Good day, Dr. Jeyalakshmi Subramanian. I'm Arjun. I've had a look through your background and your professional record. I'm interested in hearing more about your work and how you see yourself fitting in here with our faculty. Ready to start?

Please start by introducing your professional journey in academia.

Good afternoon, I'm Doctor Jayalakshmi, currently working at Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetha as Assistant Professor in the selection grade.

Teaching English language 20. AM I audible enough?

11.

Dr. Jeyalakshmi Subramanian, let's begin by exploring your background. Can you explain

Thank you.

You're welcome, Dr. Subramanian. Could you elaborate on how you approach teaching the English language effectively?

Yes, I don't believe in lecture method alone and particularly while teaching grammar I believe. I strongly believe it's good to use technology these days everything depends on ChatGPT and students are of more oriented towards it and in the same can be used in a productive way by making students practice their speaking. Skill improving speaking skill They can.

Record their voice and they can get feedback when inside the classroom. When it's not possible to spend time individually for each and every student, we I can ask. Usually I ask my students to record their voice and get feedback from ChatGPT and other such apps and other such options and inside the classroom. I don't simply depend on lecture method.

They find it interesting and I make the my interactive be interactive in the classroom. Instead of being a passive observer, I involve them in my classes.

Instead, I asked my students to watch a few videos and based on that, I inductively I teach grammar and.

Thank you.

You're welcome, Dr. Subramanian. How do you incorporate research methodology into your teaching practices?

Actually, I am guiding for research scholars in the doctoral doctoral level and. I teach them research methodology and it's more of it's useful to them to incorporate it in their research. And mostly I teach them the research in the structure of a research paper, like how to structure the abstract part and what are the different points to be remembered.

Various such how to narrow down the title of research paper in that way, I elaborate on such such points to my doctoral level students, but I teach grammar and other technical communication to my.

Heard while doing their references and citations and.

B.Tech students.

Understood. By guiding doctoral-level students in research methodology and teaching grammar and technical communication to B.Tech students, you seem to cater to a wide academic spectrum effectively. How do you adapt your teaching strategies to address the differing educational needs of these two groups?

Fine, totally. My B.Tech students, they are beginners in their college level learning. So they are adult learners. At the same time they are more oriented or they are for learning English language mainly for their technical communication like report writing, proposal writing. CV creation.

Set stars so it's much easy for me to explain them and. Give them some samples to go through and teach them the structure Mainly technical communication is mainly based on the format. So I teach them such format and I tell them how to make use of formal language in technical communication and they find it easy and I give them various assignments.

And even I asked them to go for technical presentation. They prepare on a technical topic and they prepare, they present the that particular one in front of a classroom and I give them feedback. So it's quite interesting. And my students are.

They are happy about such activities and teaching or interacting with my doctoral scholars.

They are totally of different category and I need much preparation for that purpose. I go for some NPTL courses because in these days it's not easy to tell that I am well versed in a particular topic. I need to be well versed in different disciplinary, particularly interdisciplinary approaches. So. For example, one of my students is working on general studies.

Another one is on cultural studies, another one goes for digital humanities. So I prepare a lot and I read a lot of research articles and I share such articles with my scholars and we have discussion each week and they are comfortable and they start publishing in.

Renowned journals also. So in this way I am able to balance both.

Your ability to adapt your teaching methods for such distinct groups—B.Tech students requiring structured, practical communication skills and doctoral scholars tackling interdisciplinary research topics—is commendable. Facilitating technical presentations and providing feedback for undergraduates while fostering critical discussions and guiding publications for Ph.D. scholars reflects your dedication. Could you elaborate on how you integrate emerging trends or tools, like digital humanities, into your work with these research scholars?

Yeah, actually my scholars are not working on among those four, nobody has chosen this particular topic. But recently I have got interested in this and I have started learning about this particular field and I am quite enthralled to know about how we can even for humanity subjects, how it's possible to integrate technology so. I'm quite, I feel it's quite interesting. Interesting. And I have a start. I have started learning in this terms and particularly social media. Recently I have come across a few topics, the conference subtopics, where the themes are like how the subaltern studies can be done based on the social media narratives. So I feel it's really quite interesting that usually we simply say that youngsters spend their time.

Social media and they are wasting time but in the same can be used productively and for archiving our artifacts archive archiving we can make use of digital humanities and. Particularly in literature related to literature, we can integrate humanities and literary studies to technology, for example, like if I would like to.

Analyze Shakespeare's particular drama, particularly to count how many times Shakespeare used a particular term. I can't see it and keep on counting it instead. Using digital technologies easily, I can do that and I can make some such statistic. Detailing using digital technologies so I have I.

I have started learning. I'm I won't say I am well versed in it, but I have started learning and I would like to go forward in this field.

Thank you.

You're welcome, Dr. Subramanian. Let's now discuss your experience with guiding student projects and research. Could you share how you mentor students in managing their research work effectively?

