Navigating the Transition: A Journey from Telugu to English

Examinations always brought me anxiety. In my ninth grade, our school board, to prepare us for a globalized world, decided to try an alternate medium of instruction -English. My native tongue was Telugu, and I wrote all my examinations in Telugu until the eighth grade. When the school offered English medium, I volunteered to switch with fifteen other students. We had to study four subjects in English: mathematics, history and civics, and physical and natural sciences. While we walked around with an ‘aura’ and ‘tight-collared’ shirts, the school processes took work.
The trouble started with textbooks. On the first day, the teachers told us we needed to take notes in class as we had no prescribed textbooks. While it was easy for Mathematics, we faced many difficulties in other subjects. However, we stood together and returned to our teachers for the lessons we did not understand. The class tests were easy as our teachers set and valued the question papers.
We faced numerous challenges during quarterly, half-yearly, and final examinations. The format was daunting-two question papers, each with fifty multiple-choice questions and ten essay questions. Unfortunately, our school couldn’t print question papers in English for the fifteen of us. Instead, we were handed question papers in Telugu and expected to write our answers in English. It was a nightmare. I vividly recall sitting in the examination centre, desperately asking for English words, feeling utterly lost and frustrated. The supervising teachers were either good in English or Telugu, and not both. My friend Bheemanna would get up every minute, asking the teacher for the English words. The teachers did not know how to deal with the situation as we were a nuisance in the examination hall. They put all fifteen of us in a separate room and selected good supervisors in English and Telugu. Our headmaster solved the problem by procuring a rotary press for duplication using a stencil. The new technology helped the English medium students and saved money as all the other question papers came through the machine.
Valuation of our manuscripts was yet another challenge.
The valuation teachers received a mix of Telugu and English manuscripts. We got high marks in some subjects and low marks in others, where the valuing teacher was not conversant with the appropriate English text.
During those four years, we faced many challenges, which taught us how to be resilient and adaptable and the importance of communication. Our English skills improved significantly, and we grew closer as a group. When the headmaster got a new rotary press, it made a big difference. It showed us how innovative solutions can help us overcome obstacles. These experiences gave us confidence and prepared us for future challenges in a changing world.
Looking back on those years, I realized we were learning skills that will help us throughout our lives. Even though it was hard to switch from Telugu to English, it opened up many possibilities for our future.