Literacy Research in Indian Languages (LiRIL): Research report of a Study of Literacy Acquisition in Kannada and Marathi (2013-2016)
The Literacy Research in Indian Languages (LiRIL) project, jointly supported by the Tata Trusts and Azim Premji University, aimed to study how children learned to read and write in two Indian languages—Kannada and Marathi--and to document the challenges faced by marginalized learners in this process. The project was conducted in two socio-economically disadvantaged areas – Yadgir block (Yadgir district, Karnataka) and Wada block, (Palghar district, Maharashtra). It used a longitudinal design, and followed 360 students per site as they moved from Grades 1-3 (2013-2016). The schools in Karnataka followed the Nali Kali (Multi Grade Multi Level– MGML) curricular approach and the schools in Maharashtra used the Bal Bharati textbooks for teaching language and literacy.
The LiRIL project confirms what is well known – children in both sites perform very poorly in a variety of reading and writing tasks. It was clear that children are not just unable to read words and passages at an appropriate level of difficulty, but that, even those who are able to read the script, are often unable to comprehend it. Higher order skills like comprehension and composition are alarmingly poor. The principal investigators were Shailaja Menon, Ramchandar Krishnamurthy from Azim Premji University.
This paper aims to describe and analyse these experiences in four clusters of Uttarakhand where sustained efforts of the CRCCs, teachers and members of the Foundation have revitalised cluster-level monthly meetings and created a teacher-owned space for academic dialogue.
Teacher Guide, Part 1: Decoding the Script
It feels very crippling for a child to be expected to write conventionally in the early days of school, when many of our students have not
even seen print ever before in their lives. In this Teachers’ Guide, we summarize learnings from the LiRiL project related to the teaching and learning of the script in
classrooms in Maharashtra and Karnataka.
Teacher Guide, Part II: Comprehension
Reading and writing with meaning is essential for all school-based learning, and also for functioning as a literate person in the world
outside of schools. Actively promoting comprehension, therefore, is not optional. In this Teachers’ Guide, we summarize learnings from the LiRIL project
related to the teaching and learning of reading comprehension in classrooms in Maharashtra and Karnataka.
Teacher Guide, Part III: Children's Writing
Writing is of value to children because it allows them to express their emotions and thoughts. When children’s expression and
thoughts are given importance in the classroom, children learn that their lives matter. In this Teachers’ Guide, we summarize learnings from the LiRiL
project related to the teaching and learning of writing in classrooms in Maharashtra and Karnataka.
Click here to download the final report.
Click here to read the Kannnada version of the report
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