Bihar teachers learn to speak English

For Bihars Class X students,English has traditionally been a stumbling block,with a failure rate between 25 and 35 per cent.

For Bihars Class X students,English has traditionally been a stumbling block,with a failure rate between 25 and 35 per cent. The government feels one reason is that they arent being taught well enough and has set out to get their teachers trained in spoken English.

The government recently engaged British Lingua to conduct a one-month residential course in the headquarters of four districts Banka,Bhagalpur,Madhubani and Darbhanga with consistently poor results in English,said Hasan Waris,director,State Council of Educational Research and Training.

British Lingua found the 283 teachers it trained weak in one or more of three areas. Some used fancy phrases rather than everyday words. Others were uncomfortable with spoken English and stuck to written lessons. The third group was weak in basic grammar,British Lingua director Birbal Jha said.

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Once an attempt had been made to address these weaknesses,the teachers were advised to speak with their students in English as far as possible,to use the simplest of tenses possible,and hold interactive sessions with stories and short speeches on popular subjects these had been part of the course.

Jha said British Lingua did a follow-up on how the trained teachers were progressing and found that most now hold regular grammar classes and speak in English.

The government had started with two districts and then added the next two,following feedback from children and their parents. Many high schools,Waris said,have now dedicated spoken English classes. He said the training would be replicated in other districts.