All kinds of thoughts come to my mind as I think of the term mother language. I love the fact that so many languages exist. I love the celebration of language as both art and skill.Yet, working as I do with children and adults in diverse environments, I can't help seeing other implications.On the one hand, celebrating the mother language is a way to understand privilege and language politics. On the other hand, I see children struggling to answer the question of why they don't speak their mother tongue.Sometimes it's because their mother tongue and father tongue are different and speaking one excludes the other parent who, perhaps, does not have the time or mind space to learn a new language. Sometimes, children come from recomposed families and need to make an active effort to integrate themselves into new structures and languages. What of them?Language fluency, or the lack … [Read more...]
Workshop on Communicative English
The six-hour journey from Pune to Beed was lovely. I love travelling in the monsoon through pouring rain, looking at all the shades of green passing by. I love the hills in the rain. They're so full of life, so different from the parched summer browns!My workshop last weekend was with Gurukul English School in Beed. Like so many other schools, it is an English medium school that is attended by children from non English-speaking families. It's a huge challenge for the teachers, one that we can barely begin to tackle. Walk through the corridors and you'll hear a mix of Marathi and Hindi, with just about a word of English thrown in.And so, my workshop was on Communicative English with Functional Grammar. Led by an enthusiastic vice principal, the teachers came forward to participate, interact and share. They laughed as they donned roles of reporters and sportspeople. … [Read more...]
Mythical Maze – Workshop II
The Mythical Maze Reading Challenge is nearly over!After Reading and Role Play and Idioms Are My Cup of Tea, today has Myths from around the World and Myths and Fables.I showed the little ones a map of the world. These children are in the age-group 5-7.We were reading a 'story from Arabia', Where There is Will. "Do you know where Arabia could be?" I asked.One child stood up. "I think it is here," she said, pointing to the entire Gulf region."Good!""Do you know how I know?""How?""See, this is India. Over here, this sea is called the Arabian Sea. So the Arabian Sea has to touch Arabia, right?" … [Read more...]
Vocabulary Workshop at Magarpatta City
Now moving to a new venue - JustBooks, Magarpatta City!Vocabulary Workshop for Children Dates: 18th and 19th October, 2014 Time: 10:30 am to 12:30 pm Venue: JustBooks, Magarpatta City Age-group: 8-12 years Registration fee: Rs. 500 … [Read more...]
Photographs from Yesterday’s Workshops
Sunday morning saw the end of my two-day workshop, Weekend with Words, at JustBooks Aundh. With Word Search, Word-Building and Word Train, we came to the end of a fun workshop!At the British Library, we had a day based on Roald Dahl!Today, we have: Storytelling Workshop Time: 11 am to noon Age-group: 5-8 Venue: Friends Library, Salunke Vihar Road Registration Fee: Rs. 350 … [Read more...]
Fun 4 Kids
It's workshop season! The Cultural Centre, Pune, is a new space in Mundhwa for different activities and programmes. "Fun 4 Kids" is a venture into a range of activities for children. I will be facilitating the 'Literature' activities with reading and writing workshops once a month.The poster says it all! … [Read more...]
The Peculiar English Language
Of course we know that language is peculiar. And English? Any new speaker finds it ridiculously bewildering.I'm reading a book by Rachel Anderson called Asylum. More about that will come in a book-review soon, but it brought me to laugh aloud at the ridiculous English language.We learned similes in school. As fresh as a? Daisy! (Never mind if none of us really knew what a daisy was) As cool as a? Cucumber! (I always thought of the vendors all the way up to Sinhagad, and imagined them calling out 'as cool as a cucumber, as cool as a cucumber, as cool as a cucumber'.)I remember all these comparisons that we cheerfully chanted in school.Rosa, a young immigrant in Asylum, loves figurative language. She picks up expressions like a magpie picks up anything that shines.As pretty as a picture. As sharp as a needle. As light as a feather. Of course, all of that is understandable.But … [Read more...]
The Table Family
Have you been introduced to the Table family? When I was in school, we were kept forcibly away from the family. The Table family was a strict no-no for us. Pronounce correctly. Stay away from the awful Table family.Trends are changing, though. Many children have found their comfort zone with this delightfully extended family.At lunch, they meet Veggie Table. When their handwriting is not so good, but not so bad, their teacher introduces them to Axe-ep Table. The mike stand has a secret name, I learned in school the other day. It is Adjus(t) Table. You are invited to join the family too! If you have something to give and give it freely, you are Charee Table. A child told me seriously about a naughty, uncontrolled child. "He is Ex-i Table."Maybe we should join the family. It sounds most Come-for Table. … [Read more...]
The Dictionary at School
The portion for the exams has been completed; students are fed up with revision. So, a colleague of mine decided to do something different - she read out a story from The Story-Catcher. I was thrilled!This reading went one step further than 'I loved your story' and 'nice story' and 'I like the story of Sana'. After listening to The Dictionary, the students were expected to write a poem. It had to be inspired by the story, but they could write what they liked.And so they did. I was waiting to have a look at their work, and that happened in a lovely way too!On Thursday, a Student Held Conference took place at the school library. The library was jazzed up a little to make it slightly more attractive.One large notice-board was dedicated to The Story-Catcher. Poems covered the board. One child even made a beautiful copy of the cover illustration. I looked at all the poems in … [Read more...]
Talking to Children
In one of the places where I used to teach dance, children from various backgrounds often had trouble communicating with me. They spoke little or no English and sometimes, little or no Hindi, Tamil or Marathi. Problems occurred when they spoke just one language if that one was not one I understood.I remember one such girl. She spoke just Telugu, and perhaps because of her language difficulties, she was extremely diffident. She stood very still, watching and listening, never contributing to conversation. She listened to children asking for permission to go and drink water. Finally, mustering up her courage, she came up to me and asked, "Miss, mumblemumblemum water?"I smiled and granted permission. That was the first time she had spoken, so I merely said, "Yes."The next class, once again, "Miss, mumblemumblemum water?"Once again, I replied, "Yes."When she asked me the … [Read more...]