The context

The Azim Premji Foundation has been working in the Kalaburagi South Block for a decade now with over 484 primary school teachers and 253 upper primary school teachers in various subjects through different modes of engagement achieving positive outcomes. Unfortunately, this has not been the case with English.

English teaching in government schools

English as a subject is isolated from the rest, especially in the foundational classes. Neither the English textbooks nor the English Nali-Kali (ENK) kit/​cards are used. In most schools, the whereabouts of the ENK kit itself are not known. The block had hardly 2 to 5 out of 235 teachers in primary classes (I‑III) who taught English. From the beginning, the Education Department and the Foundation’s engagement with the English Nali-Kali teachers has been intermittent and sporadic. The possible reasons for this could be because of the following reasons:

• The block has less than three percent of teachers who have studied English as a major subject.
• The schools have a language teacher who has been appointed for Kannada but is asked to teach both Kannada and English.
• Their limitations in the proficiency of the language and autonomy in the teaching of it may be a deterrent for the teachers.
• There has been an absence of continuous scaffolding of teachers in learning/​teaching English.
• ENK was introduced right before school closure due to the pandemic resulting in a lack of practice in it.

English teaching methodology in Karnataka

In Karnataka, English is taught through the English Nali-Kali (ENK) method which was introduced in 2020. Nali-Kali is a multi-grade multi-level approach wherein learners of classes I, II and III are combined and taught in one classroom. It is a balanced approach in which Listening, Speaking, Reading, and Writing are taught parallelly. In place of textbooks, ENK has teacher cards, learners’ cards and workbooks. The topics across the three classes are the same, however, the complexity of the content increases with each grade. The content is the same for ENK and Environmental Studies (EVS) and the learners are familiar with the content since EVS is taught in Kannada medium. Drawing the connection between Kannada and English makes understanding easier for them.

In English, more than the content, it is the language skills that are focused upon. There are seven milestones/​content themes, such as My Body, Colours etc., and each milestone is taught through six segments – Total physical response activities, Story, Rhyme, Concept presentation, Language game, and Conversation circle. This is followed by an evaluation at the end. Listening and Speaking is a whole class approach where all the learners learn together; Reading and Writing happen in groups according to the learning level and pace of the learners. A single teacher teaches all the subjects across the three classes. The subject background of these teachers is either Kannada, or they are appointed as general teachers but are teaching all the subjects. Therefore, their understanding of English is not of a desirable standard that is required for the teaching of English.

Engagement with teachers

Azim Premji Foundation has worked to help improve school education since 2000, with a motto that when the teachers teach better, the learners learn better. To achieve this, the Foundation engages the teachers in government schools to build their capacities in content, and pedagogy and to improve their teaching practices.

Modes of teacher engagement

• More Engaged Teachers’ workshops: These are monthly one-day, demonstration-based workshops organised by the Foundation members at the block level. Foundation members give a demo of the content to the teachers that the teachers can directly take to their classrooms. In the following workshop, they reflect on how it worked with their students, and how that practice can be improvised for better teaching.
• Cluster-sharing meetings: These one-day meetings are organised by the education department. In these meetings along with the content, various other aspects, like assessment, and documentation, are discussed by the education department resource person. The academic part is facilitated by the Foundation members, that is, the overall process of ENK.
• Voluntary events: These are purely voluntary events organised by the Foundation to develop the oral language of the teachers through activities focused on speaking skills. These events build confidence in the teachers and enable them to practice bilingual teaching.
• Classroom scaffolding: These are engagements in the classroom where Foundation members support teachers through demonstrations, co-teaching, co-planning, resource creation, etc.

Major teaching practices focused on in the engagements

1. Alphabetical understanding and phonological awareness
   Every letter has a sound and its variants and symbols that denote the sound. This practice covered developing an understanding of the symbol and the corresponding sounds. Reading words and short sentences are discussed through activities that foster better learning. Sub-practices in this area are foundational to English language teaching. The key concepts discussed are introducing the alphabet through pictures, for example, an A card with a picture of an aeroplane, B card with a picture of a bee and so on; introducing the phonic sounds through a jolly phonic rhyme; following the ENK method of introducing the alphabet by dividing it into clusters. For example, c, o, a, p, t which is easy for the learners to write and to frame simple two to three-letter words with, like cat, pat, cot, etc.When it comes to writing, beginning with the introduction of standing line, sleeping line, slanting line, and circle, and then gradually shifting towards writing alphabets through activities, like tracing, connecting the dots, airbrushing, and then writing independently. Engaging learners in games, like constructing an alphabet train, playing hopscotch with alphabets (in lace of numbers), matching a picture with letters, and matching the capital letters with small letters, as a means to reinforce.
    
