A digital student home
Mumbai, 20th March 2015:
Red lorry, yellow lorry. It was simple enough to repeat for K. Madhavan
and his friends when Neil Sarkar, Head, English Language Centre, South
India, British Council, said it slowly. Then, Sarkar upped the ante and
increased the speed. Now Madhavan and his friends at the AIM for Seva
Free Student Home (FSH) in Tindivanam felt
the pinch and dropped out of the race one by one. But they now have a
new-found appreciation for the language, and many of the students
promised him that they would improve their English language skills over a
period of time as they begin to interact with
British Council LearnEnglish for Schools DVD.
LearnEnglish
for Schools programme provides a DVD with self-access English learning
resources for children in age group 5 to 15 years. It is mapped to the
National
Curriculum Framework, India and provides a learning pathway from Class 1
to Class 10, making it ideal for contexts where the learners are
situated in semi-urban or rural areas where access and internet
connectivity is limited. Through the programme, students
learn English in a fun and interactive way through songs, stories,
grammar videos etc. As the programme is engaging and self-paced, it
leads to better retention and understanding of concepts.
Inaugurating
the programme, Sarkar explained the importance of learning English in
today’s world, and the edge that it would give students in their lives.
‘’ With
potentially millions of teachers and learners across the world aspiring
to learn English, there is only one way that we can achieve that
ambition and that is through the exploitation of digital platforms that
can make English, and English learning opportunities,
available to all”. He also explained about the British Council’s role
in promoting English through development of a range of digital resources
which provide an innovative and engaging way to learn English.
Meera
Rajagopalan, Chief Manager of Programmes and Communications, AIM for
Seva, explained the concept behind the Free Student Home. “The programme
fits in neatly
with AIM for Seva’s concept of all-round development,” she said. “Next
year, I hope that the children will be up here on stage, conducting the
programme in English.”
The
pilot phase of LearnEnglish for Schools DVD is part of AIM for Seva’s
commitment to provide children residing in the homes with access to
learn English after school
once they are back at their Student home. On successful implementation
of the programme, it will be expanded to AIM for Seva’s 104 FSH across
the country.
Notes to the editor:
About AIM for Seva
AIM
for Seva, in its 104 Free Student Homes (FSH) across the country, helps
rural and tribal children receive nutritious food, accommodation and
after-school support for free. In addition, children also receive
value education, English language coaching, computer classes,
creativity programmes and more for holistic development. More than
14,000 children have benefited from AIM for Seva FSH and have taken the
first steps towards an empowered future.
About the British Council
The
British Council is the UK’s international organisation for cultural
relations and educational opportunities. We create international
opportunities for the people of the UK and other countries and build
trust between them worldwide.
We
work in more than 100 countries and our 7,000 staff – including 2,000
teachers – work with thousands of professionals and policy makers and
millions of young people every year by teaching English, sharing
the arts and delivering education and society programmes. The British
Council is recognised across India for its network of 9 libraries and
cultural centres. We offer a range of specialised projects in arts,
education, exams, English language and society to
audiences across India and more than 100,000 members. We also provide
access to English language training and learning for both students and
teachers, offer UK qualifications in India and enable opportunities to
study in the UK.
We
are a UK charity governed by Royal Charter. A core publically-funded
grant provides less than 25 per cent of our turnover which last year was
£781 million. The rest of our revenues are earned from services
which customers around the world pay for, through education and
development contracts and from partnerships with public and private
organisations. All our work is in pursuit of our charitable purpose and
supports prosperity and security for the UK and globally.
For more information, please visit: www.britishcouncil.in.
You can also keep in touch with the British Council through
https://twitter.com/inbritish and
blog.britishcouncil.org.in
Warm Regards,
APARNA MEHROTRA
APARNA MEHROTRA
PROJECT EXECUTIVE
A LINOPINION – GOLINHARRIS JOINT VENTURE
Member of the Lintas India Group
T + 91 22 3025 3748 M +91 99696 23947 www.linopiniongh.com
The Phoenix Complex B Wing 2nd Floor
S. B. Marg Lower Parel Mumbai 400 013 India
No comments:
Post a Comment