In normative multilingual ESL/EFL contexts like India, non-dominant cultural and ethnic representations are absent or superficially represented in English textbooks. For learners from linguistically disadvantaged groups, English has to be negotiated through an unfamiliar dominant language. In this article, I argue that appropriate inclusivity…

This paper explores technology integration and the role of teacher beliefs in this integration to assess a 'smart-class' initiative that was introduced in 3173 Grade 7-8 classrooms of 1609 public schools in India in 2017. It first reports on the impact of the initiative at the end of its first year, using a sample of 2574 children drawn from 155…

This article examines how a purportedly local, postcolonial reform effort to resist center-based methods is resisted by the students and teachers it seeks to serve. In this context, rather than take center and periphery for granted, the author attempts a processual geography of method. Drawing on data from a 19-month ethnography in the Indian…

In the country presently, preclinical medical students are not routinely exposed to real patients. Thus, when they start clinical postings, they are found to have poor clinical reasoning skills. Simulated virtual patients (SVPs) can improve clinical skills without endangering real patients. This pilot study describes the development of two SVPs in…

Despite the fact that Indian Sign Language (ISL) has a significant influence on the native signers in northeastern India, no studies of ISL have yet taken into account the nature of the sign languages in use in this region. This article examines the emergence of both Shillong Sign Language and the Deaf community of Shillong and discusses the…

The Association of American Geographers (AAG), through its Center for Global Geography Education (CGGE) project, recently published a collection of online educational resources examining important geographic issues affecting people, places, and environments in India. The resources were created by a delegation of high school teachers and academic…

This paper attempts to present a critical review of the current state of English language education in schools in India in view of the prevalent pedagogical policies and practices. Different types of schools in the different school systems and typologies of teaching situations, the diverse nature of curriculum, syllabi, materials development, and…

This article presents the process of recent curricular revision and material development in English at the national level in India in a limited way. Teachers' needs and wants, their participation in the development of materials, the dilemmas of teachers and their implications for classroom transactions are discussed from the experiences of one of…

Many of the textbooks used to teach Indian management students are South East Asian editions of U.S. publications. Although these provide a great deal of information on the business world, particularly in a North American context, outside of India, they do not always meet the needs of either the Indian ESL Learner, or of Indian business and…

Discusses India's National Adult Education Programme (NAEP), which was assigned the task of developing adult education materials. Details steps taken to develop these materials and to train administrators and teachers. (JOW)

Discusses performance indicators in distance education: micro, macro, and mega indicators as tools for quality assurance; entry and exit indicators, with special reference to open universities in India; and concepts and research within learning materials development, course development and evaluation. (PEN)

One of the recent innovations of significance in developing nations is the concept of linking literacy education to problems related to socio-economic development. The article describes the Problem Oriented Materials Preparation Project of Literacy House, Lucknow, India. (Author/BP)

Problems were encountered in designing an illustrated program on contraceptive techniques for India's rural population where illiteracy is high and hundreds of different languages are spoken. Field trials of a picture program indicated the ability to "read" a picture is an acquired skill. (Author)

The focus of the experimental functional literacy project is the health and nutritional status of the young child; the target population are pregnant women and new mothers in rural Indian villages. (AJ)

THE 21 WORKING PAPERS IN THIS BOOK WERE PREPARED BY AMERICAN SCHOLARS IN THE FIELD OF SOUTH ASIAN AREA AND LANGUAGE STUDIES FOR A CONFERENCE CONVENED BY THE COMMITTEE ON SOUTH ASIA OF THE ASSOCIATION FOR ASIAN STUDIES IN 1961. THE CONFERENCE DEALT WITH THE NEED FOR RESEARCH ON SPECIFIC COUNTRIES AND IN SPECIFIC DISCIPLINES AS WELL AS THE PRESENT…