Riya Roy, 18, a student of Lake Point Convent School, works as a student care executive in a language school. Having studied in Chetla Girls School, her English was a halting stutter at best. Riya decided to stop her bullying cousins and took the plunge to learn the language.

?After learning English for a while from Inlingua, I accompanied a friend for a job interview at Vishnu Solutions. The HR manager there offered me a job instead,? she smiles. ?Learning English gave me confidence. You might have the knowledge, but you need the language to communicate it.?

Inlingua, a Switzerland-based language education brand, started in Calcutta in July 2004. In four months, it had about 280 students. In the past two months, 200 more signed up. Indrajyoti Sengupta, director, says in the next four months, 400 more are expected to sign up.

Although the centre teaches languages like Japanese, French, German and Spanish, 90 per cent of the students ? of all ages ? learn English, and most of them are Bengali.

?There are government employees and engineering students. Most are very poor in English when they sign up. But they realise that knowing the language will help them. That is why the popularity of the school is spreading,? adds Sengupta.

Indranil, a Jadavpur University engineering student, landed a job in a leading company. Abhijeet got through to IISWBM. The 21-year-old BCA barely knew the language, but has learnt to speak sentences in two months. ?I have to learn, to be dynamic. It?s the age of globalisation,? he says.

?We teach more than just English. It?s about communication skills. We concentrate on speaking in class, the written work is done at home. Once they get the confidence, their body language, mannerisms and even attitude changes,? observes Sengupta. ?We are also starting classes for children, during the summer holidays.?

Students are assessed to find out what level they should be assigned to. There are about eight students per batch. The classes stretch from one-and-a-half to four months, depending on the level. The study material is provided by the school. The courses cost Rs 4,500 onwards.

Inlingua in Calcutta is in expansion mode. ?The Delhi centre had 1,000 students in the first year. We expect about the same. We?re looking for teachers, to cope with the number of students. Anybody who is good in English and communication,? adds Sengupta.

The director, also a licencee of Inlingua, plans to open franchises of the school in Dum Dum and Howrah, besides starting courses for nurses and waiters.

?We are in talks with restaurants and hospitals for tie-ups. We have also done several language courses, particularly in English, with corporate houses,? sums up Sengupta.