Social Activism: #EnglishWeek Improves English Ability And Confidence in Rural Kashmir

‘I never thought that learning English could be so much fun!’ – said one student from Bilal Gul Shaheed School, Pallandri in Kashmir after participating in two days of an immersive and intuitive English Language Improvement Workshop organized by a team of YES Alumni and volunteers. This student was one of more than 130 students from three different schools that benefitted from such Workshops under the broader project titled ‘#EnglishWeek’. Accessibility to English language through a new perspective on learning language, using available resources to the greatest extent and having fun alongside were the core ideas behind #EnglishWeek.

Funded by the US State Department under the WYLTE Program (http://www.americancouncils.org/programs/workshop-youth-leaders-teaching-english), ‘#EnglishWeek’ comprised of 3 Workshops and benefitted 9th-10th graders in the rural area of Pallandri – a small town in the province of Kashmir from August 7^th-13^th, 2014. The basic purpose of this project was to help boost the confidence and self-dependence of these students in English which will ultimately help them in their professional and personal lives for years to come. These students are geographically cut off from the rest of the ‘developed’ Pakistan – they had neither the exposure nor the confidence to speak, write, read and practice fluency in English language. Through #EnglishWeek, these students learned the necessary tools to become self-independent in acquiring (not just learning) fundamental and some advanced skills of English language. Through extensive sessions on each sphere of language (Listening, Speaking, Writing, Pronunciation, Grammar, Tenses and Reading), #EnglishWeek provided the students with the necessary impetus that they can utilize to compliment the learning of English language in their classrooms.

The sessions presented during the Workshop were based upon hands-on activities and intuitive ways that helped the students overcome their fear of learning English as a language and not just as a subject. Such activities included ‘Jumping Words’ and ‘Fill in The Blanks’ that used song lyrics to improve listening and vocabulary; ‘Ultimate Picture Description’ and ‘Proverb Charades’ that improved overall communication skills and ‘Written Pandemonium’ that improved students’ communication skills, vocabulary and writing skills.

By conducting #EnglishWeek, I along with other YES Alumni intended to make a difference in the lives of the students that certainly deserve better particularly in the field of English language. This project provided them with the attention and care that they needed to become confident as English language learners and exposed them to an innovative approach towards learning English. These students belonged from schools where English language is not taught effectively and #EnglishWeek provided them with the lift they needed to become independent language learners. I did not need any more encouragement to conduct this project than the fact that Kashmir with its high tourism potential and culturally-rich population needs to have its youth with a strong base and fluency in English to prove their worth.   

The beauty of this project is that it will not only benefit these students but also their families. During the Workshops, the students were encouraged to become independent learners of English language as well as leaders in teaching and disseminating their learned knowledge in their communities. The ripple-effect created will be long-lasting and will benefit a major demographic of the young population of Pallandri. The team of this project is also planning to hold Book Drives in our communities to collect books for the libraries in these schools which we found were quite underfunded. We would also like to urge other Alumni to hold such workshops in their communities all over Pakistan as they are very easy and cost-effective to organize and super-effective for English Language Improvement. 

This project invited English teachers and other WYLTE Alumni and YES students to join the conversation on effective English language teaching by using the #EnglishWeek on Twitter and received an extremely positive response on all social media. Testimonials were also recorded from many students and will uploaded in the form of a documentary on this project soon!

For complete picture albums of the Workshops, please visit:
1^st Workshop at Bilal Gul Shaheed Shaheen School: on.fb.me/1kW4e9Q 

2^nd Workshop at Fauji Foundation Model School: on.fb.me/1A7ssRx 

3^rd Workshop at Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan School: http://on.fb.me/1p9YGrq

To follow the WYLTE Program, please go to:
Twitter:  https://twitter.com/WYLTE_DC

Facebook: http://on.fb.me/1owPleD

Presentation materials for the Workshops can be requested by sending an email at moizleo1@gmail.com with the Subject “English Workshop Materials Request”.