The name is absent

were no teachers present during these interviews.

The reason for interviewing the students was to examine
competence in English and an Indian language. The written
word was important in the research, and there were
opportunities for oral comments. All the respondents were
encouraged to discuss a topic agreed upon by the group.
Some of the topics discussed were homework, prize day,
school food, the library, prefects, the school uniform,
discipline and sports. The students were encouraged to
advance a point of view without feeling it was necessary to
conform to an adult's point of view. The written answers
in English and an Indian language were simple, and centred
on the respondent's family and hobbies.

The focused group interview was important, because all the
respondents were involved in language learning and this was
specific to the research hypothesis. The actual interview
focused on the subjective experience of the students whose
responses enabled the researcher the "test the validity" of
the hypotheses. (22) The important feature of conducting
the focused interview was the knowledge which the
researcher possessed prior to the analysis of the language
teaching and learning programme in Anglo-Indian school.

The evidence collected during these interviews of knowledge
of English and an Indian language is discussed in the next
section.

2.4. Evidence of English and an Indian language during the
interview among Anglo-Indian and non Anglo-Indian students

Whenever a student completed the written questions in
English and an Indian language, she/he was asked to either
recite a poem, read a piece of prose or sing a song in
English and an Indian language. The majority of Anglo-
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