2. Talk and conversation
   Meaningful content is crucial for language acquisition, especially in the learning of a second language. A teacher will have to practice various ideas in her classroom which will create opportunities for talk and conversation. Content for language teaching can be provided through various modes and this practice emphasises the various modes teachers can follow in their classroom. The primary mode is talk. Talk is a two-way process wherein one person talks and the other person responds. Conversation is an extended version of talk, where both participants have equal space to express their thoughts. Talk and conversation can make a language classroom more comfortable for learners, build fluency and polish oral expression by providing opportunities for participants to think and articulate thoughts. The major objective of talk in the initial years is not to force language production in English but to gently nudge learners towards more frequent use of English with the support of their home language(s). Activities like situation talk, pick and speak, role play, and narrating stories of their own can scaffold learners in this process. Following TTT (Teachers Talk Time) and SQTT (Students Qualitative Talk Time) on a daily basis provide a larger exposure of language to the learners.
    
3. Print-rich environment
   Having a conducive environment that fosters learning plays a critical role in second language learning. Making the classroom and school premises enriched with prints that are directly related to the textbook and learning nudge learners towards learning the language. The key aspects discussed under this practice are, that a print-rich environment is not an activity or a product to display. As the name indicates, it is an environment that is created and built over time with the active involvement of the teacher and learners. A print-rich environment is one where young children get opportunities to interact with different forms of print. A few activities that can be done to promote print print-rich environment are: Informs (students’ names on artworks) Reminds (‘Ssshh! You are in the Reading Corner!’) Labels (blackboard, chalk, comb, mirror, etc.) Elicit response (Attendance charts, students sign or checkmark against their names) Reading Corner, Writing Corner, Word Study Corner. Along with this, some misconceptions about print-rich and how it should be used were discussed. For example, the objective is not to decorate the classroom with colourful and interesting material for children so that they are introduced to reading and writing but to help children develop the understanding that print-rich carries meaning, and that reading and writing have a purpose in real life. Teachers and learners co-create grade-appropriate materials.
    

4. Story and rhyme
   Stories and rhyme in the foundational stage are not solely for the purpose of enjoyment; the objective is beyond that. Children at that stage have a certain command of oral language and are naturally fascinated by stories and rhymes. They come to school with considerable exposure to stories and songs, be it from films, lullabies or folk songs. When stories and rhymes are introduced formally, they help in language development. Learners are exposed to new words through songs. They learn the language without putting in too much conscious effort. Areas of discussion include how the story is one of the best comprehensible inputs as it provides detailed information and context to the learners. Narrating stories is more effective because voice intonation, actions, and appropriate pauses help the learner comprehend the language even though they are not proficient in it. At the same time, stories create ample opportunities for listening to language with interest. Stories can enhance the development of listening and speaking, imagination, creativity, critical thinking, verbal proficiency, self-expression, and vocabulary. While transacting stories, teachers should ensure that they connect the story to the prior knowledge of the children, use bilingualism and not direct translation, provide wholesome exposure to the targeted language by writing keywords on the blackboard clearly that are visible to all children, use gestures, actions and modelling, use probing questions and provide opportunity for students to talk, encourage children to ask questions and acknowledge their participation.

   Similarly with rhymes — learners enjoy singing rhymes and they develop vocabulary without putting in a lot of effort. The use of repeated structures not only helps students take an interest and memorise a rhyme easily but also encourages them to recite along, thereby gaining fluency and initiating the process of language production. Rhymes also provide excellent opportunities for developing awareness of sounds.

Changes we could see in teaching practices 

The total number of teachers teaching Nali-Kali classes is 235, out of which 136 teachers have been engaged intensively through our More Engaged Teachers’ workshops. The following changes are observed from the teachers’ reflections in the workshops, classroom observations, audio-video updates from teachers, and from their presentations in melas and seminars.

