TIIE Language Module

Introduction
This module has been developed as a part of the Technology Integration in Inclusive Education (TIIE) project by IT for Change. The project aims to identify innovative and contextual inclusive pedagogical approaches for students in grades 6 and 7 through technology integration. Inclusive education allows students with different needs and skills to attend conventional schools and get equal learning opportunities tailored to meet their needs. It is founded on the idea that all learners, regardless of their socioeconomic backgrounds, gender, physical or mental abilities, or range of skills, should study together. It recognises that all children have the capacity to learn, takes into account the different learning styles of children, creates a conducive environment for learning, and develops appropriate instructional strategies and tools. Rather than being diagnostic in its approach, this module seeks to identify the most effective strategies for English language teaching in a structured manner to provide ample opportunities for practice in an accommodating environment.

The module has been designed based on various teaching methodologies under Inclusive Education which encompasses considerations and strategies to support the diversity of learners in the given context by minimizing barriers to learning and helping each learner achieve their full potential. The following approaches have been considered in developing the module:

Aims
The module aims to address these issues and identify effective practices or teaching strategies that can be applied across schools to create a barrier-free learning environment for all students. Owing to the behavioural challenges witnessed in students across schools, content selection and activity design will be done in a manner that can help improve students’ socioemotional learning and interpersonal skills as well as help them develop a growth mindset. The module has intentionally used themes familiar to students and which have also been previously covered in their prescribed language textbooks.

By the end of the module, the students should have developed or re-developed language literacy and some basic communication competency in English. Like any other language, English has the capacity to foster personal development and aid in the formation of a person's general knowledge, positive attitudes, critical thinking skills, moral values, and artistic sensibility. Since students were found to have a low exposure to the language in schools and in their homes, the module aims to provide a wider exposure to different types of discourses in English to help them become aware of meaningful vocabulary and the correct usage of grammatical structures. The stories that learners read and listen to, the topics they discuss, the role plays they enact, and the activities they engage in, will all have thematic links with issues such as personal and community values including gender, social justice and democracy, health and nutrition, and the environment. They will learn to understand and tackle these issues and develop values as they listen, read and speak.

The overall focus of this module is to work with teachers and students to identify challenges and barriers to language learning and pedagogical approaches that will be contextual and inclusive so as to benefit students of all abilities and levels of competency. The module also includes the following aims:


 * to enable learners to engage creatively, express individual thoughts, ideas, experiences and values as a part of their personal development
 * to enable students to see learning as an enjoyable activity and meeting different learning needs through appropriate teaching styles
 * to create a learning environment where every child feels safe, empowered and is able to express themselves
 * to facilitate meaningful interaction in a multilingual and multicultural society.
 * to encourage respect for the dignity of others and acceptance of the equality of human beings, despite individual differences.
 * to develop self-confidence, positive attitudes, values and understanding of individual, local, social and cultural issues, develop a sense of individual responsibility and to enable students to read and talk about these issues.

Rationale and Methodology
The design of the module was influenced by a baseline study conducted to understand students’ language proficiency levels. The baseline engaged approximately 175 students from five schools in a series of activities wherein students worked in pairs or individually to complete the assigned tasks. These tasks were used as checkpoints for facilitators to learn more about students’ levels of learning, cognitive skills, and difficulties. Some of the findings were as follows:


 * Need to set some common ground rules for behavior for better interaction, engagement cooperation and classroom management.
 * Need to accommodate multilingual and multilevel learners and design activities that cater to high student strength.
 * Need to guide students away from copying answers.
 * Might need to have a session to revise previously covered concepts such as letters and basic vocabulary in English.
 * Need to work on reading skills since in English, 26% of students can only recognise the letters and 21% can only read simple words, and only 13% of students on average were able to fluently read a short story.
 * On average, only 38.8% of students were able to understand phrases in English and correctly identify the object in a given picture.
 * Interpersonal skills seem to be gravely affected in students perhaps due to lack of opportunities for social interactions during the pandemic-induced school closures. Instances of bullying, and use of inappropriate language have been observed across schools and grades. Despite schools being co-educational, both boys and girls are unwilling to interact and collaborate with peers of the opposite sex.

This module is designed to be learner-centric and uses storytelling as a pedagogical tool to develop listening, speaking and reading skills in English. Children enjoy listening to stories and are familiar with narrative conventions. Stories provide an ideal introduction to a second or third language as they present language in a repetitive and memorable context. Stories can also provide the starting point or act as a springboard for a wide variety of related language and learning activities, and offer an ideal resource for meeting diverse learning needs. They can help children understand the overall meaning of a story with the help of illustrations (which provide clues about the meaning) and facilitator support.

