Workers get to speak better English in UAE

Dubai - SmartReading is a reading programme started by the SmartLife in line with the 2016 UAE Government initiative of the Year of Reading.

Kamala from Nepal, a Gems school staff, always dreamt of speaking good English but was unable to complete her studies as she had to fend for her family from a young age. But she didn't have to wait too long. Kamala, along with 83 other blue-collar workers, recently graduated with good English speaking skills from SmartReading programme by NGO SmartLife.
SmartReading is a reading programme started by the SmartLife in line with the 2016 UAE Government initiative of the Year of Reading. The five-month initiative helps blue-collar workers read and speak good English not only to boost their confidence but also to help further their career and improve their communication skills. The programme runs across four centres and 13 classrooms, in labour accommodations across Sonapur, Al Quoz and others. Recently, the programme held its graduation ceremony for the 2017 H1 batch - which ran from February to June - on the premises of Gems Wellington School to celebrate 84 graduates of SmartReading programme. The programme aims at teaching blue-collar workers read and speak good English and boost their confidence.
Flawlessly giving a speech in English in front of a packed auditorium, Kamala said : "I have been in Dubai for two years and have always felt the need to improve my English and become more successful in life. Luckily, one day I saw this SmartReading class notice put up in my labour accommodation. I registered immediately. I was very excited to attend my class and the teachers were very supportive. I improved immensely and the proof is that I am standing in front of you and giving my speech. It's okay if I could not learn English when I was young, I got a chance now and I believe that 'it's better late than never."
Elaborating on the programme, Manjula Ramakrishnan, spokesperson for SmartLife, said: "Our dedicated teachers take classes every Friday for two hours. One hour is dedicated to teaching students how to read English. The students are divided into junior and senior category and English passages, short motivational stories, inspiring tales and are prepared for them, depending on their level of English. For the spoken English component, a subject/theme is chosen each week for the juniors that is closely linked with their daily lives."
"This year for the H2 batch, we have had overwhelming response. From the time when we had to approach companies asking them to send their workers, today we are in a happy situation where we are flooded with requests from companies to take on board their employees. We now have 442 students enrolled with us," she added.
"Every human being is entitled to education and development and social inclusion. This is how SmartReading in Dubai plays a significant role. They develop programmes for development of those who are often forgotten - the workers," said Steve Burnell, CEO at School Transport Services.
Consulate-General Vipul was the chief guest at the programme and he expressed his happiness at seeing workers of different nationalities brought together and taught together.
Expressing his vision of the programme, SmartLife president Vinod Mehra said: "The vision of SmartReading is to ensure that every blue-collar worker in the city has access to this programme and should be able to communicate in English. Through this programme, our second aim is to build a team of blue-collars from our classes, who can take future classes of workers. I would like to congratulate our SmartReading team comprising 32 teachers and equal number of volunteers - for their tremendous hard-work and meticulous planning."
Must know
442 students enrolled with the new batch of SmartReading programme
32 teachers and equal number of volunteers are part of the initiative
84 workers graduated in the first batch of  the programme
saman@khaleejtimes.com
 

• Dubai