Government schools in Tamil Nadu will offer spoken English training as part of their curriculum from Class I to Class IX, senior officials from the School Education Department said.
The initiative follows concerns raised in several quarters, including the Madras High Court, over students of government schools lacking fluency in English.
As per the initiative, students of classes I to V in panchayat union schools and government schools will get one class for 90 minutes every week for spoken English. Students from Class VI to Class IX will have one class of 45 minutes duration every week. According to an order sent to all chief educational officers, spoken English classes must involve teaching and activity-based learning. The State Council of Education Research and Training (SCERT) has prepared handbooks for teachers for the training. A common handbook has been prepared for classes I to V, while classes VI to IX will have separate handbooks for each class.
Teaching videos
Videos for teaching will also be uploaded soon to the Tamil Nadu Teachers’ Platform, officials said. Kalvi Tholaicatchi , the TV channel run by the government for education, will have programmes on spoken English training, they added.
The first round of training for 96 personnel from primary schools was conducted last week by the SCERT. Training for selected teachers from the districts, who will be involved in training students from classes VI to IX, will happen later this week. These teachers will in turn train other teachers at the district level in December.
Minister for School Education, Youth Welfare and Sports Development K.A. Sengottaiyan is expected to formally release the handbooks at a function on Wednesday. A senior official from the department said the initiative is expected to have a considerable impact on improving the communication skills of the students over the next few years.
