Punjab edu dept launches initiative to improve English of govt school students

Objective of the programme is to enhance listening skill, pronunciation and vocabulary of students

: With an aim to develop English communication skills of students of Classes 6 to 12 from government schools, the Punjab education department has come out up with a new initiative – “English Booster Club”.

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In this, guided videos, listening tapes, sentences and phrases will be shared by state resource groups throughout all government schools in Punjab to enhance listening skill, pronunciation and vocabulary of students.

English Booster Club (EBS) will be launched in government schools on October 12 at district level. Meetings of district and block mentors are already underway to chalk out a time table for different activities and plans for their implementation.

As per officials, English has always been a top priority for parents while choosing the best school for their wards. So, they believe that improving the standard of English, especially spoken English, in government schools would not only help increase enrolment, but also send a positive message in the society that government schools are at the same level as private ones.

Chander Shekhar, state resource person, said that in the first phase, formation of EBCs at school, district, block and state levels will be ensured.

Activities such as tongue twisters, rhymes and songs for imitation to enhance listening skill, pronunciation and vocabulary will be organised.

In phase 1, the objective will be to ensure proper functioning of English Booster Clubs. In Phase 2, focus will be on weekly spoken English programmes which will include vocabulary, sentence structures, situational conversation and listening tasks.

District education officer, secondary, Swaranjit Kaur, said, “We have received instructions from the state education department to form English Booster Clubs and we have held a meeting with the district and block mentors to inform students regarding these clubs.”