Children at a community centre in India are set to benefit from English language support from staff at De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) Centre for English Language Learning (CELL).
Director of Language Learning, David Boydon, recently visited a community centre in the slums of Ramapir No Tekro in Ahmedabad, with the Square Mile India team, and spent time working with children and staff to find the best ways to support existing work at the centre.
David took the opportunity to observe an English lesson and introduced himself to the class, as well as helping out with an English-themed art lesson, alongside other DMU staff and students.
The art session finished with a lively vocabulary lesson that saw students learning the names of some of England’s high-profile sights and icons, including Big Ben, the London Eye, London taxis, Leicester City Football Club and even fish and chips.
David said: “I am really looking forward to working with staff in order to help develop English language skills of learners who live within the Ramapir No Tekro district.
“During my visit I was struck by the warmth, enthusiasm and determination to succeed among both staff and learners and I really welcome the opportunity to work closely with them in the future to ensure meaningful developments in the teaching and learning of English.”
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In future CELL will look to send staff to Ahmedabad to carry out teacher training courses to help the community centre’s English teachers to learn new ways to help students pick up English as their second language.
Initial suggestions during meetings with existing teaching staff included group-working, developing communicative activities, incorporating English conversation in to lessons and providing learning materials to give students a wider variety of ways to learn.
There are also plans to invite staff from the community centre to visit DMU in the future to further develop their teaching methods to support the children.
Square Mile India is a DMU initiative currently based in Gujarat’s largest city, which will see the university draw on its research and academic excellence to transform the livelihoods of people living in poverty.
To donate to the Square Mile India Fund from £2 per month please email squaremile@dmu.ac.uk and you can join in the conversation on Twitter and Instagram using #DMUIndia.
Posted on Wednesday 20 April 2016