Part Of The Body English Learning Game Play And Learn

Part Of The Body English Learning Game

 Play And Learn

Teaching has never been just a job to me, and I have been fortunate to be recognized for my passion. I received the Mile High Teacher award from the Mayor of Denver in 2012, due to the amazing progress my students have made. I care deeply about helping to foster happy and healthy children, their educational progress, and overall success in life. And that is why I am so alarmed by the current push for online schooling this fall. While I understand the concerns about going back to school during the pandemic, I believe remote learning will cause far more harm than good—and that’s not a popular opinion where I live.

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India’s recently amended National Education Policy (NEP) has polarised the education sector like never before. One of the key proposals made in the new draft says that the medium of instruction in schools should be regional or local languages. 

The NEP 2020 states,

“Wherever possible, the medium of instruction until at least Grade 5, but preferably till Grade 8 and beyond, will be the home language or mother tongue or local language or regional language.” 

The government believes that this will not only make school learning more multilingual, but also help young students grasp subjects and concepts more easily given their familiarity with the mother tongue.

Image Credit: Connectiva Systems

However, this has caused much frenzy among academics, parents, and principals. 

Several schools have come forth saying that not familiarising students with English — a language linked to better job outcomes — will be disadvantageous. It can also create an imbalance between the student’s primary and intermediate learning, and higher education. 

It is also a sharp contrast to the general sentiment — and obsession — involving English proficiency in India. A 2019 report titled Efficacy of Mobile Edtech in India: Mapping User Engagement to Learning Outcomes by Gray Matters Capital highlighted the rising demand for English learning apps in the country. 

It stated, “This is indicative of the user's focus on getting jobs or doing better in jobs with help of English, not just learning for the sake of it. On the other hand, for younger children, parents actively look for resources that will improve academic learning, especially reading ability.”