Pratham Education Foundation: Hockey

Showing posts with label Hockey. Show all posts

Monday, July 23, 2018

"Learning English helped me play better Hockey"

Pratham 1:03:00 PM

Like many others around her, Sushma Kumari does not recall when she started playing hockey. "Bahut chhote the, tab se khel rahe hain" (I started playing when I was very young), she says. She belongs to the Simdega district of Jharkhand, a place where - despite the popularity of cricket in the country - every child has always chosen to be loyal to hockey! However, not many families can afford to buy a professional hockey stick, and hence they start with a wooden stick to continue playing the game. Sushma was no exception.

She hails from Karwajor village in the Kendu Toli of the district. Her father is a farmer, and her mother is a housewife. While she enjoyed playing the game as a child, her sporting talent was spotted only when she entered school. Her principal encouraged her, and the first thing he asked her to buy was a professional hockey stick! She agreed and thus began her tryst with hockey, which continues to this day.

She represented her school hockey team, and a consistently good performance resulted in her selection at the Hockey Academy in 2012. She is a part of the Jharkhand state team, and her routine involves rigorous touring across the country for hockey tournaments. However, like her teammates, she also came across a problem which turned out to be a roadblock for her growth and progress in the game.

"Sir, angreji nahi bol paate the hum (we could not speak in English)", she recalls with a smile. The girls also could not understand what others spoke in English. As a consequence, they faced a lot of problems while playing in non-Hindi speaking states, that is the states in the south and the north-east.

"The referees spoke in English, and it was difficult to communicate with them. Sometimes, players from the opposite team deliberately spoke in English so that we could not understand the game plan. We also could not talk to the referee if a decision was unfair to us", she continues listing the problems. The Hockey academy approached Pratham for assistance, and in 2016, the English program was started which continues to this day.

Sushma now feels the positive change in her as she can now understand and communicate in English. "I can now present myself better, and my confidence levels have increased", she confesses. "I also help my teammates if they do not know anything about the language. But more important is that I speak to others by maintaining proper eye contact", she beams.

We then ask Sushma if she finds any difference in the way of learning compared to what she learned in school. "In school, we were asked to read English, but hardly understood the meaning. We also could not participate in class, as the teacher interacted only with students who sat on the front benches", she says. "However, here we learn in groups and hence, learn from each other."

"We travel by train, and the English language has helped us read the names of the railway stations in places where they are not written in Hindi", she continues to list the benefits of knowing the language.

As we leave, we ask her with whom she would like to speak in English. "Vandana Kataria is my idol, and I want to speak with her in English. I want to discuss the game and get some tips on how to play and improve my game. I am confident that I will do it", she says with a smile and bids us goodbye.

Monday, May 7, 2018

Jharkhand

"I will greet others in English!"

Pratham 3:40:00 PM

The hockey stick is a natural extension of your hand if you grow up in the Simdega district of Jharkhand, and Kajal Badha was no exception to it! Simdega is a district that has produced stalwarts of Indian hockey and continued this tradition, thanks to the Astroturf hockey stadium in its capital city. Every year many players are selected to get trained at this stadium, who then form a part of the Jharkhand state team, and many of them represent the national team at various international events.

Kajal started to play hockey since she was a child. Initially, she played with a wooden stick, but her school principal Father Benedict spotted her talent and ensured that she got a brand new hockey stick. Her excellent game coupled with the encouragement she received from school secured her selection at the Astroturf stadium in 2015. Soon she embraced the routine of a hockey professional that included a strict daily practice and a constant touring to other parts of the country for matches. However, she noticed that she and her teammates lacked in one thing – “We did not know how to speak English.”

“We did not understand what others spoke, and we also did not have any courage to reply if anyone said anything in English”, she says.

