The RUMI Spoken English Programs

Details of the Applicant (filing the nomination) Prajakta Pradhan-Joshi

Details of Project/Initiative Implementing Agency - RUMI Education
Pvt Ltd
Details of the Program/Project/Initiative - RUMI Spoken English
Program

Brief description of the program/project/initiative:

Rumi is an education systems provider that partners with affordable
private schools to dramatically improve the quality of mass-market
education in India. It provides a comprehensive education solution for
Pre-Primary through Class X.

Quality education is one that prepares today’s children for tomorrow’s world –
a world where creative thinking, clear communication and being digital savvy
are prerequisites. With this in mind, RUMI focuses on the holistic development
needs of the students and seeks to deliver an education for life. This approach
will lead to greater employability, higher incomes and ultimately, a more
creative, healthy and prosperous society.

With technology making the world a smaller place, English is emerging

as the preferred language for communication globally. Today, it not only
represents scientific knowledge, development and modernization,
but is also a gateway to better employability.

In today’s world, education is wasted sometimes or put to minimal use if

Spoken English is compromised!

Rumi’s English language program is aimed at making teachers and

students confident in communicating in basic Spoken English
within the academic framework of the school timetable.

Why was the project started?

1. Educated unemployed: Research shows that despite being

graduates or having completed school or high school a large number of
the youth are without jobs and are unemployed. These educated
unemployed do not find jobs as their communicative English is not
satisfactory, they do not possess this extremely critical
employability skill.

Rumi’s personality assessment of these is that in order for them to be

employable they need to possess good English speaking skills..
2. The lack of Spoken English capability of other subjects’
teachers also increases this problem exponentially and
impacts other subjects as well. For example, if a Social Studies
teacher cannot express herself properly in English, the students remain
weak in Social Studies.

Amongst the many challenges that the affordable private segment

schools face, one of the most crucial aspects is teachers and students
not being able to speak English correctly and confidently. These
affordable schools have teachers, who are untrained and can not speak correct
English, can not give suitable instructions, nor ask comprehensible questions or
express themselves appropriately. Since teachers have a direct impact on the
students their spoken English capabilities impact the teaching learning
practices. They are not in a position to help the students speak in English.
Little importance is given to listening. Their own pronunciation is faulty
and sentence structures incorrect and incomplete at times. Their sense
of feeling uncomfortable while speaking English language passes on to
the students and they too hesitate to speak in English. Lack of exposure
at home adds to the challenge. Due to this, many of the students are
not ‘able to communicate in English’ even after completing their
education.

This program is developed to address this specific need, and not

only for the language teachers, but for all the teachers and staff
members who impact students in schools.

3. Importance and status is higher than a regular subject:

Our analysis and research showed this is such a vital skill that it needs
the higher attention, importance, status, weight-age and time than that
of a separate subject. It should be included in the time-table with due
time and effort spent on this skill. And yet, no-one is following this
and giving this skill the attention and importance it actually
deserves.
Rumi’s English language program is aimed at making teachers and
students confident in communicating in basic Spoken English
within the academic framework of the school timetable.

Objective
• Create programs to improve the Spoken English of all teachers in
the schools and all students.
• Include Spoken English as a separate skill with as much
importance as other subjects.
• Include Spoken English programs as part of the curriculum.
 • Build confidence in students and all teachers to speak the
language.
• Offer peer support and collaboration in learning a new language.
• Improve pronunciation and skill of expression.
• Speak short error free sentences.

Target group: Students from classes Nursery to class 9 and all the
teachers in schools. While currently this system is being used in the
affordable private segment, the system can be replicated across various
segments.

Geographical reach: The program is being used extensively in 70 +

schools comprising of 2000 + teachers and around 30000 students in
Andhra Pradesh, but can be used across different geographies.

Date from which the project became operational: This program has been
used since June 2008. It is tried, tested, functional and producing a
visible measureable impact in schools.

Is the project still operational: Yes, it has been extended to 100+ schools
nationally.

10 points that makes the program/project innovative?

1. Rumi’s English language program is the first of its kind, as it

addresses the need of the Affordable Private Segment Schools
of developing spoken English abilities in teachers and students.

2. The key innovation is that the program being implemented by

the teachers within the school curriculum framework and
is merged with the school time table. It is practiced
continuously and taught as a skill with equal and higher
importance than other subjects.

3. Another innovation of Rumi’s English language program is its

focus on developing the spoken abilities of both the teacher
and the taught simultaneously. The effectiveness of the
program is cyclic in nature. The teachers and in-charges’
improved communication helps the students, and there is
a remarkable improvement in the students. So, a change is
applied to all involved.

