Unit 4 Blog Post

The article I read about this week was related to language learning resources and software that was recently developed. The article was about a Latha Srinivasan, a woman who quit her job at HCL (a technology company) to develop language learning materials and software. She was prompted to do this after recognizing a deficit in English language learners upon their completion of learning English. She felt most students, especially those who attended poor private schools, were not receiving proper English instruction. Upon her investigation she realized most schools didn't have proper resources to teach English, and teachers weren't adequately trained. As a result, she developed the program Chippersage, which means happy teacher in her native language. 

Chippersage is targeted for students ages 4-14. The program has three different components for language learners and instructors. The first component is English Ever After, which provides lessons for teachers. The second is Bodhi Tree, which trains teachers on how to teach language effectively to their students. The third component is called Flow of English, which is a digital tool to engage students when learning the language. The program has gained in popularity and now serves 80,000 language learners. Cippersage has been funded by many foundations, one of which is the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. 

I think the program Srinivasan created is innovative and inspiring. She saw a need to build English skills in her country, especially to under-privileged children. Though this particular situation occurred in India, I drew many parallels to our country. Unfortunately, it is typically the poor areas with under-privileged children that do not have access to adequate materials and instruction. This can ultimately effect their future, as Srinivasan was concerned with as well. She recognized that successful careers in today's world require fluency of conversational English. This skill is also necessary for learners in our classroom as well. However, I feel there are many skills to build upon before expecting a language learner to be a proficient conversationalist in a language that is not native to them. I expect more programs like Chippersage to continue to appear on the market in years to come, as software and technology continue to provide wonderful resources for language learners and teachers. 


Link to article: https://m.yourstory.com/2017/05/chippersage-startup/