Department of English and Foreign Languages - Achievements

The Faculty members and Research scholars of the Department have been able to undertake and implement several Externally funded research projects. Following is the summary of several research projects funded by various Government agencies. The list is classified in the categories of Completed and On-going Projects 

(I) Completed Projects

1)    Establishment of Foreign Language Laboratory (2012-2013)

With reference to G.O. (Ms) No.39 Higher Education (K2) Department, dated 26.03.2012, the project was funded by the Government of Tamil Nadu to Dr.R.Saravanaselvan,the Former Professor and Head for the establishment of Foreign Language Laboratory in the year 2012-2013. The amount sanctioned was Rs.15 lakhs. 

2)    Soft skill Development Project (2015-2016)

 The minor project was undertaken by Dr.R.Saravanaselvan, theFormer Professor and Head,  funded by  UGC (XII Plan Grant under General Development Scheme for the budget of Rs. 1 lakh. The project was implemented to enhance the Soft Skills of the  Post Graduate learners of English Literature. A Two-day National level Seminar on  “English for Employability - An Interaction between Industry and Institution” was conducted for the target population in the Department to improve better placement and employability

3)    Establishment of English Language Lab (2017-2018)

The major project funded by RUSA, MHRD, Government of India was utilised by Dr.Saravanaselvan,the Former Professor and Head, to establish the Skill based English Language Lab for the Post-graduate Learners and Research Scholars of Bharathiar University. The laboratory was established in the year, 2017-2018 for the total budget of Rs. 50 lakhs. The language learning software used in the laboratory is a self-learning package with lessons and exercises on the language skills. 

4)    Digital Humanities in Literature (2018-2020)

The  minor project funding of Rs.1.50 lakhs was sanctioned by Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR), New Delhi to Dr R.Saravanaselvan, the Former Professor and Head, to conduct a Two day National  Seminar on “Digital Humanities in Literature” was conducted on 8th and 9th March 2019 . The experts and proponents from IIT’s and other State Universities were invited as the Resource Persons 

5)    Culture in Contemporary Literature and Language (2018-2020)

The  minor project funding of Rs.1.75 lakhs was sponsored by Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR) to Dr.V.David Arputharaj, Assistant Professor of the Department  to conduct the National Colloquium on Culture in Contemporary Literature and Language. The colloquium attempted to open new avenues in the study of culture in contemporary literature and language

(II) On-going Projects

1) Public Speaking and Presentation Skills (2020-21)

The project of Rs.8 lakhs was sponsored by RUSA 2.0-BEICH – MHRD, Government of India, to Dr.Saravanaselvan, the former Professor and Head,  on the title, ‘Public speaking and Presentation Skills’. The project was developed with a period of intervention to improve the communication skills of non-English students of Bharathiar University , focusing mainly on Public speaking practices and Presentation skills 

2) Multimedia Material Production Centre for MOOC

With an objective to set up an Online material and resources production centre, has sponsored a project of Rs.5 lakhs to Dr.P.Nagaraj, the Head and Associate Professor of the Department. The initiative incorporated a number of programs in the phases as distance, online and blended learning. A thirty day Lecture series delivered by language and literary experts  was conducted for the Post-Graduate students to orient themselves on the virtual possibilities of Language and Literature in the pandemic period

3)    The project to develop the Technical and Academic writing practices of Post-Graduate students of University and its Extension centre was funded by  RUSA 2.0-BEICH – MHRD, Government of India. The project was undertaken by Dr.B.Padmanabhan Assistant Professor of the Department for the sanctioned amount of Rs.5 lakhs. A series of workshops and interventions were conducted for the target population introducing the guidelines, tones and jargons of the Technical writing. 

4)    Cognitive and Culture –based Technological Design to Enhance Reading Comprehension of Post-graduate Learners 

The RUSA 2.0-BEICH – MHRD, Government of India, has sponsored a project of Rs.4 lakhs to Dr.M.Ashitha Varghese, Assistant Professor of the Department to design a Cognitive and Culture specific Digital design to improve the language and comprehension ability of Post-Graduate learners. Several self-learning online modules were designed for improving the reading scores of the learners. A thirty day Lecture series was initiated by experts to equip the learners with various methods and strategies on reading, decoding and interpretation of literary works

5)    Content Writing 

The project to develop the Content writing practices of Post-Graduate students of non-English majors was funded by  RUSA 2.0-BEICH – MHRD, Government of India. The project was undertaken by Dr.V.David Arputharaj, Assistant Professor of the Department for the sanctioned amount of Rs.5 lakhs. A stretch of workshops and interventions were conducted for the target population in intervals to orient on the methods  and techniques to enhance the Content writing  skills of learners. 

