In our last blog, we introduced you to Ms Mercy Padmavathi from the Nilgiris, Tamil Nadu who is helping students learn English with technology-enabled tools. Ms Mercy has used ReadToMe® software for over three years to teach English in her classroom. (If you missed it, read all about her journey, click here.). Every ReadToMe® enabled classroom is made successful by the efforts of the teacher who is excited by the changes in the English reading and comprehension ability of students. 

The closure of schools for the past six months has created new challenges for students and teachers. To help students learn while at home, ReadToMe® is now available to students on Google Play Store: ReadToMe Student Edition. Teachers enthusiastically recommend this multi-sensory reading and comprehension AI app for self-learning at home.

Sowmyashree B is the English teacher at Government Higher Primary School, Veerbhadranagar in Bengaluru. She has several years of teaching experience. Sowmyashree is one of the many teachers who use ReadToMe® software to help students learn English in their classrooms. 

EnglishHelper: How does ReadToMe® software help students learn English at school?

Sowmyashree: ReadToMe® software helps students in various ways. Students learn better with the software. The software helps them to get their pronunciations right. They also learn to spell words correctly. 

The software allows students to pick up new words and their meanings easily. The Picture Dictionary tool in the software makes understanding new words easier. Now, students are looking forward to learning other subjects with ReadToMe® software. 

EnglishHelper: You have been teaching for several years; what motivated you to choose teaching as a profession?

Sowmyashree: I come from a family of teachers. My parents and grandparents were also teachers. My family has always believed that ‘teachers play an important role in the growth and development of nations’. Inspired by my family, I decided to choose teaching as my profession. Like them, I also wanted to become a nation-builder.

EnglishHelper: COVID-19 and the lockdown has affected every aspect of our lives. School education has been affected greatly by the closure of schools nationwide. What was your reaction to the changed circumstances?

Sowmyashree: The pandemic left us in a state of shock. The safety of the children was the primary goal. Schools had to shut down to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Every year we look forward to a new academic session. The pandemic and lockdown happened right around the commencement of the new school year. I had many plans for the new session. It was not very pleasant to have schools shut down for so long. I have been away from school and my students for far too long.

To overcome the disruption of school learning caused by the pandemic, EnglishHelper launched ReadToMe Student Edition App. This multi-sensory reading comprehension app assists students in learning on their own. This app is available on Google Play Store. This app can be used by students from NCERT and as well as Karnataka board. The app includes English textbooks from the Karnataka State Board. This app has been helping students achieve their learning outcomes while staying at home.

EnglishHelper: Are your students using the ReadToMe Student Edition? How is the app helping them learn English from home?

Sowmyashree: Yes, the app has been a boon in these times. The greatest advantage of this app is that it helps students to read and understand their lessons in the absence of a teacher. 

Students find it difficult to study lessons on their own. Students can now improve their listening, speaking and reading skills while being at home. 

Sowmyashree encourages her students to practise their lessons daily. She recommends this app to all her students. When schools re-open, students will be able to enjoy learning with ReadToMe® in the classroom and at home. This is a wonderful example of closing the learning loop!

Watch out this space for more exciting stories from our teachers and students.

To know more about the RightToRead initiative and the ReadToMe Student Edition, please connect with us on LinkedIn, Twitter, and YouTube.

Click here for our innovative spoken English program – EnglishBolo™, a joint initiative of EnglishHelper and Schoolnet. To know more about EnglishBolo™ connect with us on YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook.