Picturesque and Passionate

When we got off the train, the sun had just about risen in the sky, and we were greeted by a big yellow sign board that read ‘Purulia’. After piling into our ‘tuk-tuk’ with all our luggage, we moved through the narrow streets where vendors were setting up their mats on the side of the road with a variety of vegetables. While we were on our way, we saw a group of teachers leaving the school. We stopped to ask them if they thought it was important to learn English. Their positive responses made us even more motivated to help government school students learn English.

Schools of Purulia

The schools in Purulia were breathtakingly beautiful. Sprawling greens, over 100-year-old trees, and beautiful bed of flowers surround the old buildings. Bicycles stand parked against walls and lined up in the courtyards. While picturesque, Purulia had its own set of problems. We visited a school that told us that they could not hold a ReadToMe class as the electricity was unavailable that day. They managed to call the people at the station and request a special power line to conduct a class. Most schools were suffering from a lack of teachers as with the new regulations, teachers were required to finish their B.Ed. We noticed that many principals were taking class themselves to cover for the shortage.

According to the 2011 census, the average literacy rate of Purulia is 64.48% and the female literacy rate is 50.52%. The students here are mainly first-generation learners who come from either tribal or agrarian backgrounds. We even met a student Shamfala, who was one of the first children from her tribe to have received an opportunity to study. The parents usually work in the fields or run shops.

Some of the children we met traveled for more than two hours a day to reach school. The students had to work in the fields or rear cattle when they returned home. The only time they did any learning was at the school. Lakshmi Paul, a student of class 5, told us how she managed the chores and homework on a daily basis.

RightToRead is Helping Students Learn English

It took us a while to be able to talk to some of the students in the more remote schools. Only after a lot of coaxing did some of them open up. Many of them came and spoke much more freely when the rest of the class had left. We were then reminded that learning is never done out of context. The math teacher of Ichag High School explained “You see, they are very nervous. They speak Bengali, their local language which is either Kurmani or a variant of Oriya, Hindi, and then English. You can say English is their fourth language!”

I was very nervous myself, speaking to the students in broken Bengali. They usually sensed my discomfort and automatically switched to Hindi or basic English, without me asking. This showed their ability to understand and learn English as their conversational skills had been positively impacted. The use of the ‘Pronunciation Tool’ and the ‘Picture Dictionary’ enhanced their understanding of the language. Also, the students and teachers claimed these tools as their favorites. Adarsan Mahato, a student of class 5, put it perfectly “I can hear clearly, and everything is repeated. I love seeing the pictures. I don’t feel scared asking the teacher to hear or see something again and again. Whatever your problem, the computer will help!” The English Teacher told us about a particular student’s development, as a result of the ReadToMe classes. “Since Prabin came to study in this school, he has always been silent. After ReadToMe, he is now much more participative and active in class. He is not shy and can confidently express himself.”

Our Learnings

We saw glimpses of what he was talking about during our class observations. Students confidently asked us about ourselves, invited us for a home cooked meal, and to tour the historical sites. While a little shy at first, when it came to a ReadToMe period, the whole class would come alive and read loudly. There would be many students eagerly waiting to be called on to read alone in front of the whole class. Nitish Kumar Suren from Baragram High school remarked “It is a very nice feeling when sir calls on me to read. I love getting every word correct.” The passion with which the students wanted to learn English and the way teachers taught English, made our journey with RightToRead so much more fruitful.

– Written by a member of the EnglishHelper Team

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