“Some of the pictures in the Picture Dictionary are very funny and I love looking at the Picture Dictionary in class! Even my friends, we all love it.”

Dev is an enthusiastic student who loves learning English with ReadToMe. On days the teacher is late or absent, Dev easily operates the software and conducts the English classes. He wants to learn English because his ambition is to become a Computer Engineer. He wants to use his skills to make games for children.

“I like the RightToRead Program. It is different from other subject teachings, because of its real presentations. The ReadToMe software helps me a lot to improve my reading ability.”

Elizabeth is a quick learner who is making best possible use of the Program. She does not hesitate to ask questions.

“The students in my class are from low income families and the only exposure they have to English is in school. Before the introduction of this software, pronunciation and reading was very difficult for the students. In class, their attention would wander. With ReadToMe it feels like a different class! The students are so attentive and engaged.”

Vinod is a teacher for the past 17 years. He believes the greatest change with the introduction of ReadToMe in class is the increased interaction and laughter; the students seem to enjoy English class much more. He has introduced several games in the classroom with the help of ReadToMe.

“The RightToRead Program is a nice program as it brings abstract things to light. With the help of the ReadToMe software and our tireless teachers, I have now understood many skills and English usage respectively.”

Mohamed has always been a quiet and shy boy. With the introduction of the RightToRead program, he has become a confident speaker in the classroom. He has also developed a keen interest to learn new things outside the classroom.

“When the teacher read from a text book, I would miss out on words and their meanings. However, with ReadToMe, I am able to concentrate better and don’t miss out on words.”

Shruti’s parents dream big for her. Their hope is to see Shruti study further and go to college. Shruti aspires to become a police officer.

“I enjoy ReadToMe class because it is interactive and we all learn by repeating after the voice and answering out loudly our teacher’s questions.”

Mario is a very enthusiastic student and is always striving to answer the questions in class, and contributing positively to the class. He is very proactive in everything he does. He wants to learn English to speak well and become a doctor in the future.

“English is important to learn other important things in life. It gives you knowledge.”

Karthik lives in a small and remote village called Nagbhid in Maharashtra with his parents and older sister. His sister guides him with his studies. However, he proudly claims, he is better at English than her since he gets to read in school with ReadToMe.
Karthik loves painting and poetry. His dream is to start writing poems in English and become a famous poet.

“The RightToRead Program has helped my literature and pronunciation skills. I like listening to the sounds and seeing the pictures. They teach me.”

Elinor is a smart girl and is very competitive. She likes to see the pictures from the picture dictionary and listen to the voice on the software. She contributes positively towards the program.

“In rural areas, the students are not aware of many things as they have very limited access to the world at large. Showing pictures of these words is more meaningful to them than explaining words with words.”

Hompratim explains that prior to the introduction of ReadToMe, his students were very shy and hesitant. The software has helped increase teacher-student interaction, as well as enhanced interaction between students.
Further, he says, “Taking class with a chalk and blackboard is outdated now. In a ReadToMe class, multisensory learning is involved. Now technology is used for teaching. This is very beneficial to the learning process.”

“The Program helped me more in my external examination because it involves the students in the teaching. The Reading and Comprehension skills which I built during the program helped me a lot in my Basic Education Certificate Examination.”

Aminata is now in Senior Secondary School 2 but likes to attend the junior classes during the ReadToMe sessions. She is curious to learn and motivates her juniors.

“My mother wants me to become an engineer and I will make her wish come true one day. ”

Raj has always loved the English Language but found it difficult to speak and read confidently. He loves ReadToMe classes as he says the Picture Dictionary helps him understand the meanings of words much better. He likes the voice of the software pronouncing words and he tries to copy it.
His teacher Ms. Saraswathi says, “He is able to read passages easily now after using the ReadToMe Pronunciation Tool.”

“I like the program very much as students are falling in love with English and they look forward to improving and learning more and more. We are awakening in them that love of the English language, which is necessary to be able to learn it.
On a personal note, ReadToMe software has helped improve my pronunciation and vocabulary as well as my fluency. I feel more certain of my pronunciation and the words I use when speaking.”