4. The Spoken English program is targeted not just at

instructors like other Spoken English programs but also all
other teachers who come in contact with students.
5. The innovation is The program uses our unique blended
approach of Feedback Training Method or Proprioceptive
Method along with communicative English. Instead of just
retraining the student’s mind with written exercises, the
program re-trains the tongue at the same time. By design, the
teachers and the students attempt to simultaneously train;
motor, neurological, and hearing functions by repeating the
words and the sentences loudly in a chorus.

6. Another innovation is the Quick-fix method: Our unique R-R-

R model (Recite-Repeat-Rehearse) ensures quick use of the
Spoken language, as the teachers and the students are
encouraged to repeat the key words and sentences loudly by
following the pronunciation of each word.

7. The biggest innovation is the sustained execution process

followed by our Academic Coaches for teachers, and students
which ensures continuous sustained practice.

8. The Pre and post test for both the teachers and the
students helps to a definite measureable impact of the
program which is measured with the help of a scientific
assessment rubric.

9. In the lower classes, Spoken English is practiced through

games, songs and activities. In the higher classes, a unique
blend of technology, digital resources, activities, role-
plays are used. For the adults (teachers), videos, role-
plays, chorus activities for vocabulary building and
sentence structures are used.

10. Design focuses on use of a safe environment where

audiences are free to make errors and get corrected by their
peers and teachers, under guidance.

11. Listening skills and skill of expression are developed with the
help of the audio files, and video files with talking heads. These
are played and the learners listen to them and comprehend
them and speak sentences using the key words.

12. The entire program is developed keeping the topics of their

interest. The audio and video files are designed keeping the
classrooms scenarios in mind. For expressing the scenarios,
classroom vocabulary is used, which helps both the teacher
and the students to relate.
List the 5 achievements of the program/project?

1. Marked visible improvement in confidence, motivation,

vocabulary pronunciation, clarity, listening, understanding
instructions, eye-contact, and sentence structure
creation.
2. Measureable and marked improvement in the target audiences
scores in Spoken English. Over 35% improvements in lower
classes and at least 25% in higher classes and improved
motivation and vocabulary in teachers..
3. Trained over 2000 teachers in the Spoken English for
teachers program and over 30,000 students took our
Spoken English for students program.
4. Improved student participation and enthusiasm and extremely
happy stakeholders.
5. Improved teacher and student participation in overall teaching
learning process.
List the 5 key challenges faced while implementing the
program/project/initiative and how they were overcome?
1. Teachers as facilitators for Spoken English for students -
The teachers are used to do most of the speaking, and frequently
the scene of a classroom during a communicative exercise is
passive. Special training was conducted to help teachers take a
facilitative role in Spoken English for Students program to enable
students to participate actively
2. Teachers’ readiness for taking a pre and post test – Initially
the teachers were not willing to take a pre test and post test in
Spoken English, as they felt it will show them in poor light. With
the counseling, and by providing a non-threatening and fun
environment by the Academic Coaches, they agreed to take the
test.
3. Apprehensions to do sessions on their own – Initially the
teachers were very apprehensive to do the sessions on their own
without a facilitator as they had never done that before. After
repeated demonstrations and empowerment of the teachers, by
the Academic Coaches, the teachers did the sessions very well.
4. Getting required number of periods for the program –
Getting the required sessions was initially a challenge. But once
the school correspondents listened to the audio files and saw the
digital resources they were more than willing to provide the
required time and even wanted more!
5. Teaching the teachers to access the digital resource – The
teachers were initially very apprehensive in the training to access
the digital resource. With little hand holding and guidance from
the Academic Coaches the teachers overcame their apprehensions
and conducted the classes effectively.

List the 5 points how can the program serve as a model that can be replicated
or adapted by others?
1. Regular standardized and technology-based and non-technology
based trainings for academic coaches, teachers ensure quick and
efficient transfer of knowledge.
 2. Ready-to-use, step-by-step modules in manuals, train-the trainer
manuals, facilitator manuals ensure that same content is being
taught by everyone, using similar pedagogical or andragogical
activities.
3. Easy customization and re-usability since all the data is in digital
format.
4. Ready-to-use digital resources on different topics for different
levels.
5. Easy to use pre test and post test formats, and pre-defined
testing rubrics that help to know the students progress in
spoken language.

List 5 points to elaborate on the scalability of the program/project/initiative

1. Since content is digital, it can be scaled at little or no cost.

2. Plug-and-learn modules that form part of an information bank in a
central repository in our internal Knowledge Management
System
3. Teams stationed in all major geographies in the country that will
quickly adapt products to specific needs.
4. All checklists, and guidelines, tools for implementation, monitoring
and tracking, train-the trainer manuals, facilitator manuals, and
Active Teaching Manuals are standardized and available on our
Knowledge Management System that lends to accessibility to all
team members through the country.
5. Topics and structure can suit all cultures, hence no customization
needed.