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<http://www.jharkhand.org.in/forum> <http://battakiran.files.wordpress.com/2008/06/english-teacher.jpg>Tribal students of Kadod High School in a village in Gujarat have teachers from America teaching them English so they can learn to write and speak fluently in English. The initiative was started by former students of the school who are settled in US. Americans Catherine Biddle and Melissa Irvins, along with NRI teachers Venisha Gandhi and Priya Garg have come to Kadod to teach English to the students of the school. There are about 1000 students in the school, a majority of whom are tribals and the school authorities are trying to make them proficient in English. "It was a bit difficult to communicate at first, but we are slowly building a rapport with the students," says Catherine. "It is a challenging task, but these students are both sincere and talented and very eager to learn," explains Melissa. Over 100 former students of the school are settled in the US, and have formed the trust because of whom the American teachers have come to the village to teach. Two-years-ago, the school's alumni formed the Nanubhai Naik Foundation Trust after the name of a former Principal which pays the teachers' salaries. In 2007 the Trust President Raju Shah came to the school and inquired what the school lacked, he was told the students were facing problems in English. "The Adivasi children are brilliant, but have no exposure to English. I'm sure the students will benefit out of this exercise," says Kadod High School Principal Vikramsinh Mahida. Initially the students required a mediator to communicate with the American teachers, but now they are beginning to interact better. "These teachers are better than our local teachers and since they speak only English, we will be able to pick up the language faster," says a Kadod High School class IX student Tejas Gamit. Though the new academic session is just a week old, the students will perhaps be able to write and speak English fluently by the end of this year. Courtesy :- Economic Times *