Marisol is an English Teacher. She was introduced to English a while ago but was never able to practice. Thus, she lost some of her English fluency. She is now learning with the help of the TeachHelper Program and preparing classes for 31 students at her school. She is also training new teachers to implement ReadToMe across the school.

“It reads, and I can always remember the voice speaking, showing us pictures of words we do not know. I think I am learning faster now!”

Kanchan wants to learn English because “when we go out, everyone talks in English and I want to do that also.” She wants to grow up and be an English teacher so that she can teach other students.
Her message to other students across India: “work and study hard, and be a good person.”

“I was struggling with some aspects of English language, especially fluent reading and comprehension. But due to the help of the RightToRead Program and the ReadToMe software, I have started seeing some of the solutions to my problems.”

Merian is an ambitious girl who is always curious to learn new things to build her knowledge. During the ReadToMe classes, she would raise questions to encourage discussions in the classroom. Merian wants to be a nurse when she grows up.

“It is important to integrate technology in education and not remain backward.”

A native of Amritsar, as a child, Hardeep used to practice his English by chatting with tourists at the Golden Temple. He knows the importance of listening to English being spoken in order to learn the language.
Talking about his students, he says students await the ReadToMe class eagerly and love the translation tool. The students are very attentive as they listen to the software read. It helps them deal with the complexity of English phonics. Hardeep smiles and remarks “the organisation is appropriately named ‘EnglishHelper’ as it has helped me, the teacher, interact better with the class!”.

“I like the pictures in the book and love seeing them on the screen during the ReadToMe session. With the help of the program I can now better understand speech sounds.”

Jestina initially found the program difficult but she was able to improve quickly and catch up with the others. She would always be the first to start the Program. Jestina wants to be a lawyer when she grows up.

“I want to be a badminton player just like Saina Nehwal. English is important because when I grow up and want to make a name for myself, I will need to be fluent in English.”

Shivani’s inspiration to learn English has been her elder brother who did not get an opportunity to study English himself but has constantly encouraged her to learn the language.
She was introduced to English in Grade 5 but faced difficulties in reading since she was worried about pronouncing words incorrectly. Introduction of ReadToMe in class helped Shivani overcome her fears and today, she is reading English fluently.

“I want to learn English, so my students can also learn it. I think it’s extremely important for all of us to speak it.”

Eloina is a Kindergarten Teacher and responsible for 20 students. Though Kindergarten currently does not have English language as part of the curriculum, Eloina is using and learning through TeachHelper in order to be able to teach English in 2018. She will be using ReadToMe as part of her class every day. She is determined not only to learn English, but also teach it.

“It says it so beautifully, I can understand very simply. I can now read without many problems.”

Dola was introduced to English in Kindergarten. However, she found connecting the spelling of a word with its pronunciation complicated.
She enjoys watching television shows about people helping others. She is inspired to join the police force.

“The RightToRead Program has helped to develop my comprehension ability and I am confident to do more positive research through the help of ReadToMe software.”

Andrew is an eager learner who loves the Program. RightToRead has had a positive impact on him.

“Before we would have to always work hard to get students to pay attention but now we do not have to do that. Students are constantly asking to see the picture in Picture Dictionary!”

Vipin has been a teacher for the past 23 years. He teaches at the school that he graduated from. Vipin uses ReadToMe to read the textbook in his class with ease. He engages the students with games and reading competitions. He believes ReadToMe has helped greatly in bringing learning discipline to his classroom.

“I like the voice and the corrections the software gives. It helped me pass my Basic Education Certificate Examination.”

Deborah is now a student of Senior Secondary School 2. She likes to attend the ReadToMe classes conducted for her juniors and make positive contributions. She is often heard telling the junior class students the benefits of ReadToMe. When Deborah was in Junior Secondary School she made a conscious choice of never missing a ReadToMe class.

“Earlier I could not read at all, but now though I don’t understand the meaning of all words, it takes me a second to read the word from the screen.”

