Patna, Oct. 12: Students of Birla Institute of Technology will now be trained in phonetics so that they do not face any problem during campus interviews.

With an increase in the number of companies coming to Birla Institute of Technology to offer jobs to students, the institute is all set to start phonetics classes. A language laboratory has been set up for the purpose, with the help of Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur.

Birla Institute of Technology director K.K. Shrivastava said: “We have signed a deal with Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur to set up a language laboratory to develop the communication skills of our students. Students will be taught the correct pronunciation of English words.” Shrivastava said the reason for starting such a course was to help students to overcome the difficulties they face in the course of their interviews because of poor communication skills and faulty pronunciation of English words.

He said the decision to start such a course was tabled after it was discovered, during the course of campus interviews last year, that students of the institute have poor communication skills. Shrivastava said the laboratory would also help students learn other languages such as French and German.

The course will start after the Puja vacations, he said. Birla Institute of Technology would be the second technological institute in the state to start such a course.

A permanent audio connection will be set up between the teacher and students with the help of wireless and multimedia, he said. This will enable the teacher to move around the class and talk to any particular student while supervising the class.

Mohammed Reyaz, senior technician at the Centre for Advanced Communication of Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, said: “The classes, which will have a seating capacity of 40 students, will be audio-proof. Each student will have a headphone through which they will be directly connected to the teacher.”

Altaf Ahmad, a final-year computer science student, said: “The innovative plan will be very helpful, especially for students who hail from rural backgrounds. Such students face difficulties during interviews because of poor communication and language skills.” Ahmad is a resident of Chhapra.

The centre has prepared CDs of lectures and correct pronunciation of English words. The teachers would use these to instruct the students. This would help the students grasp the correct pronunciation of the words. They would also be able to ask their teachers if they face any problem.