It was not that the school she studied in did not teach English. But like schools everywhere, the primary emphasis was on syllabus completion. “We studied English as a subject, but we could not learn it as a language”, she says. The inability to speak English had its repercussions. While travelling outside their state, these girls found it difficult to communicate with others. This problem became intense in non-Hindi speaking states, like in the Southern and North-Eastern States of the country. “We could not understand what the referees would say and many times we could not say anything if we felt that a decision went against us”, she adds. Sensing an urgent need to tackle this problem, the Simdega Hockey Association approached Pratham, and it was decided that the latter would help these girls learn English. It was the year 2016, and the program has continued uninterrupted since then.

“I like this approach towards English. The activities and exercises have made learning a very easy process”, she admits with a smile. While travelling outside Jharkhand, these girls have to talk about themselves, introduce themselves to others and also sometimes talk to the media. “We can understand what others speak; we can talk to the referee and can face the world with confidence. The feeling of ‘I can speak’ is very special”, Kajal says with a smile that reflects satisfaction.

However, the English language has offered her and her teammates much more than mere speaking to others. “When we travel to other states, we can talk to the senior players and get some valuable tips from them about the game. It helps us improve our playing technique and also improve the knowledge of the game.” Before this program, communicating with girls from other teams was a problem. But now Kajal and her teammates can talk to girls from other teams and be friends with them. “We have got many new friends, and we talk in English with them”, she says.

At the end of our conversation, Kajal thanks Pratham for the English program, but admits that there is a scope for improvement. “I still find it difficult to understand if someone speaks very fast. But I am sure with more practice; I will be able to overcome this problem”, she says.

Kajal idolises two players and wants to meet them the next time she travels for her team’s matches. They are Mandeep Singh from the Chandigarh team and Asunta Larka from her state of Jharkhand. “I will compliment them for their playing and will ask them the secret of their game. And, I will talk to them in English”, she says with a cheerful smile.

Monday, March 19, 2018

simdega

Meet Deepti Kullu, a hockey player from Jharkhand who is learning English

Pratham 1:12:00 PM

Deepti Kullu hails from Kinkel village in the Simdega district of Jharkhand. Having being born in a region that boasts of players like Sylvanus Dung Dung and Asunta Lakra, it was very natural for her to pursue a career in hockey! She began playing in 2013 and soon became the captain of her school’s under-14 team. Thanks to her consistent performance, she got selected to be a part of Jharkhand’s state team to play at the national level.

Deepti Kullu

To represent the state was a proud feeling. However, with it came constant practice at the Astroturf stadium in Simdega, extensive travelling to other states for matches and interaction with players from other states to improve the game. But there was one problem, common to everyone in the team!

“We girls were weak in speaking English. While playing in Jharkhand was fine, the problem magnified when we played outside”, she said. These girls managed to communicate with people when they played in Hindi-speaking states. However, language was a barrier when they went to non-Hindi speaking states, especially in the South. “While playing, we have to speak to the referee, and most of the times it is in English. As we were poor in speaking and understanding the language, it affected our game.”

To overcome this problem, The Simdega Hockey Association approached Pratham, and soon these girls became a part of a program that aimed to teach them English. The program began in 2016 and continued uninterrupted since then.

“Initially they taught us to introduce ourselves in English. Then we learned to speak a few sentences about ourselves, our game and things related to sports. We also learned grammar”, Deepti recalls. “This was helpful because we have to talk to the media after our match. Initially, we were very shy, and could not talk much during the awards presentation”, she further said with a smile.

What does she like about this program? “Group learning”, she immediately responded. “In school, the emphasis was on completing the syllabus. Hence, we did not learn much. But now we learn in a group, discuss together and continue with our discussions outside the classroom as well. We have become more confident, and we feel proud that we can speak English”, Deepti said with a smile much wider than before.

Deepti was a part of the Jharkhand team that won the Under-17 Nehru girls hockey tournament last year in Delhi. However, the team was not worried about the post-match media interaction. They all were prepared and confident and interacted with the journalists in English.

However, the English language has not only helped them in their game but also has made them more aware and interactive. These girls can now read the names of railway stations, notice boards with great ease. Travelling to places also involves staying in hotels, and the ability to speak English has helped these girls interact with the hotel staff. However, Deepti feels that the English language has helped her connect with players from other states, who like her, have a dream of playing for the national team one day.