Neha lost her father to tuberculosis when she was 10 years old. Her mother looks after the entire household by working as a house helper. Neha wants to work hard and become a beautician, so her mother can stop working.
Neha was introduced to English in Lower Kindergarten at a private school. Due to shortage of money, her parents transferred her to a government school where unfortunately she lost touch with the language. However, ReadToMe has helped her regain confidence in conversing in English.

“I like speaking in English in the class. ReadToMe allows me to practice my English along with my classmates every day.”

Nahomi is a shy, dedicated girl. She likes taking notes of what she learns in class and studies in her free time at home. In just 2 months of learning English with ReadToMe she can introduce herself, her favourite food, colours, and her family.
Nahomi wants to learn English to be able to study abroad.

“Every day there would be big, new words I did not understand. This changed with the introduction of ReadToMe. With the pronunciation tool, I can listen to the word and with the picture dictionary and translation tool I can learn the meaning and understand the word.”

Pradeep is a bright student and often assists his teacher in leading the ReadToMe classes. He wants to learn English to be able to travel outside of Gujarat to study and become a doctor.
His dream is to be able to provide free medical treatment for the poor people of his village.

“Today if they can read sentences and speak words of English, it is only because of the ReadToMe classes. They are most eager to attend English classes.”

Vijaya is a school principal and encourages her English teachers to use ReadToMe regularly not just for reading but also for improving students’ grammar. She is very satisfied with ReadToMe as a reading and comprehension aid. She remarks, “children, especially at the age of 11-12 years, learn more and easily through visual depiction.” Thus, the picture dictionary is an advantage for teachers to help build vocabulary and improve comprehension.
She says with the introduction of ReadToMe, class has become fun even for the teachers.

“There is a view that English is only for students who attend English medium schools. I want to break that myth and show that even government school children can do well in English! Before ReadToMe we used to study only the questions at the end of each chapter for the exam and memorise the answers. Now, we can answer any question because we understand what we read!”

Nagaveni is the first person in her family to receive an education. She is a sincere student who understands the efforts by her parents to send her to school. She aspires to be an engineer and build a house for her parents to make them proud.

“Children actually compete to answer the questions first!”

Vidhi has been teaching English for 8 years. However, she has always used the text book along with related Teaching & Learning Materials for achieving learning outcomes.
She feels ReadToMe is perfect for teachers like her. Her favourite in class is the Pronunciation tool, as repeating the words several times has helped children with pronunciation.

“I love reading with ReadToMe and try to keep the speed in my head even when we are repeating after it.”

Priyanka’s greatest motivation to study English has been her parents. They want her to learn English, so she can speak confidently in her professional life.
Priyanka’s dream is to become a pilot. She exclaims, “I’ve always wanted to sit on a plane but not as a passenger, as the person driving!”

“ReadToMe has been very useful for me too. In my 26 years as a teacher, I have just in the last three years used technology and feel it has helped me be more effective as a teacher. The improvement I see in the students would have not been possible without the software.”

Ravi believes ReadToMe has helped improve the reading skills of his students. The audio- visual method supported by the word magnifier catches every students’ attention. Phonics and pronunciation is enabled by the ability to listen and repeat at a speed convenient to the students. This has removed the fear of reading aloud, and has fuelled a desire to read.
The students are now able to read independently and some even read better in English than in their first language i.e. Tamil.

“I can hear and see at the same time! I can see with the pictures what it is about and then by hearing, learn it.”

Vivek was introduced to English a couple of years ago when he was in Grade 5. He struggled with reading difficult words and long sentences. This changed with the introduction of ReadToMe in class. Vivek overcame his fear of English with the help of the picture dictionary and pronunciation tools.
Vivek now dreams of becoming an English teacher and wants to “help other students to not be afraid of the language.”

“I want to grow up and be a Civil Engineer, so I can make my parents happy.”

Yash, like most of his classmates, manages his studies and homework by himself. His father received education till grade 10; his mother only completed schooling till grade 7.
Yash is determined to do well in life; he works hard in school and enjoys ReadToMe classes.