English capacity building in Gubbachi

Background

In 2016, we mainstreamed 25 children from our bridge centre to the Kodathi Government School. But, there were only two teachers and a HM for 100 children from grades 1 to 7. On the behest of the HM, two of us from Gubbachi stepped in to teach children in the Nali Kali class. We started off with Kannada, Math and EVS.

In the multigrade multilevel (MGML) Nali Kali curriculum, childrens’ learning and classroom processes started settling rather effortlessly. It was when we started English that the challenge stared us in the face.

Children were just not open to it. They clearly stated their dislike for the language. They refused to co-operate in class when I switched from Kannada to English.

We had to find ways to get children to engage with English in the Nali Kali class. Two volunteers agreed to help us thrice a week with this. They came with songs, stories and simple conversation in English. It was a bilingual class. A few months later, we were happy that children were slowly warming up to English. One whole year passed. We did not get into introducing the alphabet. There was no chance for any reading or writing!

Bringing English literacy into the classroom

In the very beginning of the next academic year, we laid down the rules. English is a subject children have to learn in school. We can no longer restrict ourselves to only songs and stories. They will have English classes everyday.

One other strategy we used was the following. Their class teachers took care of all the other subjects. I stepped in only for English. It helped that it was an MGML class. The children who had spent the previous year familiarizing themselves with song and dance were ready to do reading and writing in English. The new admissions to grade one went with the flow.

Unfortunately we did not find an English curriculum which was as well designed as the Nali Kali curriculum. I taught children phonics in small clusters trying to mirror the Kannada curriculum.

Capacity building programs that are part of Gubbachi’s culture and everyday practices

Read Aloud Program by Thejaswi Shivanand in Kannada: Thejaswi’s session on Read Alouds have introduced the team to the technique of Read Alouds. These have also guided teachers on how to choose the right book. After demonstrating a typical Read Aloud session with pre and post activities, Thejaswi encouraged teachers to prepare lesson plans on Read Alouds.

Teachers had to justify their choice of books. They had to engage other teachers in a Read Aloud session. They were given feedback by Thejaswi as well as their peers. Gubbachi now has a repository of Kannada Read Aloud lesson plans. All new trainees are taken through the process by their seniors. They also learn through observation. They conduct the Read Aloud session when they are confident enough to do so. This has become a standard feature in the library program every week.

Jodogyan: A few of us attented the Jodogyan workshop in Delhi. We came back and conducted the same with our team in Kannada. Teachers were taught precisely where they had to stand. They also learnt the right terminology to be used while working with the Ganitmala.

They have understood the versatility of this teaching aid. They have introduced it to the children. The Big Ganitmala is an integral part of each Nali Kali class now. The math circle time is incomplete without it.

Well-being course by Viridus: The Gubbachi co-founders attended the well-being workshops conducted by Viridus. We reworked some of our policies keeping the team’s well-being in mind. We have ensured that check-ins have become a part of our culture.

The teams spent time translating the comprehensive emotion wheel from English to Kannada. This has ensured that it is a meaningful activity which helps start the day with compassion. We not only start with the feeling word, but encourage the team to state why they are feeling a certain way in a complete sentence. Not a single day or meeting goes by without it. Children also do the check-in every morning. This determines the change in the course of the day for some of us.

Gubbachi Transform Program: Teachers from the Gubbachi Transform Program work in nine government schools in the Varthur and Doddakanelli cluster. A team of 40 teachers and coordinators engage with around 800 children across 25 sections in these schools.

We can teach English too…

The following year, since we had grown in the number of schools and sections, we hired a teacher for English. The Nali Kali teachers (themselves students of Kannada medium government schools) observed her classes.

By the end of the year, they said, “We are ready to take English classes as well. We are ready to teach English, if you are ready to build our capacity to do so.”

This was how the capacity building process in English started in the Nali Kali program. Evenings, weekends and summer holidays were spent in English capacity building sessions with full attendance!

We are ready to put in those extra hours of practice…

The additional time we had over the months during the lockdown were spent learning English. Here is an example of how we worked. While introducing words with flashcards (first sound flashcards or thematic cards for vocabulary building), teachers were facilitated to work on exactly what the question will be and how it will be framed.

Muliple options for the right answer were also included. This question bank was edited and curated by the coordinator. Each teacher had a printout of the same for her to practice before she went for her class. Some took the printout with them into class. New teachers continue to use the printouts. ‘Senior’ teachers have gained enough confidence to do away with the crutch.

Audios of songs sung by us with printouts of the lyrics were shared. These are very unlike the foreign accented ones available on the internet.

When schools re-opend after the lockdown, the teachers were ready. We ensured that the curriculum also focussed on the spoken language, much more than reading and writing.

Songs, stories and conversations are a very important part of everyday English classes in Gubbachi. Teachers practiced all of this every weekend.

Observation and feedback are crucial

The coordinator who was the facilitator of the capacity building process observed each class through the week. She made teacherspecific, meticulous feedback notes. She then shared these one-on-one at the end of the day. Common issues were addressed in the weekend workshop.

Further capacity building happened during the summer breaks. When the English curriculum was introduced by the Department of Education four years ago, teachers were taken through every single activity during the summer break.

Some senior teachers have become confident about speaking in English. They are also proficient in conducting English classes. They vet lesson plans submitted by the new teachers. Our Nali Kali teacher is now a Master Resource person for English in the monthly ‘Samalochane Sabhe’ conducted by the Department of Education in the the S4 Education Block.

Gubacchi’s learnings to ensure successful capacity building programs

• The need has to arise from the teachers. Then the program is owned by them.
• The program has to be designed keeping the teachers’ socio-cultural background in mind.
• Capacity building has to be practical and meaningful.
• The trainer has to be bi-lingual and must be able to communicate in the language of the group.
• Every session must have an element of practice by the teachers.
• Continuous observation of practice in class is necessary. Ideally, the facilitaor must also be the observer. Or a senior team member must be a part of the capacity building program, so that she can observe the classes.
• Constructive feedback must be built into the culture of the organization, so that the team is open to receiving feedback.
• Empathetic hand-holding is necessary to ensure that difficulties are ironed out on a regular basis.
• Reinforcement of practice on a weekly basis is important.
• Teachers must try and become facilitators for new teachers.

Chartering the building blocks for foundational learning

After the Covid-19 pandemic, all of us in the education sector were struggling with children’s low learning levels. Uma Hrishikesh and Jayshree Venkatesh of Maja Maadi volunteered to help us. They curated a battery of audio perception, visual perception, listening comprehension and mental math activities. They spent a few days with our teachers sharing the theory behind the activities and the need to build a firm learning foundation for children who have been out of the learning cycle for almost two years. They demonstrated precisely how the activities were to be administered.

The coordinators and I were part of the training sessions. Teachers were given the handbooks. They practiced in small groups. They then made presentations to the facilitaors. This was followed by feedback and fine tuning. The Maja Maadi activites were ready to be rolled out in all the classes. Each session was observed. Recordings were sent to the facilitators. They responded with feedback for every video.

During the summer break, teachers met with the facilitators again for a refresher session. This time they conducted the session for the other teachers in the team. After peer feedback in the presence of the facilitators, the process was polished to a shine!

Senior teachers are now the trainers for the new teachers. Videos of children conducting these activities to near perfection are now doing the rounds!