Panchatantra, other Indian folk tales to help govt school kids improve English in U.P. - Hindustan Times
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Panchatantra, other Indian folk tales to help govt school kids improve English in U.P.

Dec 14, 2022 10:14 PM IST

An instruction book shall also be made available to the teachers for instructing them how to use the content and derive maximum benefit.

PRAYAGRAJ In a novel initiative, interesting stories of Panchatantra (an ancient Indian collection of interrelated animal fables which for centuries have given moral education to Indian kids) will help students improve English in Uttar Pradesh.

These students are enrolled in 1,13,289 government-run primary schools of the state. (HT Photo)
These students are enrolled in 1,13,289 government-run primary schools of the state. (HT Photo)

At the behest of the state government, English Language Teaching Institute (ELTI) in Prayagraj -- which functions under State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) -- is preparing audio content for more than 1 crore students of Classes 1 to 5, said state basic education department officials. These students are enrolled in 1,13,289 government-run primary schools of the state.

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In accordance with the new National Education Policy (NEP)-2020, in addition to new stories, Panchatantra stories, Hitopadesh (an Indian text originally in Sanskrit consisting of fables with both animal and human characters giving moral lessons), and other Indian folk tales have also been included in an interesting and musical way for this very purpose, they added.

“Short stories and poems in audio content of 5-to-10 minutes duration will be made available on YouTube by the end of December. Teachers of basic education department schools will be able to download them and then narrate to children through Bluetooth speakers already provided to these schools,” said Skand Shukla, principal of ELTI, Prayagraj. He added the content recorded by experienced teachers involving kids shall be bilingual with English words/sentences interspersed in Hindi. A signature tune has also been provided by a music teacher from the renowned Prayag Samiti.

“The content shall be graded according to age/class and thus, if by rough estimate the material for class 1 shall have 10% English, the percentage of English shall be gradually increased as the classes go up,” Shukla explained. An instruction book shall also be made available to the teachers for instructing them how to use the content and derive maximum benefit. This instruction book shall detail the things to be done before and after the playing of the audio-content. The book shall mention the key-words to be explained, and comprehension questions to be asked, to ensure that children enjoy the content and learn the English language, he said.

Officials shared that it following the initiative’s implementation, it can be expected that there will be a significant improvement in the listening and speaking skills of students in English language. Since the teachers will also be closely involved with the whole process in the schools, it is also hoped that the facilitation and teaching skills of the teachers will also be improved.

Key objectives of audio-content development:

Creating an English language environment for primary-level students.

Enabling their absorption of the language unconsciously.

As language learning largely depends on listening, allow audio content to form a concrete basis for complete language proficiency.

Enhancement in English communication skills of primary students.

Improvement in the facilitation skills of primary school teachers across the board.

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  • ABOUT THE AUTHOR
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    K Sandeep Kumar is a Special Correspondent of Hindustan Times heading the Allahabad Bureau. He has spent over 16 years reporting extensively in Uttar Pradesh, especially Allahabad and Lucknow. He covers politics, science and technology, higher education, medical and health and defence matters. He also writes on development issues.

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