Article published on 15

th
march, 2014, on Karadi Path in the Economic Times. (Page
1 continued on page !".
Karadi Path Makes English Learning a Childs Play
Startup relies on visuals, music to help non-native speakers pick up English language
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Learning a new language is never easy, but a startup in Chennai believes that if the right
methods are employed, then it can be childs play. And it is to the childs language learning
process that Karadi Path, the startup, sought inspiration from when it structured its course to
teach English. ather than the usual te!t boo" lessons, Karadi Path relies on visuals and music to
ma"e non#native spea"ers pic" up the language that is often the "ey to a better life. $a"e the case
of A%hagu &eena, for instance. $he '(#year#old has been teaching students at a government
school in )adu""apatti near &adurai for the past *( years. $hough she could manage a few
words in English, &eena felt that she could become a much better teacher if she could be fluent
in the language. +he did not have to go far. A few "ilometres away, a Karadi Path centre , -ay
Academy , had been set up and she enrolled for a three#month session. ./ have ta"en Karadi
Path classes for three months and / see a great improvement 0in my spea"ing s"ills1,2 says
&eena, who feels that she will get a lot more opportunities with her improved English spea"ing
s"ills. -ay Academy is part of the .microtutor2 model that Karadi Path is piloting in three rural
districts of $amil 3adu. CP )ishvanath, founder of Karadi Path, says the conventional method of
teaching a language has .poor outcome2 and people undergoing such are never almost able to
spea" the language well. ./t 0spo"en English class1 is what / call a fairness cream industry,2 says
)ishvanath, pointing out that the traditional English teaching courses loo" good from the outside
but offer no real improvement to an individual. 4e set up Karadi Path in *56*. $udio ' Video
(racks "elp Children Study Language
-ust li"e a child learns his7her mother tongue from family members with the help of their tones,
gesture, body language and so on, Karadi Path has created audio7video boo"s where music and
bac"ground score are used to create the natural stimuli to teach English. 8or adults, the process is
slightly twea"ed with music being replaced by peer learning 8or instance, in an audio clip shared
by Karadi Path, a song inviting the rain has the sounds of water falling on the ground, thunder,
lightning and is set to a aga 0a set of musical notes1 called Amritavarshini in Carnatic or &alhar
in 4industani, which is often used to invo"e the rain gods. )ishvanath e!plains why he thin"s
this method is more effective. 4e says most /ndians ta"e it for granted that many of us are able to
spea" three#four languages 9uite easily and yet we use the traditional way of teaching a
language.
.4ow is it that a "id in :haravi 0a slum in &umbai1 is able to spea" three#four languages and
there is no effort put into it; /t <ust happens,2 he says. :elving deep into how one learns a
language from being in a particular environment and interacting with people, )ishvanath says his
team spent a few years to replicate a similar milieu inside the classroom. .=e say language
cannot be taught. /t needs to be derived.2 -ayala"shmi adha"rishnan, who runs -ay Academy
along with another partner, says their franchise has been successful in teaching English to locals
in $heni district of $amil 3adu.
./n our first two batches, different "inds of people wal"ed in to learn English , officegoers,
sales people, school and college students and those who didnt "now how to spea" a word in
English,2 says adha"rishnan, who earlier ran a spo"en English centre but has since moved to
Karadi Path. .Even tribals from hilly regions have come to us to learn English.2
/n the ne!t three#four years, the company hopes to have (,555#',555 micro tutors in $amil 3adu.
/n this hub model, the micro#tutor pays an annual fee of s *5,555 that includes training and
learning "its cost while the learners pay s 6,555# *,>55 depending on the age and level of
learning.
$he company has already introduced Karadi Path teaching in about *?@ schools across $amil
3adu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnata"a and Aoa and is loo"ing to be present in about ?55 schools by
the end of the ne!t academic year. $he company is piloting its programme in two colleges, one
each in $amil 3adu and Andhra Pradesh. /t hopes to be present in about *55 institutions by the
ne!t academic year. 8or )ishvanath, it is second innings as an entrepreneur. 4e had earlier
founded Karadi $ales, an /ndian childrens publishing house, and sold it to ACK &edia in *55B.
Karadi Path has already got s B crore in *56* from social venture fund Aavish"ar. /t is now
loo"ing at raising s 6>#6B crore in its second round by -une, where Aavish"ar and others may
participate.
Cesides wor"ing on its school, college and micro#tutor programmes, the company has overseas
ambitions and is loo"ing to target +ri Lan"a, Cangladesh, /ndonesia and &alaysia mar"ets
initially.
Children learning the English language, the Karadi Path way