[ELTWeekly Volume 6, Issue 12 | May 12, 2014 | ISSN 0975-3036]

This paper is written and submitted by Dr. Anand Mahanand, EFL University, Hyderabad.

Abstract

We understand folklore as wisdom of people transmitted from generation to generation. They are a repertoire of traditional  knowledge and wisdom. They include songs, tales, chants, proverbs and riddles and so on. We can get information and knowledge about medicines, skills, culture, rituals and other historical  facts  from folklore. Many forms of folklore such as tales, songs, riddles, proverbs, chants and so on have been playing a significant role in educating people since time immemorial.  Among these forms, songs, stories and proverbs  perform pedagogic role more than other forms do. The pedagogical role of stories and songs  has been discussed   elsewhere. Therefore, in this paper  I will focus on the role of proverbs in teaching English. I have used proverbs from both from Eastern and Western parts of Odisha   situated in Eastern India.

 Before that, let us  consider a few definitions of proverbs. A proverb is defined as “short , pregnant criticism  of life based upon common experience.” Shipley 19970: 258). As the definition says proverbs are drawn from experience. Though they are short, they can convey a world of meaning. (Mc Arthur 1998:474) defines proverbs as “short traditional saying of a didactic or advisory nature in which a generation is given a  specific often metaphorical expression” It is also defined  as “ a short, pithy, popular saying, long in use, embodying some familiar truth, practical precept, or usual thought in expressive and often picturesque language.”  Kuskovskaya defines them as  “short sentences expressing a well known truth or a common fact familiar to experience.” (Kuskovskaya 1978: 3). The paper reports how learners draw  resources from their  local knowledge reservoir when we use proverbs using multilingual approach to teach English.

Key words: folklore, multilingual contexts, proverbs, pedagogy, traditional  knowledge (more…)