For Rafala Ranji, a teacher at Chennai Primary School in Thiru-Vi-Ka Nagar, the biggest takeaway from the three-month English-language training she underwent was that she was not afraid to speak the language anymore.
She was one of the 100 teachers who were part of a pilot English language skill-development programme for Corporation teachers, handling mainly primary classes.
With the Corporation offering English-medium education in several of its schools, they have tied up with Tech Mahindra Foundation, the CSR arm of Tech Mahindra, and Cambridge English Language Assessment — a not-for-profit department of the University of Cambridge — to deliver a 48-hour programme covering English language and pedagogy for teachers.
Mayor Saidai Duraisamy distributed certificates to the first batch of teachers who cleared a level of the Cambridge English Language Assessment, and said 150 others would undergo training. Corporation commissioner Vikram Kapur said that declining enrolment was a concern despite the infrastructure in schools.
The programme, said Loveleen Kacker, CEO, TMF, would work towards improving teachers’ capacity and working grasp of English before moving on to pedagogical aspects. The emphasis was on listening and speaking skills, said Angela ffrench, director of operations, south and south east Asia, Cambridge English Language Assessment. “In the long run, the attempt was towards self-sufficiency where teachers could train their fellow teachers,” she said.