The intention is to not merely read the stories by themselves and check for reading comprehension, but to enable an immersive language experience. Customized digital resources have been developed based on select stories in order to facilitate interaction in English. Stories from Pratham books’ Storyweaver have been used and some have been repurposed to create audio-visual resources in local languages using FOSS tools like Xerte, Audacity and Kdenlive to help apply a multilingual approach to teaching. Some of the activities included in this module are based on KITE’s E-Language Lab software (an initiative by the Kerala Education Department). They include themes such as empathy, teamwork, managing emotions, and other interpersonal skills. The digital audio-visual resources contain level-appropriate listening and reading components, as well as assessments based on comprehension, vocabulary and grammar which can be used by learners individually or in groups, so that children can then respond according to their own language proficiency level and cognitive ability.

This module consists of 3 units. Each unit contains 2 story-based resources along with other accompanying activities. The activities included in the interactive audio-visual resources that have been developed serve as a tool for assessment. Qualitative assessment of students behaviours, attitudes and engagement will also be undertaken while the group activities are being facilitated. Towards the end of the second unit, an activity will be carried out wherein students’ listening skills, vocabulary, sentence formation and ability to read short sentences will be assessed and recorded for further analysis.

Listening skills
The listening process has three stages – hearing, processing and evaluating. The objectives are to help learners develop the ability to :


 * receive information – general and specific
 * distinguish between sounds
 * formulate attitudes and opinions
 * arrange thoughts, ideas or events in a sequence

How the module aims to address the different barriers affecting listening and comprehension:


 * 1) Linguistic barriers (difference in the linguistic levels of the speaker and listener)  The digital resources have been created in both Kannada and in English including supporting text in both languages. Facilitators will also provide support in other languages such Tamil and Hindi/ Urdu and Tamil for students who have migrated from these language-speaking states.
 * 2) Use of new vocabulary and ‘difficult’ words  The vocabulary used includes a lot of simple and commonly used words as per student levels. The exercises provided at the end of the story include the new vocabulary to be introduced along with a corresponding image.
 * 3) Psychological (lack of interest from the part of the listener)  The stories used have been selected based on themes and contexts familiar to the students and the corresponding activities have been designed to keep the students engaged be it in individual, pair or group work.
 * 4) Physiological (partial or total hearing impairment)  Although no such student has been identified, most activities include corresponding texts in both English and in Kannada.

Speaking skills
Speaking is the transmission of ideas and involves a number of sub skills such as articulation, enunciation, pronunciation and voice modulation. The objectives are to help learners develop the ability to:


 * produce English phonemes in isolation and in combination as well
 * speak with apt words, and structures spontaneously
 * Regulate speech according to the context

The activities included focus on areas for developing speaking skills using mechanics of speaking (pronunciation), usage (vocabulary and language functions) and cultural and social contexts.

Reading skills
Reading is the reception of meaning from the written language involving interpreting, evaluating and constructing meaning. The focus here will be to help the learners develop the ability to:


 * understand/ revise recognition of letters, words and organization of text
 * make inferences based on illustrations provided in stories
 * scan for specific information

Students will be provided with multiple learning discourses and encouraged to read out loud, and will be taught how to break down words or sentences for the same if necessary.

Unit I : Me, my family and my friends
Time : 4 sessions

Goals and Objectives for students’ abilities:


 * Develop or increase self-awareness
 * Identify positive personal traits
 * Recognize and appreciate similarities and differences in others
 * Learn to use the given sentence frames

This unit is designed to help students learn how to introduce themselves and other people and ask and answer questions about personal details, such as where they live, things they have and their likes and dislikes. The stories “I Love Me”, “Timmy and Pepe” in (English and Kannada) and “The new girl” have been selected and modified in both English and Kannada to be used as resources to help provide context and sentence frames to the students. Students will then be (re)introduced to sentence frames for likes and dislikes by refreshing their vocabulary of action words (dancing, singing, playing, reading, etc.). The focus will be on helping students get a sense of organizing their ideas and develop creative expression by adding details to the discourse. A brief discussion on the similarities and differences students observe among their peers and family members can be conducted. The unit will end with students recording ‘gratitude messages’ for any member of their family or their friends.

