Learning to serve: a analysis of English language training in call centres of India

Thomas Macaulay’s design to create “a class of persons, Indian in blood and colour, but English in taste, in opinions, in morals, and in intellect” is taking a new turn. We are learning English not only to serve the colonial intent within our nation, but now, also to meet the requirement of the fast globalizing world. The nature of the global political economy demands further learning, or relearning, to serve and survive. In this paper, we present an analysis of English-learning for international call centres. This paper is based on a study of data generated from in-depth interviews and focus group discussions with call centre agents and employers across twenty-six call centres located in the environs of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. The fieldwork for the paper was first conducted in 2005. A follow-up was done in 2011 to examine the issues involved in detail. Notes from interview transcripts were used to groom the discussion. All the call centres studied are outsourcing centres for businesses in Europe, Australia and the United States of America