1. Alphabetical and phonological awareness

Teacher reflections
​’Teaching English is way new to me. The workshops gave me a positive energy to start teaching English in the initial months and a few months later, I’m happy to see myself with a deeper understanding of the ENK process and content. I am able to teach concepts other than the alphabet, like long and short vowels, blends, and diagraphs bilingually.’ – Leelavathi, GHPS Panegaon

2. Talk and conversation

Teacher reflections 
​‘I believed that I would never gain the confidence to talk in English, but the motivation and the input I got from the proficiency course pushed me to converse with learners bilingually. Learners are able to pick up the keywords and short sentences in English.’ – Bhavani Takur, GHPS Sitanoor. (Gopika, GHPS Siranoor shared a similar reflection).

3. Print-rich environment

Teacher reflections
​‘It was surprising to see the children engaging themselves more with English books than the Kannada books. Though they cannot read the whole sentences, they are trying to draw connections and construct meaning through pictures and keywords.’ – Bhavani Bhatt, GHPS Pala. (Gopika, GHPS Siranoor and Rekha, GLPS Pattan also shared similar reflections.)

4. Story and Rhyme

Teacher reflections
​’Children love learning English; they enjoy English class as much as I do. The workshops helped me understand the ENK content and the process. I am able to follow the process and there is noticeable progress in my learners.’ – Anitha, GHPS Somnathalli.

Effect on learners’ performance

There is a progression in these teacher’s learners, though minimal but positive. Around 10 teachers’ learners have achieved alphabetical and phonological awareness and can frame and comprehend consonant-vowel-consonant (CVC) pattern words, are able to follow the Total Physical Response (TPR) commands and classroom instructions, decode three- to four-letter words and narrate stories on their own by using keywords in English. However, the progress is not the same with all the learners of these teachers. There is a gap in their learning level and there is a huge scope for filling the learning gap.

Best practice sharing forums

Forums that served as a sharing platform are More Engaged Teachers workshops (MET), Cluster Sharing Meetings (CSMs), Mela, and Seminar. MET workshops and CSMs were a platform for both input and sharing. Teachers would reflect on what was easy for them to adapt, what worked best with their learners along with the challenges. Teachers would often demonstrate a smaller segment for the other teachers. Out of the ten teachers, two teachers presented papers in the block-level teachers’ seminar and seven teachers presented papers in the teachers’ mela.

Conclusion

English language teaching learning is complex in government schools due to various challenges, such as gaps in teacher proficiency and understanding of second language pedagogy. Language is learned through meaningful input at the early stages and by systematically introducing the language and its structure in the later years. This requires adequate understanding among teachers as well as appropriate capacity development opportunities.

Our continuous engagement with Nali-Kali teachers who teach English has helped them adapt and enhance certain teaching practices. Considering the requirements and challenges, the below-mentioned aspects need to be kept in mind while designing teacher capacity-building efforts:

• Teachers need adequate input, scaffolding in classrooms, and exposure to open up to the language, hence they need to be continuously engaged through multiple modes.
• Demonstration of the teaching process helps the teachers more than orienting them about good practices alone.
• Listing down teaching practices that are core to second language learning is useful. These practices need to be covered when engagements are organised for teachers.
• Students’ learning needs to be tracked periodically and this tracking needs to be based on competencies that are listed.
• Efforts need to be built such that teachers are clear about good teaching practices as well as language competencies that need to be focused.
• Teachers need assurance that they are not under any scrutiny or judgment on how they use English; they need motivation to speak in English and start teaching bilingually.
• An English Proficiency Course (EPC) for the teachers to get exposure, to feel comfortable, and to develop their oral language can be organised.

Our experience in the Kalaburagi South Block has been promising. There are positive changes in teaching practices and student learning. There is more to be done which will include ensuring better learning materials as well as a systemic attempt to take up teacher professional development. All these efforts are needed to bring in better language-learning classrooms.

Author

Vinitha R joined the Azim Premji Foundation’s Kalaburagi District Institute in 2021 as an English Resource Person. She has completed her integrated BA‑B Ed in English Literature from the Regional Institute of Education, NCERT, Mysore and has a master’s degree in English and Comparative Literature from the Central University of Punjab.