Yes, I actually 1 drawback in the in my current institution is that my scholars, particularly English scholars, are not provided with any type and or scholarship. Because of that, they suffer without any monetary help. It's difficult for them to go ahead, so I help them find out.

Journal articles which are which can be collected free of cost and online available articles. In that way I help them and they they find it easy. In that way, without paying much money they are able to manage. Other than that, every week I meet them individually and we sit and discuss particularly. How they can go ahead with their research plan? And in what way they are going to plan their introductory session? What is the research gap in their research and in their chosen topic and how they are going to structure their thesis each chapter? What is the main theme on which they are going to plan their chapters In that way, every week we are sitting and discussing, particularly individually. I am doing that with each of my.

Call us and they find it helpful and online through our library. We are trying to collect the necessary resources, both primary and secondary resources so sources so they find it useful and they are able to manage their time as well as they are able to go ahead effectively in their research.

Your dedication to providing personalized guidance and helping your scholars navigate financial and resource constraints is noteworthy, Dr. Subramanian. By fostering structured discussions on research plans, gaps, and chapter frameworks, you demonstrate a thoughtful approach to mentoring. How do you ensure students also develop independent problem-solving and critical thinking skills during this collaborative process?

You know, fine, actually, particularly one of my scholars is working on gender studies. Her exact topic is how women are deprived of their sexual desire and it's quite interesting and. This particular topic is not yet touched by other research.

And usually women are boxed or they are categorized like mothers. They can be mothers and they can be caretakers but they are never considered as human beings who also have the same sexual desire like the other party that is male so.

That and her work I considered it's really it requires critical thinking and she applies the latest theories and she is working on it and it's quite interesting to collaborate with her in this work.

She has taken a few articles, sorry few primary texts, and she's analyzed.

It sounds like a fascinating and important area of research, Dr. Subramanian. Encouraging your scholar to tackle such a nuanced and less-explored topic speaks to your ability to foster critical thinking and push intellectual boundaries. Beyond theoretical frameworks, how do you support them in contextualizing their analysis within broader societal or cultural discussions?

Another student, it's a very good question I need to mention about another scholar of mine who is working on fictosexuality. So it's totally an innovative idea. And in this modern era, how people are after technology, social media, particularly in the virtual characters they've literally fall in love with. Literary sorry anime characters and this fictional. Virtual characters, so she works on this pictosexuality so in what way They are suffering in a way they are living in a in an imaginary world. They find it real and they go ahead and continue to focus on these characters and they are getting crazy about it so she is. Working on it psychologically, analyzing in what way it will affect the.

Society because in these days we can observe that people are lagging in marriage institution, they don't believe in it and most of the women. These days they don't want to go for getting married and all. So what? When we analyse what might be the reason behind this, we can tell when the the abundance of these such what in the abundance of such resources online? When it's too much available, we don't seek. Emotional dependence among people around us instead.

We are always with gadgets and we want to solve each and everything online. So it affects the society and the balance in the society. So she's working on it in that way. It's a very good contribution to the society.

Your scholar's exploration of fictosexuality is indeed a unique and forward-thinking contribution to understanding societal and psychological impacts in the digital age. By encouraging such innovative topics, you're fostering intellectual inquiry that addresses critical contemporary issues. How do you guide your scholars to ensure their research not only identifies these trends but also proposes constructive insights or solutions for societal challenges?

Sure.

Another student of mine she's working on cultural studies and particularly trauma studies. So her work focuses on in how much in that she has chosen a few primary takes and particularly one among them is Scindia bounds Ruby so when the female character suffers a lot because of her exposure to continuous.

What is male suppress suppression we can see and another work in the Handmaid's Tale where the military people main working in military how how do they systematically seduce women there and they don't have any option other than.

Undergo undergoing this systematic.

Agony so and she's also the applying the same trauma theory to.

Racial suppression, particularly after this September 11.

Incident The Muslims are categorically hated, and they are.

Stigmatized whether they would like to be the supporter or not.

Without any checking these things into consideration, they are stamped as terrorists. So she using or analyzing the text, the reluctant fundamentalist she go goes ahead with exploration of this, getting traumatized because of these societal norms. So through all these things. Works. She's working along with me. She is also.

Exploring such things which are creating.

Psychological impact on society.

The depth and diversity of your scholars' work, whether on trauma theory, cultural studies, or societal stigmatization, reflect your commendable mentorship in fostering meaningful academic contributions. By guiding this spectrum of research, you're enabling critical perspectives on deeply rooted social and psychological issues. How do you ensure your students maintain academic rigor while navigating such emotionally and sociopolitically charged subjects?

Sorry to interrupt, we're down to the last 5 minutes.

Thank you. Thank you for alerting me, actually. My scholars, particularly I am we are basically from the southern part of India where.

People are very much aware or people are victims of such kind of.

