Bunty Patil is 18 years
old and is about to graduate from high school. Swati Mhatre is a 25 year old
housewife and mother. Vinod Balid is a 32 year old sales assistant. It’s hard
to imagine what these three can possibly have in common. Well, it’s this –
they’re classmates – in a special classroom where they assemble every evening
for two hours of thorough training in Spoken English. Living in a country where
people judge other people by their ability/inability to speak English, held
back by not-so-readily-available finances, and victims of a flawed education
system, they are trying to move up in life.
As much as we may want to
deny it, we Indians have an inexplicable bias toward people who can speak the
language our erstwhile rulers spoke. Since you’ve had a good education and
spoke English growing up, it might not seem like that much of a deal.
Unfortunately, though, you and people like you make up around (just) 10-15% of
the Indian population. As you might
already know, almost half of the citizens of India fall below the poverty line.
Considering the fact that our government believes 28 Rupees are enough to live
for a day, it won’t be surprising if a more significant fraction actually
figures in that category. With increasing expenses and ever-evolving
lifestyles, it has become quite difficult to make a living in this “developing”
nation of ours.
“Teach India” is an
initiative of the Times Group. In close association with several NGOs all over
the country, they have set up a simple, yet, powerful tool for educating
underprivileged youth in English. The ability to use English effectively allows
these youngsters to explore several career options that they would otherwise be
unable to. The same government that defines people as ‘literate’ – if they are
just able to sign their name in any Indian language – refuses to give jobs to
people because they are not qualified enough. The service industry, which is
majorly a private sector, has come as a boon to these not-qualified-enough
people. They can now get stable jobs just on the basis of their talent and with
a fair command of the English language.
This is where Teach India
kicks in. After a painstaking survey of mammoth proportions, the course of
study was designed by the British Council. It is a unique approach to teaching
English, and focuses on the practical aspects of learning a language. There is
no rote learning, no lessons on the rules of grammar and no tests/exams.
Instead, there are modules that deal with the major facets of getting fluent in
English. The students learn by actually applying the language in conversations,
role-plays, and team activities. Teachers are volunteers from several walks of
life, all with a sense of giving back to society, and driven by the urge to
usher change. They are recruited through a stringent screening process, and put
through a month-long training on how to teach in this radical new way.
I have already finished teaching one batch, am almost done with another, and I can vouch for the methods and the effectiveness of the curriculum. It is amazing to see how a person who could not speak more than a
few broken words is now able to hold full-fledged conversations. To be honest,
it is not as much the lack of knowledge as the lack of confidence that makes
the difference. Once the fear is gone, it stays gone, and beautiful sentences
emerge. When it comes to that, I must admit that I was surprised at the
creativity and hidden talent on more than one occasion, and these occasions
grow more frequent as the course progresses.
I’m sure you’ve all been
part of discussions related to the state of the country – in trains, in cafes,
at airports, or just about anywhere you can get a conversation started. We love
talking about this stuff and how we have been touched by the (usually corrupt) system
in one way or another. Enough talking, I say! So far, Teach India has successfully
completed 4 cycles in Delhi-NCR, and 3 cycles in Mumbai, reaching out to more
than 7000 learners. The last year saw learners performing superbly in job fairs
- with almost 70% candidates getting job offers. Even in such a short span, the
results have begun to speak for themselves.
So, do you have it
in you to actually make a difference?
