The Issue



mαζί ας φέρνουμε την αλλαγή


We’re guessing that most of us couldn’t understand the above phrase, written in GREEK.

This is precisely how millions of Indian children feel every day when they attempt to read English. For them, English is equivalent to how we see the above phrase, a collection of meaningless symbols. Thus, many young Indian students are unable to pursue their dreams of becoming doctors, engineers, or scientists as the majority of higher education courses in India are taught only in English. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to support these children in building their future?



But Why English Language?


English is one of the most used languages in the world. Today an estimated 1.35 billion people worldwide speak English. One can say it is the primary language of the world today.

The English language helps us connect with other individuals across the globe to exchange ideas, build new things, and learn new skills. It is that magic door that opens up the world to new possibilities, career opportunities & even entry into schools worldwide via tests like IELTS & TOEFL. According to a survey report, for same-skilled jobs, people who speak fluent English earn 34% more than those who cannot speak English at all (The India Human Development Survey 2005).

But the single most important benefit is that “English provides an equal opportunity for these kids to better their lives and their family’s lives”. And this is the mission that drives us at LeapForWord.



LeapForWord | Making India English Literate

Where Is The Challenge?

We all know that one can’t learn a language without exposure. Students have to be constantly exposed to scenarios where they can apply their linguistic knowledge; through conversations with peers, reviewing mainstream news, or socializing with locals. Repeatedly practicing the language through different scenarios and instances strengthens their language capability. Without such exposure, students will lack experience in the language’s cultural and historic background.
Children in rural India are taught English as a Second Language (ESL), which relies on the above-mentioned exposure in order to attain proficient learning. For students living in remote areas, where English is a foreign language, ESL does not work as there is not much opportunity to acquire or practice the language outside of school. This is because, in rural areas, residents speak their native language, so there is no community exposure to English. As a result, the teachers in these rural government schools become the students’ sole source of learning English.
This dependency on an English-competent teacher in order to enable efficient English learning is the single biggest bottleneck in the pursuit of English Literacy. All incumbent English learning solutions necessitate the need of a fluent English-speaking teacher, lack of which results in even passionate & hardworking teachers mostly teaching only basics like alphabets, vocabulary, etc, which do not necessarily make the child capable of navigating difficult English in higher grades. And due to this, millions of kids in schools across India continue to remain cut-off from opportunities to better their lives due to poor English skills.



We at LeapForWord see the possibility of completely solving this English learning problem for regional language schools in India.

The above Greek phrase means Together, let us bring change.