Chhattisgarh teachers open up to CLIx
Chhattisgarh evokes an image of a state rich in tribal population and culture. This image I had of the state was to radically change as I alighted from the aircraft. The large, expansive airport, the long road to Raipur were nothing I had imagined it would be. I was in Chhattisgarh to orient teacher educators and teachers to the CLIx English modules that we had developed.
That evening, we met up with our local implementation team to get a feel of what to expect from the sessions the next day. They seemed to know the participants well and I was struck by the deep, personal bonds that people build in this state. The team’s assurance of an open reception to the CLIx English course gave me confidence. On day one, we began with a round of introductions. I had met some of the participants earlier at the Invitation to CLIx (i2C ) event and it was great to see some familiar faces and some new ones. It was a busy day and there was a buzz all around. We debated on the need for skills in communicative English and explored the CLIx English modules. The teachers and teacher educators joined the CLIx Community on Discourse, our platform for Communities of Practice. The participants were brimming with enthusiasm and this was heartening.
In order to build on the Communities of Practice, we were keen on getting the teachers to collaborate using Telegram, a social media app. So on day two, I decided to give it a try, first thing in the morning. They took to the app like fish to water! Questions, responses, messages, images, all flew around on Telegram. What followed was another extremely busy, highly interactive day. One of the teachers said that her colleague avoided most workshops but never a CLIx gathering! The teachers had novel ideas on how to transact lessons and place them in the context of the CLIx pillars of pedagogy. They were quick to connect the contents of the digital activities to their textbooks.
The group discussions on implementation challenges brought out the positive outlook of the teachers. Some of them also triggered ideas on lessons for future CLIx offerings. The sense of gratification that followed at the end of two days was thanks to the attitude of the teachers we met in Chhattisgarh. They opened up their hearts and minds to us and every CLIx team member left wanting to visit Chhattisgarh again.
[Reema Mani, Research Assistant, English team]
