Teaching Soft Skills through Short Stories in Indian English Literature: A Pedagogical Approach

The present research article is an attempt to understand the potential of short stories in teaching soft skills to the UG students and bridging the gap between academia and industrial requirements. The thought behind choosing Indian short stories is culturally resonant, influential, learner friendly with a pedagogical approach with text specific examples to have an overview of this approach. It will be proved effective as Indian English literature has stalwarts in short stories viz. R. K. Narayan, Ravindranath Tagore, Ruskin Bond and Sudha Murty, etc and they are deep rooted in Indian culture. This article is an attempt to understand how short stories can play a vital role in conveying soft skills, what soft skills are required in Industry, which stories could be picked for teaching these skills and what are the activities in a classroom situation.