Fifteen of the 186 college students in the faculty have accomplished A1 degree in German and have achieved primary conversational proficiency.
| Photo Credit: Abhinay Deshpande
On a sizzling Friday morning at a authorities higher main faculty in Maharashtra’s drought-hit Beed district, over two dozen college students from Classes VII to IX are seated on vibrant mats on the ground of their classroom, eagerly ready for the clock to strike 11.
Soon, Kedar Jadhav, 39, a native of Sangli district who works at a multinational firm in Munich, Germany, seems on their projector display and begins taking classes in German.
The college students have created a flutter in their village, Umrad Khalsa, by rattling off full sentences in the overseas language, a lot to the astonishment of native residents. Located round 12 km from Beed city, the village didn’t have a lot to boast about, however now their kids are making heads flip.
“At a time when Marathi medium students are struggling to speak English fluently, our students are honing their German language skills,” says Vikas Mahendra Pardeshi, the varsity’s headmaster.
Last November, Mr. Pardeshi was scrolling by his Facebook feed when he chanced upon a video of Mr. Jadhav instructing German. “I immediately messaged him and requested him to teach the language to our students. Mr. Jadhav readily agreed and our first online class began on November 26 last year,” the headmaster says, including that lessons are held each Tuesday and Friday.
“I found it challenging to convince the parents to allow their children to learn a foreign language as it is not a part of the curriculum. I told them about the importance of acquiring new skills and picking up new languages,” Mr. Pardeshi says.
Basic proficiency
Fifteen of the varsity’s 186 college students have now accomplished the A1 degree and have achieved primary conversational proficiency. The college students say studying German is enjoyable. “It is so exciting to learn new words and remember them,” says Arthi Vinod Jadhav, a Class VIII pupil.
Raj Sonawane, a Class VII pupil, says he revises his classes even on holidays. “I’m always looking forward to the class. I have already done my homework and am waiting for the next task,” he says.
Prachi Prabhakar Paraskar, a Class VIII pupil, says they play video games making an attempt to type small sentences with the brand new phrases they choose up in every class. “We have learnt that those skilled in German are in high demand across the world. This language can help us get good jobs in the future,” she says.
Passion for instructing
Mr. Jadhav says he began studying German on the Goethe-Institut in Pune throughout his faculty days. He turned more adept in the language after transferring to Germany. He says he goals to show German to college students in rural faculties.
“I am really passionate about teaching German. There are plenty of opportunities for those who master it. Right now, only city dwellers are able to afford German classes. I am offering them for free. Everyone who wants to learn German should be able to access it free of cost,” he says.
Mr. Jadhav says he doesn’t train from textbooks, however has devised his personal approach of instructing primarily based on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), which grades learners on a six-level scale: A1, A2 (primary); B1, B2 (intermediate); and C1, C2 (skilled).
“So far, I have taught more than one lakh students, both online and offline, in India and Germany. I’m impressed by their dedication and enthusiasm. I have no doubt that they will be able to use this skill to their advantage. The internal exam for students will be held on March 28. Most of them score full marks in such tests,” he says.
Proficiency in a overseas language will give the scholars an edge in the job market, says the headmaster. “We are proud that we are able to offer this unique training to our students,” Mr. Pardeshi says, including that lessons for the brand new batch of 50 college students will start on April 1.
