Information and Communication Technology as Bridging Tool to Lingual Divide: The Context of Indian Higher Education Institutions

Abstract

Language throughout the world is referred to not only as a means of communication through which human beings communicate their ideas and share their experiences to others but it also helps in developing imagination, creativity etc. into them. Communication skill is considered as a unique ability of human beings which plays a greater role in getting education and higher education as well. Higher education contributes to prepare students as lifelong learners, and to make them as innovative knowledge creators in current information society. Students from different lingual background who come in higher education institution to carry out their higher education, but due to lingual backwardness/ alienation they do not able to complete their higher education as expected by them. Information and communication technology in this aspect acts as a ray of hope to overcome the problems relating to language. It facilitates the learners to convert/ translate their indigenous and dialects languages into any wordily accepted language and vice versa. Information and communication technology furthermore, opens the door of world’s knowledge to learners to improve their inert capacities by accessing the world-famous institutions’ library/ contents of different countries in their own indigenous and dialects languages. To enhance and expand understanding, critical and rational thinking among learners, so as they could be able to conduct research and innovation smoothly in their own native languages, information and communication technology provides such type of opportunity to them. As such, it plays a leading role in bridging the lingual divide among the learners of Indian higher education. Thus, present paper focuses on concept of Information and communication technology and lingual divide; defining higher education; present scenario of lingual divide at international and national level; role of Information and communication technology as bridging the lingual divide in Indian higher education institutions. This paper has utmost implication in Indian higher education for bridging lingual divide.