Insight into the Language of Psychology: a Glance at the Two Year B.Ed. Programme

Abstract

There is no doubt about the fact that language is a medium of communication. It is the source of transmission of ideas and intended meanings from one entity or group to the other with their mutually understood semiotic and semantic rules. The nature and usage of it may vary depending upon the need and circumstances. The present paper takes a look at the languageof the course of ‘Childhood and Growing Up’ as part of the two year B.Ed. programme as proposed by NCTE 2014. The course proposes to offer the understanding of psychology of the child and adolescent with respect to their development in a socio cultural context.In this paper, the method employed for the analysis is the theoretical content analysis of the course of ‘Childhood and Growing up’. Being one of the foundation papers, it seemed important to understand the presentation and requirement of the course along with its purpose. Along with the significance of the document, the paper also aims to understand its presentation in a multilingual context. The coherence of the text is analysed at both local and global levels in order to gauge the covert potential meanings and linkages between the topics. The choice of words have also been paid attention to; the preference of a particular word over the other and the probable reasons for the choice. The author also made an attempt to look for the literary devices present in the course description such as metaphors, similes, analogies and the like.The paper concludes by presenting certain points to ponder over with respect to the use of language to describe the course contents. It tries to answer certain questions related to the significance of the usage of language and choice of words in the course details and at the same time tries to understand whether these have an impact on the understanding and grasping of the ideas by the target audiences and what role do they play to nurture the multilingual Indian context.