Jasvinder Singh, Chief Executive Officer, Words Worth shares his insight on how English language Labs breaking learning barriers
Why is English learning considered difficult by Indians?
It is a myth that English is a difficult language to muster by Indian students although it may be difficult to do away with the clutches of regional language and its common use at home that serves as the convenient medium in daily life. All languages have the same natural
learning cycle and it is important that training a child in English language skills aptly uses a similar paradigm. The child should be exposed to role plays and participating activities that bring meaning to the context. The teacher plays an important role in being the guide and mentor, however, the teacher should be supported with convenient tools to present the language aspects and demonstrate their use. Learning begins with listening. Listening to pronunciations, expressions, and meaning rather than rules which evolve as the child goes along to speak by themselves. Spellings, reading and writing come way after. An important observation made by most researchers on the subject is that foreign language learning lends itself naturally to the use of media. Linguists emphasise on the importance of speech over writing in language: children can listen and speak before they learn to read and write. All languages of the world are spoken, but not all have a writing system. Language labs are solutions that use the natural pattern for learning the language.
Why is English considered a vital skill?
The realisation for the need of English skills has dawned in the wake of the new world order where the Internet and telecommunicationshave undone the bordersand equal opportunities are nowavailable to all. It did start with the citiesand has been progressively reaching theremotest villages of India.
Employability and prospects are themost significant keys to the prominenceof English. The world is now a smallplace and everything is accessible. Englishis the global communications platformfor businesses. Ample opportunitiesare available for people competentlyskilled in their profession and Englishlanguage.
Employability and prospects are the most significant keys to the prominence of English
How, in your opinion, do English language labs help do the push?
Language labs have enormously benefited by technology, however, many have failed to satisfactorily address the learning outcomes. Words Worth English language labs include a progressive graded learning curriculum, ample practice time for each individual learner, several audio visual tools for the teacher to demonstrate listening and comprehension, pronunciation, syllable break and stress, intonation, removal of mother tongue influences, phonetics, and more. A teacher’s dashboard helps them to collaborate with students by text and voice, view remote screen, set up tasks and tests for students, and review comprehensive progress reports on several parameters. Academic support is provided to the teacher through an in-depth training on the product usage, supplemented with training manuals and flash cards.
How many institutions in the country have benefitted from English language labs?
Words Worth English language labs is installed in more than 2,000 institutions across the country catering to the language enhancement needs of over one million learners. Besides schools and colleges, Words Worth products are instrumental in the capacity
building projects of the governments of Gujarat, Rajasthan and Karnataka. Words Worth Papyrus is a special paper-based lab that is used in the rural sector where infrastructure including computers, electricity, etc, is a challenge. Words Worth also has adult learning besides self-learning solutions.