Vocabulary: Describing people (adjectives), body parts, action words (verbs), occupations, Wh-questions.

Materials required: Computer lab/ laptop and projector, speaker, coloured paper, crayons or pencil colours, plain A4 sheets, and relevant handouts.

Suggested Activities:


 * Ask students Answering questions based on texts heard and/or read either orally or using the language lab assessments: short answer questions such as true or false, filling in the blanks, match the following,	multiple choice and wh-questions (e.g. what, when, where, who).
 * Describing different cartoon characters using adjectives provided.
 * Interviewing and introducing each other (in pairs) based on the sentence frames provided – I am - He/She is, I have – He/She has, I like – He/She likes, I love – He/She loves, etc.
 * Making a family portrait and writing descriptive words/ sentences as labels.
 * Are you just like me? - students are asked to group up based on multiple similar characteristics in succession followed by a class discussion on what makes them similar, different and unique.

Considerations:


 * For Grade 7 students, the story “I Love Me” and “The new girl” will be used in a read-aloud format in smaller groups. For Grade 6 students, the language lab resource on “Timmy and Pepe”- which follows the same theme, but a simpler story and vocabulary, and a simplified version of “The new girl”. In case the story “The new girl” seems too challenging for the students, the story “I Love Me” can be used.
 * The resources and corresponding activities developed are meant to cater to different types of learners by providing options for multiple formats for input (audio and text) and output (verbal responses, drawings or graphic organisers).
 * Clear and simple instructions will be used and facilitators will be present to provide support in English as well as in Kannada, Tamil and Hindi/Urdu.
 * Students who are able to complete the activities and exercises ahead of their peers can explore the vocabulary sentence frames for different occupations (which they would like to pursue and those of their family members).

Unit II : The world around me
Time: 4 sessions/ hours

Goals and Objectives for students’ abilities:


 * Increase self-awareness
 * Explore issues affecting themselves and their peers in the school and	finding solutions
 * Read and interpret the texts in different contexts (verbal &	pictorial)
 * Develop interpersonal skills (active listening, empathy, and responsibility)
 * Recognize and appreciate similarities and differences in others
 * Learn to use the given sentence frames
 * Present and compare ideas and opinions

This unit incorporates elements from both interpersonal & social skills as well as listening and speaking under language skills. The objective is to lead the students towards thinking about their relationships with their peers. Students will also be encouraged to think about what rules are, if they are important and why/ why not. A short listening discourse titled “New Toys” will be narrated and followed by a discussion to introduce the themes of sharing, emotions and empathy. The stories “ My fish, No, my fish!” and “One by two” have been selected and modified in both English and Kannada to be used as resources (as per their language proficiency level.) to help provide additional context and sentence frames to the students including the use of conjunctions. Next, the concept of ‘rules’ will be brought in through an animated video “Why are rules important” followed by a discussion on the importance of rules in society and which classroom rules they think are most important. The unit will end with students voting for the top three rules for their classroom and designing posters on the same.

Vocabulary: Action words (for classroom activities), emotions, conjunctions, and associated vocabulary for classroom and school space and rules.

Materials required: Computer lab/laptop and projector, speaker, coloured paper, crayons or pencil colours, and relevant handouts.

Suggested Activities:


 * Listening	exercise using the story “New	Toys”	followed by questions to guide students towards identifying the	theme of the story.
 * Identifying	and describing scenes provided in pictures, followed by a brief	classroom discussion.
 * Answering	questions based on texts heard and/or read either orally or using	the language lab assessments: short answer questions such as true or	false, filling in the blanks, match the following, multiple choice,	etc.
 * In	smaller groups, watching a video (Why	are rules important?)	followed by a group discussion on why rules are important in	society, in school and in the classroom.
 * Group	discussion on classroom rules and selecting the top 3 most important	rules per group.
 * Mock-voting	by all students to select the 3 most important classroom rules.
 * Poster making for their favorite class room Rules.

