English Vinglish in Chennai government schools: How are students responding?

Learning outcomes in government schools have been greatly impacted by the pandemic. There has also been a record number of enrollments in government schools in the city due to the economic impact of COVID-19.

To improve the prospects of students in government schools in Chennai, fluency in English has also been made a key focus, with English classes being piloted across government schools.

A tailor-made programme for government school students to gain proficiency in the English language has also been launched by Citizens for Law and Democracy (CLAD). We currently operate in three schools in Chennai, reaching out to nearly 280 students.

A child in Class III shared with us that he taught his parents some English words/sentences together with the Tamil meaning that he has learnt from our vocabulary drill practice. He expressed his delight that his parents also spoke. This really encouraged us, because it demonstrated the simplicity of our model.

Need for English classes in government schools in Chennai

Since 1990, when India adopted an economic liberalisation policy and the global economy grew dependent on technology-based solutions, the economic emphasis has turned to the expansion of the service sector.

This has substantially impacted youths’ possibilities for upward mobility. English also had a crucial part to play in this restored access to economic mobility.

Our field research and secondary sources revealed that children and youth without an English education did not receive the same opportunities or enjoy the same prospects as those who did. As a result, we chose to concentrate our efforts to reduce this gap, given that one of CLAD’s founding members encountered a comparable difficulty in public schools. We undertook this study to prove our theory that, although they were delivering quality education, government schools lacked English education.

This is why we decided to choose government state-run and GCC-run schools for CLAD to intervene.

The environment in which children are raised also plays a significant effect in language acquisition, we discovered. Every child obtains their mother tongue from their environment, for instance from their mother, father, relatives, friends, TV etc.

Experience with English classes in government schools

Since the launch of the programme, we’ve found that the schools and students are extremely receptive and actively support the idea. Since they also desired a model that simply adds great value to the children’s day-to-day use, since the usual English subject instruction in schools merely aims to create English as a future subject.

Therefore, they viewed our vocabulary drill as a less burdensome and more efficient way to assist the children. In addition, the vocabulary drill improves both the mother tongue and English diction simultaneously. The principals and students are more responsive and enthusiastic about it. The thought process of children develops in both languages.