Chennai: A teacher knows the requirement of a student best, and that is why K V Natarajan (76), a resident of Velacheri, Chennai, has written and launched the book ‘Simplified English Grammar for Everyone.’
The author, who is also an illustrious teacher, has already penned five books for engineering students, which are quite popular.
Speaking to News Today, Natarajan begins by saying, “I have had profound love for English from my high school days. I hail from a remote rural village Kurinjipai, Gingee, in Villupuram district. My father, K Venugopal, was also a teacher.”
So, what was the idea behind this book? “I have seen my students make common mistakes in writing and pronunciation. Also, being an academician, I have interviewed at least 300 teacher candidates so far and have been dismayed when they even pronounce the word ‘Resume’ wrongly,” he says shaking his head.
“So, I set some time for my research work to compile the book, and the process has been a learning period for me as well.”
The reason why students even after completing their education fail to converse fluently in English, he says, is due to low confidence. “For effective communication, you need to be strong in both oral and written, and should have sufficient knowledge in English grammar.”
More than putting the book together, the journey has been a learning curve for him. “Six years ago, I did not know that ‘textbook’ was a single word. Just imagine! There are common mistakes like writing ‘restroom’ and ‘switchboard’ as two words,” he elaborates.
Natarajan started his career teaching civil engineering at IIT-Madras for a year in 1969. He later taught at NIT-T for four years and at NITTTR, Adyar, for 14 years.
He has also served as the principal of Aathi Parasakthi College, Melmaruvathur, for three-and-a-half-years. Currently, he runs a school in Gingee and teaches English five hours a week.
The author can be reached at 94442 68060.