Casteism. We can say casteism because of that. The upper upper class people keep on suppressing the lower class people particularly.

Women in lawyer class, they are the worst sufferers, sufferers of this category. So my scholars they are.

Such activities which are going on, which are practiced in the current society, even in the current society in this modern era too. So they are, they are.

Very much aware of these things and they are exposed to.

They would like to participate actively in bringing some change in the society through their research. So I help them and they are very much cooperative and they go ahead actively in their research.

Sure.

It's admirable to see your commitment to mentoring research that addresses deeply ingrained societal issues and aims to push for progressive change. Empowering your scholars to transform their awareness into impactful academic work highlights your dedication as an educator and mentor. Shall we proceed to explore another aspect of your teaching and academic expertise?

Actually I am.

Yeah, please go ahead. Sorry to interrupt.

No problem, Dr. Subramanian. How do you ensure structured and effective student evaluation while fostering an environment for their growth, particularly in courses requiring a balance of theoretical and practical learning?

OK, apart from?

Summative evaluation. I keep giving them formative evaluation in each of my lecture. I make them. I test them whether they have got me in a right way, whether they are able to understand the concept through some online quizzes. They take online quizzes then and there towards the end of my lecture.

So through based on them, I'm able to understand how much they are able to grasp the concepts that I have explained. And if I find that they haven't understood the idea enough, then I give them some other way. Instead of explaining the concepts alone, I create context and I try to make them understand that particular.

Concept.

Or a grammar rules. Particularly I help the slow learners use giving them, meeting them individually and helping them take a few more exercises. In that way I'm able to meet the need of all level of my learners.

Your integration of formative evaluations and individualized support demonstrates a strong commitment to student learning and inclusivity. By tailoring your methods to accommodate slow learners and utilizing tools like quizzes and contextual teaching, you ensure a well-rounded understanding. Could you share an example where this approach significantly improved a student's performance?

Sure. For example, I need to teach my students technical description. So before I delve into delving into this particular formal one, I would like I.

I have to create interest in them instead of starting directly with that. So today I showed them one video on rain that I have got from National Geographic and Channel and I asked them to view that.

Small documentary and with that. Nice view and all. They are very excited to watch that video and.

I asked them to describe a moment in their life where they feel whatever feel it might be. I asked them to describe the rainy moment.

Or any event.

That's an engaging way to stimulate creativity while connecting to the topic practically. Asking students to describe relatable, personal moments not only enhances their descriptive skills but also fosters emotional engagement. How did this exercise help bridge their understanding of formal technical descriptions?

One of the part parts of technical description is it has, uh, a structure like first they have to give extended definition of that particular product that they are going to give technical description. Then, uh, they have to describe their physical appearance of that particular product. And then they have to write about the function and their various uses. So the major. Parties describing it so to expose them. Even I'm in the previous classes, I asked them to read about Tom and Jerry program and I asked them how.

The description must be by appealing to all the senses in that way you have to describe. I told, I told them and I I made them a read on that particular item on Tom and Jerry program and then I told them that when you read it that you have to get a mental picture. Of that particular event or person or whatever it is you're reading about. In that way, you have to make your description appealing. In the same way when you write your technical description, you have to use formal language. This helps in differentiating the way in the style language style. So in the previous one is personal one. But this is purely formal, so you are not supposed to make use of such languages.

Formally like writing about the measurement, size, color and at the same time using making use of formal language, formal technical language, being brief, concise, not writing about not bringing any personal touch in their writing. So in that way they are able to differentiate between these two styles.

Technical writing so they are able to differentiate in the shift from these two language styles and also. They are able to learn how to go.

Your approach to blending practical, sensory-driven descriptions with formal technical standards equips students with an excellent understanding of the nuanced differences between personal and professional writing styles. By guiding them through structured frameworks while encouraging clarity and precision, you're instilling valuable communication skills. Are there any challenges you've faced in implementing this method?

Mainly keeping the keeping the attention of the students for a long time, that is these days, not only in this particular activity and always keeping students attention towards the lesson is really challenging these days because they are very much towards their gadgets and they would like to keep on using their. Mobiles whenever they are able to so to.

Make them. I expose them to different activities. I one time I give them some online quizzes and I make them attend one online quiz within a class. Then I expose them to another video and I make them listen to an audio track relevant to the same. Then I give them some guided writing task and I end up my lecture with some free. Task where they can.

Exhibit their creativity. In that way I try to give variety within the particular session, so in that way I'm able to involve them actively in my class.

Your approach to diversifying activities—using quizzes, videos, audio tracks, structured tasks, and free writing—is an excellent strategy for sustaining student attention and engagement. By tailoring your methods to the current digital-centric tendencies, you effectively keep students immersed in the learning process. Shall I move to the next aspect now?

Sure.

Could you share your experience with publishing research in reputed journals and how you guide your scholars in this process?

Time is up! Ending the interview now.