6)    Soft Skill Centre

The project of Rs.4 lakhs was sponsored by RUSA 2.0-BEICH – MHRD, Government of India, to Dr.G.Vinothkumar, Assistant Professor, for training Post-graduate students of non-major disciplines in Soft skills and thereby establishing a Centre in the Department. The project was implemented with Workshops and Lectures to improve the communication and soft skills of learners

7)    Career Skills for Humanities Students

The RUSA 2.0-BEICH – MHRD, Government of India, has sponsored a project of Rs.5 lakhs to Dr.M.Kasirajan, Assistant Professor of the Department to orient Post-graduate students of Arts and Humanities majors on the practices of enhancing Career skills. The lectures and programs were organised to deliver the ideas of productivity, accountability, responsibility and leadership skills that would enable the students to thrive in the real working environment

8)    Documenting Oral Medicinal Practices 

The RUSA 2.0-BEICH – MHRD, Government of India, has sponsored a project of Rs. 19,65000 to Dr.B.Padmanabhan, Dr.V.David Arputharaj, Dr.G.Vinothkumar, and Dr.M.Kasirajan, Assistant Professors of the Department for identifying and documenting the oral herbal  and medicinal practices of Tribal and Rural people of the Nilgiris,  Coimbatore, Tirupur and Erode Districts and translating the data into English. The sum total of the knowledge, skills, theories, beliefs and experiences indigenous to the Tribal culture and Herbal practices  are collected and analysed. 

AWARDS AND FELLOWSHIPS

Awards and fellowships are a recognition of excellence in the academic careers of teachers and learners. An award celebrates any highly distinguished contribution of the teachers/learners to the respective community. A fellowship/ scholarship makes learning experiences meaningful as it presents the learners new possibilities to advance their learning or research. Most fellowships are merit-based and some are in consideration of the minority/socially backward communities, though all of them provide financial support. 

The Head of the Department, Dr. P. Nagaraj, has been honoured with Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam Award for Teaching Excellence in 2018. It is a prestigious award celebrating the remarkable contributions made as a teacher to the academic communities. 

The Department has certain schemes and fellowships aimed to inspire the learners towards excellent academic and research pursuits. The list of currently available fellowships in the Department goes here: 

•  Post Graduate Indira Gandhi Single Girl Child Scholarship is provided for single girl students of up to 30 years of age, to promote their education and compensate for its direct costs. The scholarship is funded by UGC with the sanctioned amount of Rs. 36,000 per annum. 
• Adi-Dravidar Special Scholarship is granted by the Government of India to financially assist the students of the corresponding communities to pursue their studies. It offers financial aid to the candidates at both pre-matric and post-matric levels. 50, 000 per year. 
• Post Matric Scholarship is a scheme sponsored by the Central Government and implemented through the State Government and Union Territories to support the higher education of the learners from class 11 to postdoctoral studies. It offers an amount of Rs. 19, 670 per year to the students.  The department has a record of 67 NET holders, 21 SET holders and 3 JRFs till date. The department also has an industry collaboration with INFOSYS and TCS to enhance the soft skills of the learners, enabling them to be prepared for alluring employment opportunities in diverse fields such as teaching, training, copyediting, content writing ande. 
• Post Graduate Merit Scholarship for the University Rank Holders is provided by the UGC to the first and second rank holders of graduation courses across the country. It aims to encourage the meritorious students to pursue Post-graduation while assisting them in their finances. The sanctioned amount for the scholarship is Rs. 3,100 per month. 
• National Fellowship Programme for Persons with Disabilities is a Central Government scheme launched by the UGC to provide equal opportunities for the specially-abled learners in higher studies. The sanctioned amount is Rs. 10, 000 per year as JRF and Rs. 20,500 for the rest of the years as SRF. 
• Maulana Azad National Fellowship scheme offers five year fellowships in the form of financial assistance to students from six minority communities – Buddhist, Christian, Jain, Muslim, Parsi and Sikh. It provides an amount of Rs. 25, 000 per month, by the Ministry of Minority Affairs, to pursue MPhil and PhD. 
• Rajiv Gandhi National Fellowship scheme for Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes is funded by the Ministry of Social Justice and Ministry of Tribal Affairs for candidates belonging to the SC/ST who wish to pursue higher studies. The sanctioned amount is Rs. 25, 000 per month. 
• University Research Fellowship is the fellowship granted by the University to a PhD Research Scholar of each guide, with an objective of financially assisting the scholars providing a sum of Rs. 5000 per month. 
• RUSA BEICH is a fellowship programme sponsored by the Ministry of Human Resource Development to bring in transformative research reforms in higher educational institutions. It grants a sanctioned amount of Rs. 20,000 per month for the research candidates. 
• RUSA BCTRC is a fellowship program scheme by the Ministry of Human Resource Development to assist the researchers contributing to the research in cancer studies. It offers an amount of Rs. 12, 000 per month for the research candidates. 
   

Extra-Curricular Activities

An entire gamut of activities is organised by the Cultural Club under the Centre for  Literary and Cultural Studies and Collaboration to unleash the talent that exudes from budding students. The club promotes a vibrant campus experience through conducting various performance arts and cultural activities. The Department also holds the record of winning the highest number of overall trophies in Phoenix, University Interdepartmental Cultural Program. Our students have also represented the Department in many inter-college and inter-university drama and won many prizes. The Department also has a manuscript magazine named Thulika, which publishes handwritten works of the students to encourage their literary talents.

