About the project

The mission of this project is to bridge the linguistic and digital divide in India through Education. The aim of this project is to provide education to the under-privileged by incorporating the best pedagogical practices at an elementary as well as an advanced Level using technology such as through smart phones.

The project focuses on the broad domain of Education with the focused aim of developing English speaking skills in school going children studying in Marathi medium schools. This project began in Dec 2017 with twenty students from slum communities in Dadar.

The focus of this pilot phase was to enhance spoken English skills and level of confidence in children from disadvantaged background. At every session children were assessed by Yes I Can Foundation’s volunteers on the basis of their response on grammatical exercises and English speaking skills.

A unique method was employed for project implementation using technology as mobile phones. Twelve-week sessions were scheduled from December 2017 to March 2018.

Volunteers were given a set of syllabus every week based on different themes. This syllabus includes set of stories, grammatical exercises and also allowing volunteers and students to ask questions to each other related to themes in English.

Outcome

To measure outcome, students completed maximum sessions (15-20 sessions), their performances were analyzed and it has observed that there was significant increase in the scores obtained from the first session in December to last session in March 2018. We received feedback from teachers. There was significant increase in the level of confidence and English speaking ability of students who were interacting with Yes I Can foundation’s volunteers on regular basis. It also helped students during their academic school exams.