'English made easy' in The Hindu

The Ready to Read program and the DVD initiative was featured in The Hindu this week. Clink on the link below to read the article.


The Hindu: English Made Easy, April 5th 2010
by Seem Sanghi

An Video Introduction to Ready to Read

An Introduction to Ready to Read from Kirsten Anderson on Vimeo.

The Ready to Read program is designed to be an innovative intervention by teaching English reading and writing through a phonetic and whole language approach. In addition to introducing basic phonics through Total Physical Response (TPR), it also introduces students to common sight words, writing practice, group play activities and reading time. This dynamic reading program, specifically designed for Tamil-medium students, fits in a bag and can be easily transported. The need for this program is heightened by the fact that there is no comparable alternative, which uses culturally appropriate and relevant content. This balanced program supplements the primary school curriculum, enabling students to read words and simple sentences within a few weeks. In 2009-2010 it was piloted in 36 schools with about 2000 fourth and fifth standard students in eight districts across the state. The results to date have been encouraging and we have received an overwhelming response from teachers and students.

If you want more information regarding the Ready to Read program, please leave a comment, or email: info@aidindia.in.

Wow! Great news!

We did it, or rather all our kickstarter backers did it. We have reached our $4,000 goal for the next episode of our DVD project. Thank you so much to everyone who has pledged and is backing this project. Your support means a lot all of us on the English team at Aid India. It is encouraging to know that there are so many people out there supporting and encouraging us to continue this work. We met with our directors last week and have begun talks about the next several episodes. Now that we've raised enough money for another episode we are that much closer to our goal of completing the project. We hope to have the next shoot in June.

But we still have 16 days left on kickstarter and each episode is going to cost about $4000, so please pass this onto friends, family or colleagues. We can still use all the help we can get. Additional funds raised beyond our $4000 goal will go towards additional episodes. And the more episodes we can produce in one go, the more we can bring our costs down.

Please pass this on to friends, family and colleauges. We aren't done yet. For information about the reading project and the DVD initiative, please follow the link below to our kickstarter site:

Check out our Kickstarter page and make a pledge

Wow! What's that sound? - A 5 Minute Teaser

Wow! What's that sound? - A 5 minute teaser from Kirsten Anderson on Vimeo.

Behind the making of "Wow! What's that sound?"

In addition to interviews with the child artists, entertaining video snippets, bloopers and behind the scenes outtakes, this short documentary provides context into the reasons behind why we made "Wow! What's that sound?". And why we are hoping to turn it into a 12 episode educational DVD series as soon as we secure additional funding.

You can also view the documentary on vimeo in full screen.

Screening and Release at Madras Terrace House

Niveditha, Priya, Kirsten and Sumangali enjoy some Bhel Puri
on the terrace before the event

On Tuesday, December 8th, 2009 Aid India released and screened the first pilot episode “Wow! What’s that sound?” of their 12-episode English language DVD series at the Madras Terrace House, Royapettah. The pilot episode demonstrates an innovative approach to teaching English to Tamil-medium students in the primary school age group.

Jon (of Xylopholks) and Vedanth perform melodious magic before the show

The evening commenced with a lively music performance by Vedanth, the music producer and Jonathan Singer, xylophonist. Dr. Balaji Sampath, Director of Aid India delivered an inspirational talk on the role of education in bridging the growing economic divide and the importance of English in bringing about linguistic equality. This was followed by a brief presentation on ‘Between your desire and destiny there are DVDs’ by Mr. Robert Bellarmine, formerly of the British Council and currently Director of English for Empowerment and Enrichment.

A packed house--standing room only!

A documentary on the making of the DVD was then played, followed by a speech by Mr. Ravikumar, MLA, activist and author. Mr. Ravikumar also released the pilot episode and distributed DVDs to the child stars.

Ms. Vasanthi Devi and Mr. Ravikumar release the pilot episode of the DVD

During the screening of the pilot episode, the guests were delighted to watch the children’s lively engagement with the video. Ms. Vasanthi Devi, President of Aid India and former Chairperson, Tamil Nadu State Commission for Women remarked that the storyline was engaging, while also doing the job of an educational English lesson.

In addition to our guest speakers listed below, other participants included the child stars from Chennai and Koovathur and their families, the producers, directors, the cast, and NGOs, foundations & companies involved in education initiatives.

Ranga the Rowdy Rabbit was on display in the lobby.

Some of the caps and the props from the pilot episode were also on display.