Reena Jain is based in Vadodara, Gujrat, and is a qualified classical dancer with a post graduation in Bharat Natyam. She has been a preprimary teacher since past 10 years in reputed schools of the town. No doubt, she is a deft hand at handling children of all age groups with equal ease.
Reena Jain has recently started conducting Spoken English classes for children at her home. Having grown up in Gujarat, she had plenty of chances of observing Gujarati cultures and tradition at very close quarters. During her school and college days when she interacted with her friends and teachers, she realized the importance of good communication skills in today’s world. She had also observed a lack of good spoken English classes here. Although she had always wanted to do something about it, it was only much later she could finally do what she wanted to do.
Opportunity came to her when she came back to Vadodora after 22 years. Luckily for her, children and parents alike, in her apartment building, were interested to learn from her, as she commenced to give shape to her dream profession.
She conducts these classes at her home in the afternoon. This arrangement suits her, as the children find the schedule suitable for them too.
‘They mostly want to play in the evening not wanting to attend any classes. It is very difficult to hold their attention at such times. Most importantly this set up works without any kind of investment required. In the initial days when the income is not stable it is advisable to have the least expenses possible’, she adds.
Majorly all her students are in between Class 1 to Class 8. According to her, this kind of a set up requires no investment at all, but it is very important to have two types of skill sets. Firstly one needs to be very comfortable with children. And secondly, of course, a good grasp of English language.
She doesn’t follow any set curriculum or method but rather tries to keep the children engaged during their class.
She explains, ‘Children these days have a very short attention span hence all the material has to be made accordingly. I give them various day-to-day topics to prepare and talk on. In short I try to ensure the child looks forward to the next class.’
She encourages her students to learn new words daily and has also made some interesting games around the basic rules of grammar. They have debates, elocutions, public speaking which not only helps them improve their spoken skills but also makes them work on their knowledge and information about current topics.
She further states, ‘I like it when the students ask me Madam what we should prepare for tomorrow’s class. In case I am unable to take classes and I give them leave their disheartened faces say it all. That is the biggest encouragement and award for me. I don’t think any other recognition could be better than that.’
