"Children are inherently multilingual."

Posted by Amna Singh on March 20, 2018
 
Kollegala Sharma is a scientist by profession, but a science communicator by passion.  He teaches translation, science communication and science teaching through workshops, and has also been writing and translating science books from English to Kannada for the past three and a half decades. We spoke to him about multilingualism and how he uses the StoryWeaver platform in his interactions with children.
 
Q: How do you think multilingualism benefits children?
 
A: I believe that we are inherently multilingual. We speak a colloquial language and learn a standardized version in schools. However, it all depends on the age of the speaker and how he/she interacts with the  language. Wider interactions with a  language make the speaker adept at working with it anywhere. StoryWeaver provides an opportunity to learn different languages. I visualize a classroom where a teacher uses a story to teach Tamil to Kannadiga students with a Tamil translation in her hand. Why not? Also, I believe that learning a local language along with English is important.
 
Q: How and for what do you use Storyweaver?
 
I use StoryWeaver to excite young students to read and write and also to help adults who may not be very conversant in English learn the language by using translation as a tool. I ask participants at workshops to translate stories from English to Kannada to help them to understand the nuances of the language. Since the text is limited and is accompanied with pictures, it becomes easy for them to comprehend and then try translating. Long texts can put off beginners from learning a new language. I have worked with the teachers in Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalay. Even the teachers who aren’t familiar with computers and technology take to the platform easily as StoryWeaver makes it easy for them to type both English and Kannada.
 
I have also used StoryWeaver to teach nuances of translation to participants of workshops on translation at the National Translation Mission. The participants were from various states and to find examples of translation in all the languages was difficult. In this case I turned to StoryWeaver, as it is a repository of stories in several Indian languages. This helped the participants appreciate both the translation process and also the differences in the process when translating in different languages. I also encouraged participants, whose language is not represented on StoryWeaver, to collaboratively translate and practice online in the open class. This serves well for both the language and the participants. StoryWeaver allows for a very active and collaborative interaction. Some potential translators for StoryWeaver will also hopefully be born. They can practice translation here, revise, review and upload without any hesitation.
 
I’d also like to explore ways to use the platform to enthuse students with different competencies. For example, I would like to excite students with drawing and painting skills to develop themes for future stories. And I also plan to use the stories on StoryWeaver and encourage versioning them to audio formats.
 
 
Mr. Sharma's colleague's daughter reads a story in Kannada, and makes herself the main character!
 
Q: How do you see StoryWeaver benefitting children?

 

The online stories are freely available both for teachers and students alike. Such a reading resource is unimaginable in any school, especially the Government schools.
 

Mr. Kollegala Sharma at a recent story telling session organised by Pratham Books to celebrated National Science Day.

 
Q: What are the challenges around translating?
 
Translation poses many challenges. For example, character names might work in one language but will be very funny or strange to Kannada readers when translated. If the name is essentially part of the cultural ethos it can be retained, but in some stories where the ethos is general and can be applied anywhere in India, the strange names may sound unattractive. Secondly, spelling them in Kannada may not be appropriate for certain reading levels.
 
Q:  What can be done to effectively make children learn a new language?
 
Reading and retelling stories is a wonderful way to introduce children to a new language.


If you're using StoryWeaver to help spread the joy of reading, and would like to be featured on our blog write to us at [email protected]

 

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The Year is Ending, But Let’s Continue the Joy of Reading With Our Year End Wrap

Posted by Shristhi Patra on December 27, 2022

StoryWeaver is celebrating this festive season by presenting to you our  year end wrap. Come, let us soak in this holiday season by reading our most loved stories from 2022. This festive season, let us remember the joys of the year gone by and greet the new year with hope, and renewed enthusiasm. Here is a list of fun and sparkling stories to introduce to the child. 

1. A Bunch of Flowers: What is happening to Peri’s mother? His mother is always sleeping, her room is always dark like a thick forest of tall trees. In this wordless book for  emergent readers, Peri thinks of ways to bring the outdoors and sunshine back into their home and into his mother’s eyes. Immerse yourself in this lovely picture book on hope, support, and understanding written by Liwliwa Malabed, illustrated by Saumya Oberoi, and published by Singapore Book Council here.

 

2. How Many?: Crawling snails, fluttering butterflies, pigs in the mud. This book has so many animals, and more keep joining in. Can you count them all? Count your way through complex maths concepts with this richly illustrated book written by Sudeshna Shome Ghosh, illustrated by Sayan Mukherjee, and published by Pratham Books here.

 

3. Brave Bora: Going to the doctor can be scary! Can Bora overcome his fears, with a little help from Baba and Jojo? Explore your own courage through this beautiful story on love and support written by Edna Gicovi, illustrated by Ellen Heydenrych, and published by Book Dash here.

 

4. Haru: Meet Haru, who loves to eat, run and play. Even though there are nights when it’s hard to find a warm place to sleep, or days when there isn’t enough food to eat, Haru is always certain that tomorrow will be better. After all, as long as there is love and joy, it’s not a bad life! Discover the joy in the little things in life through this book written and illustrated by Manjari Chakravarti, and published by Pratham Books here.

 

5. At Home: Ammini misses school, and her brother Unni misses his aunt. Both of them miss playing in the park. But everyone has to stay indoors. Maybe they can go out for a walk today? Ammini hopes so. A day in the life of two children in a time of lockdowns and social distancing. Join Ammini on her journey as she tries her best to keep hopeful and carry on during tough times written by Shweta Ganesh Kumar, illustrated by Annand Menon, and published by Pratham Books here.

 

As we look back, this past year has been about recovering from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic with the realisation that we must continue our efforts to make the joy of reading fun, free, and accessible to all. Help us continue our journey of spreading the cheer of reading. If you like our work, consider donating to StoryWeaver. No amount is too small, and we appreciate every single contribution.

To make your contribution, click on: http://bit.ly/3PHTht5

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Ready, get set.... READ!

Posted by Remya Padmadas on May 09, 2018

When StoryWeaver was launched on International Literacy Day in 2015, we weren’t sure what new and exciting paths our digital journey would take us down. What we did know, was that technology and open licensing would help us take more stories to more children in more languages.

Over the past two years we have hit many milestones with you by our side: new and exciting stories in various formats, stories in over 100 languages and now, we’re about to hit another big one: one million reads on the platform!

Join the #RacetoAMillionReads

 

As we race towards our millionth online read on StoryWeaver, we’d love to have you join us in the winning lap! Starting today, we’ll be sharing stories on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram with the #RacetoAMillionReads.You can be a part of #RaceToAMillionReads on social media in a variety of ways.

  1. Share these stories with a child or children you know, and then pass the story on to friends who you think will enjoy it.

  2. Is there a story you especially love on StoryWeaver? Share it with family and friends and tag us @pbstoryweaver and use #RaceToAMillionReads

  3. If you’ve recently created, translated on relevelled a story on StoryWeaver then share that too so that more people can enjoy it. Who knows, someone else might love your story and translate it to a language they’re familiar in!

  4. Record an audio or video clip of you reading a book from StoryWeaver of your own story or a story you love and share it with us!

A big thank you for the tremendous role you’ve played in StoryWeaver’s journey! Here’s to the next million!

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