- This is the moment for teaching community to step in and play a proactive role in preventing a cognitive crisis among Indian students: Professor Dr K Elango, National Secretary of ELTAI
- All stakeholders have to judiciously use the technology to rekindle the habit of reading: Dr Shravan Kumar, National Vice President of ELTAI
- As far as Gujarat is concerned only 52% students of Class VIII could read Class II level text, which reflects decline in reading competency in the post Covid period
ABHIMANYU JOON
ANAND, AHMEDABAD, JUNE 17
Anand Chapter of the English Language Teacher’s Association of India [ELTAI] held its first conference in Gujarat at HM Patel Institute of English Training and Research [HMPIETR], Vallabh Vidyanagar on Friday to seek cooperation from educational institutions to promote reading habit among present generation of learners.
The event was presided over by Honorary Secretary of Charotar Vidya Mandal [CVM] Dr SG Patel.
As per the Annual Status of Education Report [ASER] 2022, published by the NGO Pratham only 20.5% of Class III students could read Class II level text. The reading competency of Class V and III students has also declined to alarming levels, when compared with data of 2018. As far as Gujarat is concerned only 52% students of Class VIII could read Class II level text, which reflects decline in reading competency in the post Covid period.
According to National Secretary of ELTAI Professor Dr K Elango, this decline can be attributed to greater amount of ‘on-screen’ time that has affected cognitive skills of students.
In an exclusive interview with navjeevanexpress.com, Dr Elango said, “Reading is the foundation of learning, which motivates students to read books independently, develops creativity, critical thinking, vocabulary and the ability to express both verbally and in writing. Availability of tech based platforms such as videos and podcasts have steadily turned learners away from reading of books. Students seem to have lost inspiration and purpose to read books. This is the moment for teaching community to step in and play a proactive role in preventing a cognitive crisis among Indian students.”
During his presentation, Dr Elango explained the significance of ELTAI’s initiative to partner with schools and colleges for ‘India Reads’ program, since its launch in 2022. Under this program students from Class III to Class VIII, 1st and 2nd year college students are identified for developing their reading competency. With the assistance of ELTAI trained mentors, the students will be put through 100-hour module consisting of videos, audio text and paper based content for enticing interest in reading.
Dr K Elango said that the mission of ELTAI is to set an example of how technology can be used by teachers to inculcate interest in reading, without making any major changes in ongoing curriculum and expressed to seek greater cooperation from state governments in enabling ELTAI develop regionally relevant content for the modules, thereby making the readers of today excellent communicators of tomorrow.
Dr Shravan Kumar, National Vice President of ELTAI, said, “We cannot completely ignore the technological advancements and blame it on the declining trend of reading habits. All stakeholders have to judiciously use the technology to rekindle the habit of reading. As a baby step, schools can have small classroom libraries to initiate this process.”
Dr Shravan Kumar in his presentation explained that modules developed by ELTAI are tailored in such a manner that cognitive challenges of different learners can be addressed and the gap among individual students can be bridged in an informal, non-judgmental manner by the mentors. He also elaborated upon the unique technologically enabled content and language integrated approach, which could promote bilingual literacy –Mother Tongue and English- and turn classrooms into student run libraries.
Dr RP Jadeja, Director-CDC[CVM] and local coordinator, hailed the effort of ELTAI in direction of safeguarding the cognitive skills of students through creative techniques, while Dr Mayur Parmar, Principal-HMPIETR, put forth the idea to hold a few more sessions with students and parents for creating awareness about India Reads program.
The event held by Anand Chapter of ELTAI was a great success as all the knowledge providers agreed upon that reading need to be revived in the virtual world of OTT and AI, as it is affecting the thinking ability of young learners.
The India Reads movement of ELTAI resembles the Government of Gujarat’s initiative ‘Vancho Gujarat’, which was launched by then CM of Gujarat Shri Narendra Modi in 2010 to inculcate the habit of reading not only among the children but also among the general population.
Dr Maunas Thaker, Convener, ELTAI-Anand Chapter and academicians from Kheda and Anand districts were present at the event.
The event was attended by educators from Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan Nadiad, Sri Sri Ravishankar High School, Bakrol, Chikodhara High School and a representative of CHARUSAT university, to name a few.
AHMEDABAD
The second session of ELTAI’s India Reads Movement was held at American Corner, Ahmedabad on Saturday which saw the participation of over 30 teachers, including Sheth CN Angreji Kendra Director Dr Jayesh Raval.
American Corner Director Tejal Vasavada said, “Ahmedabad boasts of MJ Library, which was established in 19th century and run by Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation. Parents have to make it a habit to take their children at least once in a month to this library to cultivate the reading habits at a tender age. American Corner is a free library having over 3,000 books. Only researchers and senior citizens used to visit here. We urge students aged above 18 to visit this treasure trove from Monday to Friday between 10 am and 6 pm and hone their skills.”
ELTAI Ahmedabad Chapter coordinator and BAPS Swaminarayan Vidyamandir Director (Acedemics) Dr Mithun Khandwala and Mrs Mithun, faculty of Government Women’s Polytechnic hosted the event.
