Every year in India over 12 million people enter the workforce. However, this level of growth is far greater than the expected levels of employment opportunities. Large sectors such as agriculture and manufacturing do not offer much hope in terms of employment opportunities for the large number of young people who are looking to begin their careers.

This challenge is magnified by the low quality of education that a majority of the Indian youth are receiving. High levels of functional illiteracy exist despite the increased number of schools and higher levels of attendance. This is a crisis needing urgent, large-scale intervention. The good news is that solutions are available in the form of technology.

Several English learning apps are now available online. With a smartphone, an internet connection, and a simple download, a person can start learning to speak English. Programs like EnglishBolo™ take a step further, offering a unique blended learning solution and connecting learners with live teachers through virtual classrooms.

Since its inception in 2018, EnglishBolo™ has been constantly evolving to suit its learners’ needs. They offer a blend of self-learning and teacher-led learning. The self-learning English lessons are just 15 minutes long – learners are encouraged to complete just one lesson a day. The teacher-led lessons that are scheduled as per the learners’ convenience and conducted virtually, recognize the power and the role of the teacher in learning a language. EnglishBolo™ teachers come from all walks of life – homemakers looking for a few hours of employment, senior citizens who want to stay busy or give back, teachers supplementing income after school hours, or professionals seeking to develop new skills. Just anybody who can speak English reasonably, write an email on a computer and demonstrate an empathetic attitude can become an EnglishBolo™ teacher. This makes it possible to create a massive teacher network that can support the needs of the huge number of youth aspiring to speak English.

The original article has been written and published by Businessworld Education. To read more, click on this link:

http://bweducation.businessworld.in/article/-Feeding-Two-Sides-With-One-Byte-/07-02-2019-166959/

(February 2019)