Students learning with a volunteer using teaching learning materials created by LLF
(Source: Language Learning Foundation’s fortnightly report)
“Earlier, I used to drain myself teaching letters to children throughout the year. But through incessant trainings and by the guidance and support of Neev team (an LLF project, supported by Vibha), I have improved a lot in my teaching methods. I have started following an action plan for teaching. I believe that every child can learn if given ample opportunities.” -Bhuneshwar Prasad Garg
(A Teacher of one of the LLF’s target schools)
Bhuneshwar Prasad Garg has been teaching Hindi language to grade-1 students in Government Primary School Changori, Durg district. The school is a target school in Neev project, and comes under the purview of cluster Thanoud in Durg district of Chhattisgarh. Vibha is partially supporting Language Learning Foundation’s Neev: Early Learning Improvement Programme project in Durg district of Chhattisgarh. This project covers 200 school, out of which 50 schools are supported by Vibha.
Bhuneshwar Prasad Garg (A Teacher of one of the LLF’s target schools)
Mr. Garg emphasizes that Neev’s learning resources for teachers’ training are important for any classroom-based intervention,. The teachers have also received important resource materials like books, posters, Varn and Matra (Hindi alphabets) cards, grid cards, picture story books, and student books under the project Neev. He said that this resource materials is simple and contextually related to the surrounding of children to facilitate smooth understanding. He also told that a guidebook was also provided to teachers which helped them in instructing and engaging children in the classrooms.
A Teacher conducting classes under Har Ghar School initiative of LLF
He later added, “when I started activities on oral language development with my students with reciting poems & stories, then I would let them talk and I would just listen, in the end I would ask them open and close ended questions. Now these children are able to speak with confidence and without hesitation” Similarly, they introduced reading words as well as simple sentence and simple writing. Storybooks also have helped children in developing reading and writing skills, according to Mr. Garg.
When schools were closed after the COVID-19 pandemic hit the world, teachers enrolled themselves in five-week courses provided by LLF. Mr. Garg also took the trainings. After the training sessions, the Neev team contacted him for continuing education through online modules to which Mr. Garg agreed. He took the initiative to ensure students received the materials needed to continue learning and made sure to keep in contact with their parents to monitor their progress.
Because of the adverse effects of the global pandemic on the education system, when schools started to shut down due to the countrywide lockdown, LLF came up with a new initiative, named as Har Ghar School (A school in Every Home). Mr. Garg approached his previous students who are now in college to help teach the children of their community. Because the student volunteers and the children are from the same communities, the familiarity between helped leverage the interaction with parents so that they can also help their children finish their schoolwork.
Dedicated teachers like Mr. Bhuneshwar Prasad Garg would help LLF to attain its goal of improving language learning outcomes in children in government primary schools by creating the community mindset of volunteering in the society.