ಐದನೇ ಆವೃತ್ತಿ, ಸಂಚಿಕೆ ೫ : (Season 5, Episode 5 : Celebrating the English Language Like Never Before)

Please welcome Ms. Sudha Bhandari in this episode of ‘Pratibimba’. 

Ms. Sudha Bhandari works as a  teacher at Gundabala, Uttara Kannada. She has been a teacher for 25 years. She has written 5 books and over 500 articles. She has won many prizes in several literary contests. She has also won five State-level awards. She has been a resource person for the cluster schools. 

Sudha was a bright student and looks up to her teachers as her role models. She had a very good education in English, at the high school level. She remembers her teacher I.S. Naik who encouraged her to speak in English. When she joined her own school as a teacher and started teaching English to class 5 students, her seniors recognised her talent and allowed her to teach class 6 and 7 students as well. Most of her students say English is their favourite subject. 

Though she did not get a convent education, she has been able to engage the children in meaningful, effective teaching of English through games, rhymes, etc. The Education department has given her an opportunity to be a resource person in her cluster schools. It was then she had to challenge herself to be able to train the teachers. 

She conducts a special class on weekends for students of classes 5, 6 and 7 on spoken English. She lays emphasis on learning grammar well. Her list of learning items is famous among her students. When she was transferred, some of the parents even tried to reverse it. That's how popular she and her classes are. 

Sudha has undergone training in 'English Empowerment' at DIET. And she has gone ahead and implemented the suggestion given there: celebrate one day of the week as English Day. On that day, all students and teachers must speak in English. All activities including the prayer are done in English. One day in December is dedicated to English activities by the students, to be displayed to the guardians. The whole day is dedicated to entertainment and learning - in English. 

Sudha recalls a group of tribal students she engaged with during the lunch break and how she helped build their English competence from scratch. They had to be literally taught from A, B, C. But by the time they finished 7th grade, they were able to read English fluently. One girl was even able to recite tongue twisters on the Annual Day celebrations! And that girl was given a cash reward of Rs.100 by one of the onlookers.

Sudha is convinced that if the teachers are dedicated, they can build the confidence of students, thereby building their skills. 

Hope you enjoyed listening to this recording by Akshara Foundation. If you have an interesting story, please share your story with 98450 79590.