Co-curricular Activities

The Department has launched six academic and research centers for the students and scholars, named,Centre for Social Action and Research; Centre for Electronic Archives and Industry Support; Centre for Literary, Cultural Studies and Collaboration; Centre for Skill Orientation and Placement; Centre for Foreign Languages; and the Centre for Academic writing and Social Processes.

1)    Centre for Social Action and Research

    The purpose of the Centre is to reinstate the policy of  Society empowerment by integrating Language Learning and Research. The Research scholars of the Department collaborate with stakeholders to empower the Individuals and Community level. The Centre signifies the tangible idea that Language is not  only a tool of communication and Research is not only to contribute Knowledge, but also to create a positive impact in the lives of people and in the functioning of Society. The Centre has collaborated with the Junior Chambers Club (JCI) of Coimbatore circle to engage in the process and indulge in relevant social.  initiatives.

2)    Centre for Electronic Archives and Industry Support. 

The Centre is established with an aim of gathering and storing the information and records in the digital repositories effectively. For the education in the ‘new normal’, that has revamped the teaching and learning paradigms, it is crucial to maintain an effective and consistent repository of teaching and learning resources. The lectures delivered by the Experts, both online and offline are recorded, compil, ed and released  into a collection of CD, entitled BLEND. 

3)    Centre for Literary Cultural Studies and Collaboration

   In an era of  e-books and digital resources, the Centre instills the idea of  reassuring Paper-Pen-Person connect. The Centre explores relevant cultural elements and forces in the process of literary readings and language acquisition. The perspective of Visual and Aesthetic is incorporated in the reading and interpretation of Literature. The Centre has introduced the manuscript magazine named Thulika, which publishes handwritten works of the students in every quarterly edition. 

4)    Centre for Skill Orientation and Placement

 The Centre facilitates training and placement for the Post-graduates. With the rising number of Graduates placed in various institutions through the Department, the Centre initiates collaboration with reputed Industries and Institute. It also provides training and orientation for the students in clearing NET/SET and other competitive examinations.  The Department has created a  record of 67 NET holders, 21 SET holders and 3 JRFs. The Centre also has an industry collaboration with INFOSYS, WIPRO and TCS to enhance the career skills of the learners, grooming them for the employment opportunities in diverse fields. 

5)    Centre for Foreign Languages

The Centre is established to provide high quality training and proficiency for the learners in Foreign Languages. Having signed an MOU with Goethe Centrum and Alliance Institute for the coaching of German and French Languages, the Centre provides the Certificate courses to the post-graduates of the Department, as well as those who are interested from other Departments of non-English Major.

6)    Centre for Academic Writing and Social Processes

 In Academia, the production of knowledge is crucial and most of it is through writing. Being the Department with a discipline of Language and Literature, the academic writing standards and knowledge creation are unique. The Centre trains the students to master the challenges and acquire confidence in the  formal expressions of writing. Amalgamating the Social processing into the Knowledge creation, the Centre reinforces the idea that Social and Material resources shape the academic writing practices. The CEntre has initiated the first and foremost Department  journal, DECODE, integrating the papers of scholarships, authored by eminent Academicians and Researchers of the Discipline

• Under the headship of Dr.P.Nagaraj, the Associate Professor and Head, a Memorandum of Understanding is signed with Goethe Institute of German Languages, Coimbatore on 26.12.2020 to impart German Language to the Post-Graduate Students and Research scholars. Goethe-Zentrum, Coimbatore is the only recognized centre, professionally run for  German language learning in Coimbatore. The Centre has well-qualified teaching faculties, trained in pedagogy and technique for  teaching German as foreign language.The knowledge of German Language will enable them to access International references and publications in the related field of study and research. The course offered is A1 level with 12 Units for 120 hours. Upon the successful completion of one level, the student is eligible to pursue next higher levels. 
• The Memorandum of Understanding is signed with Alliance Francaise of Madras for the French Online Certificate Course. The course is offered for the P.G students and Research Scholars of Bharathiar University. The A1 level of course covers European Framework of French Language. The duration of course is 120 hours. The course will be conducted by the Institute and the certificate will be issued by Bharathiar University. A certificate is issued to each student with a minimum 60% pass in regular assessments and 80% of  presence to the direct online class plus 80% completion of online activities as assigned by the teacher. 
• The Memorandum of Understanding is executed with JAGUAR STAFFING SOLUTIONS PVT LTD represented by Mr. M.J. Kuriyan, Managing Director which is the Service Provider of the Training Programme of “English Strokes'' sourced through Mr. K. Rajendran, Authorized VLE (417216410010) of CSC e-Governance services Indian LTD which is a SPV set up by Department of Electronics and Information Technology (DeITY), Government of India.The purpose of this Agreement is to provide an English training program for the Post-graduate students of Bharathiar University through the eLearning system of English Strokes.This MOU is with effect from   04 / 02 / 2021 for a period of one year, subject to the renewal on performance and mutual understanding.