bhopal says today's era is of competition. The students are doing their best in education. But they are weak in English. After the professional degree, they will have to improve their knowledge in English language because it is necessary in the modern era to communicate with other countries.

Anita Kushwaha, student, MVM, Bhopal says that conversing in English has become very common these days. Everybody wants to learn an additional language. Since English has the status of International Language, it is on the top. I am trying to learn the art of speaking English. I would like to learn more languages in future.