Considerations:


 * For	Grade 7 students, the story “One	by two”	will be used as a read-aloud (in groups) or language lab activity	(individually or in pairs) in smaller groups. For Grade 6 students,	the language lab resource on “My	fish! No, my fish!”	will be used which follows the same theme but a simpler story and	vocabulary.
 * The	resources and corresponding activities developed are meant to cater	to different types of learners by providing options for multiple	formats for input (audio and text) and output (verbal responses,	drawings or graphic organisers).
 * Clear	and simple instructions will be used and facilitators will be	present to provide	support	in English as well as in Kannada, Tamil and Hindi/Urdu.
 * While	teaching conjunctions, the focus can be on the ones most commonly	used - and,	but,	because,	or.
 * Students	who are able to complete the activities and exercises ahead of their	peers can be engaged in further discussion on rules using prompts	such as –  What	makes students not follow classroom rules?   How can students be	encouraged to follow classroom rules?   Should there be a	punishment for not following classroom rules? Why/ Why not?    If	yes, what should the punishment be?

Unit III : Eat Healthy, Stay Healthy
Time: 4 sessions/ hours

Goals and Objectives for students’ abilities:


 * Identify	the characters, setting, problem, solution, beginning, middle, and	end of different stories
 * Demonstrate	understanding of story elements through the successful completion of	each session's activity
 * Identify	and describe how different foods can be used in different recipes
 * Learn	to use the given sentence frames
 * Learn	to arrange thoughts, ideas or steps (for a recipe) in a sequence

This unit has been designed to help students identify different story elements and consequently develop a deeper appreciation and understanding of stories. It also aims to introduce vocabulary related to food and cooking, as well as provide sentence frames to help students organise their thoughts and ideas by means of creating a recipe. In smaller groups, students will first be introduced to different story elements (title, characters, setting, problem, solution, beginning, middle and end) using a video of a simplified short story (Ammachi’s Incredible Investigation). They will also be given another short story to read, along with a handout to identify and fill in the respective elements for the story provided. After this, the story “What’s that smell?” will be used to introduce students to different types of foods. The story “Rainbow sambar” in (Kannada and English) will also be taken up to introduce students to vocabulary related to cooking and sentence frames for creating a recipe. The unit will end with the students (in groups) creating the recipe for and preparing a simple dish as a part of a mini food fest.

Vocabulary: Story elements, different types of food, cooking utensils, cooking process and recipe, and prepositions.

Materials required: Computer lab/laptop and projector, speaker, A4/ coloured sheets, crayons or pencil colours, ingredients for selected recipes, and relevant handouts.

Suggested Activities:


 * In	smaller groups, students will be introduced to the different story	elements after watching a video on the story “Ammachi’s	Incredible Investigation”.	In pairs within the group, students will be given another short	story to read along with a handout containing a graphic organizer	to identify story elements for the given story.
 * Answering	questions based on texts heard and/or read either orally or using	the language lab assessments: short answer questions such as true or	false, filling in the blanks, match the following, multiple choice,	etc.
 * Using	several images of different objects found in the kitchen, students	are to select the appropriate prepositions to describe the images.
 * Group	discussion on which food items students like/dislike and which ones	are healthy/ unhealthy.
 * Either	in smaller groups or as a whole-class discussion, students will read	the story “Rainbow	sambar”	and create a flowchart for the recipe provided using the sentence	frames provided (first…, then…, after that…, finally…, etc.)
 * Students	will work in smaller groups to come up with simple no-flame food	items and create recipes for the same.
 * Students	(in groups) will provide instructions to the facilitator based on	the recipe they have created and prepare a dish for a mini food	fest, which they can present to facilitators and invitees.

Considerations:


 * For	Grade 6 students, the story “What’s	that smell?”	can be simplified and made shorter to be used as a read-aloud (in	groups) or language lab activity (individually or in pairs).
 * The	resources and corresponding activities developed are meant to cater	to different types of learners by providing options for multiple	formats for input (audio and text) and output (verbal responses,	drawings, graphic organizers).
 * Clear	and simple instructions will be used and facilitators will be	present to provide	support	in English as well as in Kannada, Tamil and Hindi/Urdu.
 * Students	who are able to complete the activities and exercises ahead of their	peers can be familiarized	with different food groups (such as fruit, vegetable, grain, dairy,	protein) and provided a handout to track what they have eaten for	different meals over the past few days and discuss the same with	their peers.
 * Students	must be provided with adequate support to help them come up with the	recipes (providing easy examples and helping with appropriate	sentence frames) and execute them. Alternatively, they can be	encouraged to use the given sentence frames for organizing	thoughts/ steps to describe an event or a movie.
 * The	recipes must be simple and should not involve cooking with flame or	heavy use of knives.
 * Different	awards can be given to students based on their creations – Most	creative recipe, Most delicious dish/ drink, Most healthy recipe,	etc.