It was only late last year that I was first exposed to teaching and that too, in an informal set-up through an NGO called Vidya. This NGO works toward improving the English proficiency of students of the lesser privileged in regional medium schools in Delhi and Mumbai. The ultimate aim is to enable them to go out into the world as more confident and able individuals for higher studies or/and vocational jobs.
My own years of learning were a breeze. With a privileged educational background in an English-medium school, access to multiple learning aids and parents that spoke only English at home, the only thing I probably focused on was how to get a distinction. A Masters in English Literature propelled me to pursue a career in the media and a quick jump to the top position in a magazine meant interaction with industry czars and some of India’s sharpest minds; not to omit, lavish lifestyles and heightened consumerism seen through lifestyle brands.
Today, through Vidya, I have got a chance to see the other end of India’s spectrum. A population that is totally oblivious to the malls and glitz of advertised India. Here at Vidya, I encounter 13 and 14-year-old children who ask if the escalator has already come to our country; children who are in the 8th and 9th standards but still unable to frame a complete sentence with the verb in the correct slot; children who are not equipped enough to compete in their own class examinations let alone the board examinations. And while we can rant and rave about the system and quality of education, especially in municipal schools, the crux of the matter is that a large section of children in our country need to buck up big time in order to face a globalised world — a world which unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you look at it) liaises and conducts most of its activities in English. It wouldn’t even be incorrect to say (no matter what some political groups would like to propagate) that today, Education = English listening, speaking, reading and comprehension skills.
The main issues that constantly face most of us teachers and volunteers is how do we hasten the learning process, how do we make up for lost time and how do we maximize the few resources that we have. What all of us lean on heavily is the Internet. With multiple English language teaching sites and easy-to-use games and exercises, we sift and sieve and find all relevant material, adapt it to the local context and prepare their classes. A lot of Indian story sites also help with mythological tales and Indian characters that the children can relate to. Books from publishing houses like Pratham and the Amar Chitra Katha series are also easy reading. Use of DVDs and VCDs with English subtitles and Tata Sky’s Active English all work as good and interesting classroom teaching aids.
Currently, we are working at putting together our own syllabus and textbook for the children at Vidya, and while doing this we are facing a challenge that is manifold: How do we optimize their learning? How do we ensure that they have understood and still learned something? How do we strike a balance between what they know and what they really should know? How do make them more confident and comfortable with the English language? We look forward to all aids, teaching, voluntary, sponsorships but most of all we look forward to expertise.
