(wl-1190)-Local Stars in the Global Sky: The Relegitimisation of English Training in the Age of New Media

The pandemic and the all-pervasive cyberspace gave birth to several subcultures of English learning that are rapidly becoming the norm and breaking the traditional moulds of grammar prescriptions in the new media. These subcultures of learning also challenge the prevailing aspirations for linguistic purity by emphasising that anybody can speak English. This has resulted in a 'digitextuality' theorised by Nayar (2010: 51) that sees a convergence of texts and target groups that form an archive of teaching/learning materials sourced from movies, series, music, news channels and other popular culture. The proposed work seeks to look at the rise of English trainers/influencers that leads to certain new meanings for the social life of English in India. These trainers and their training practices situate legitimate localised counter practices to the neocolonial pedagogies of English teaching in India. In their ways, they contribute towards reclaiming the ideas of English and English practices that resonate with the aspirations of varied learner communities.