GUWAHATI: In a move to improve English language skills among students in early grades, the Assam government has taken the initiative to introduce the “Jolly Phonics” method of teaching in 400 schools across Kamrup Metro and Kamrup Rural.
This decision comes after the analysis of the National Achievement Survey (NAS) revealed that many students, especially in the early grades, face difficulties in reading English with proper pronunciation and writing English effectively.
It was also observed that some teachers continue to use traditional teaching methods, making it crucial to adopt new and effective approaches to enhance language learning.
Phonics, a modern teaching method that focuses on teaching English with proper pronunciation, will be employed to address these challenges. In 2022, the Secondary Education Board of Assam (SEBA) initially piloted an intervention using phonics in six schools of the Kamrup (M) district in collaboration with Jolly Learning Limited (JLL) UK, yielding positive results.
Now, with the approval of the Assam government, this intervention will be expanded to 400 schools (200 schools in each district) with lower primary classes in Kamrup Rural and Kamrup Metro districts.
To ensure the successful implementation of Jolly Phonics in classrooms, a two-day block-level teachers training programme has been scheduled from August 7 to August 10.
The training aims to improve pronunciation and reading skills in English, with a specific focus on phonics. It also aims to enhance English writing skills among Grade-1 students.
The training will follow a non-residential mode and be conducted at the block level. A total of 400 teachers will participate in the programme, with 200 from each district. The training will be divided into two batches, with Batch-1 scheduled for August 7 and 8, and Batch-2 for August 9 and 10.
For Kamrup Rural, the training venue will be the District Institute of Education and Training, where it will be held in two halls. In Kamrup Metro, the training will take place at Tarini Choudhary Government Girls Higher Secondary and Multipurpose School and Kamrup Academy Higher Secondary School.