Examined briefly are the implications of the recent trends in psycholinguistics, sociolinguistics, general linguistics, and the technology of communication for the teaching and learning of languages, particularly English as a second language in India. Some suggestions for improving language instruction in universities are offered. (JMD)

In India, the use of language dialect and style, like many aspects of Indian thought and life, follows a continuum from the ritually pure and worthy of respect to the ritually defiled and unworthy. In North India, according to adult informants, Hindi is spoken at school, in formal business contacts or government offices, in formal ceremonies; it…