Language Research Lab

Supported by: Wipro

Vision and Mission:

Language Research Lab envisions creating joyful, accelerated learning classrooms by bridging the gap between research and academics through action research.

Strategy:

The approach is to design a foundational literacy kit for the English language (Joyful English). It is envisioned to package world-class research in language acquisition. The goal is to do this in a way that can be easily implemented in a rural Indian setting, where English is a foreign language.

Initiatives

Our lab is dedicated to creating a joyful and engaging way for students to learn English. We combine insights from different fields like Educational Neuroscience, Psychology, Language Acquisition, and Frameworks to make learning a natural experience for children. Through our action research, we’ve been able to bridge the gap between theory and practice and have seen amazing results. We have observed a 10x acceleration in their learning.

The lab is working with partner schools like Isai Ambalam school in Auroville, Pondicherry, Alankuppam Govt Primary School Pondicherry, and Mothers Rural School in Gaddipalli, Telangana, to accelerate childrens language skills using a natural and joyful approach. However, to implement this approach on a larger scale, improvements are needed in areas like classroom curriculum, assessments, teacher training, and parental support.

To address these challenges, the Language Research Lab uses a Four-Pronged Approach that involves interdisciplinary research, Whole Brain Curriculum Development (Joyful English Foundational Literacy Kit), Natural Approach Teacher Training, and Outreach (Scaling). The lab’s constant focus is to create a shift from the current language explanation to create an experience of the language for the kids.

Approach

At Language Research Lab, we follow a systematic approach to bridge the gap between research and classroom implementation. We start by identifying the classroom challenges and provide solutions based on our experience and standards, while simultaneously referring to the latest research developments. By aligning our solutions with research insights and our outcomes, we ensure that we are on the right path.

Our approach involves conducting Action Research to develop a draft version of the content for internal usage. We observe the participation and outcomes in children and incorporate necessary enhancements based on feedback from teachers. The research adds confidence, conceptual clarity, breadth and depth, and precision to our intuitive Action Research experience.

Once the content is developed in a proper book format, it will be shared with teachers in training sessions and curriculum for language skill development. It is important to note that our content is not merely derived from our ideas, but rather from the children’s responses, which guide the content and process. Through this approach, we ensure that the content is effective, and efficient, and contributes to the latest research in the field.

Project updates

Thanks to Wipro funding, we can carry out our work even more effectively than in the past few years. We plan to continue our research and implementation in parallel, to stabilize our work in the next one to two years. By the end of which, we expect to have sufficient proven outcomes in a few schools, would have established teacher training practices, and a solid framework that addresses most of the gaps. This will enable us to scale our approach to a wider audience with confidence in the third year.

While simultaneously performing all the activities needed, our priority during the first year is to attain organisational stability, in the second year to stabilize the program, and in the third year to scale the program.

Challenges and Learnings

We have encountered several challenges in our journey, and the foremost is to convincing school management to adopt our approach has been difficult, as they do not have enough time to spare in classrooms and experience/see the benefits first-hand. We are working on ways to convey our classroom experiences and outcomes in a language comprehensible to them.

Organizational development challenges: Over the last year, we have focused on developing our organization to take our solutions to a wider audience in a sustainable way. We started with very little knowledge, but with expert guidance, we completed several registrations, including Not-for- Profit registration, 12A, 80G, CSR-1, and Darpan Registrations in 5 months. Our next challenge is achieving financial stability in the long run and establishing a workspace and culture that promotes productivity and growth. We are exploring various options, such as working with consultants, volunteers, or full-time employees, online and offline modes, etc.

Other challenges: We initially struggled to find integral solutions for challenges faced in the classroom. we have also faced challenges in training teachers and closing gaps in program orientation. However, with the help of research knowledge and experience, we have made enough progress in addressing these challenges and gained the capacity to address future challenges. We are also looking at capacity building which is specific to our needs. Since the area of work is very specialized and interdisciplinary, it is difficult to find offline training exactly fitting our needs. But recent interactions with experts have given us some hope to overcome them shortly.

Plans for the next 1-3 years

1st Year: Focus on organization development and teacher training. In the first year, the focus will be on establishing a strong organizational structure that can support the program's growth and expansion. This will involve hiring additional staff, developing policies and procedures, and creating a sustainable funding model, and infrastructure to conduct Teacher Training.

Additionally, the first year will be dedicated to enhancing teacher training programs to ensure that teachers are equipped with the skills and knowledge necessary to effectively implement the program. This may involve developing new training modules, creating a mentorship program, and establishing ongoing professional development opportunities. Additionally, teacher training programs should be refined and scaled to ensure that they are effective and sustainable. 2nd Year: Developing a stable program (teacher training and curriculum).

2nd Year: Developing a stable program (teacher training and curriculum)

During the second year, the focus will be on developing a stable program that includes both teacher training and curriculum development. This program will be based on best practices in language acquisition and incorporate the latest research in the field. The program should also be adaptable and scalable to ensure that it can be implemented in a variety of classroom contexts. This will involve piloting and refining the program in partner schools to ensure its effectiveness before expanding to additional schools.

3rd Year: Program scaling The focus will be on scaling the program to reach a wider audience. This includes expanding the organizational capability to handle the scaling. It will also involve developing a marketing and outreach strategy, identifying potential new partner schools, and securing funding to support program expansion. Additionally, ongoing program evaluation and improvement will be a key focus to ensure that the program is meeting its goals and delivering the desired outcomes.