Teaching Urdu with ICT (Information and Communication Technologies)

Few weeks back, I had a very long conversation with a good friend of mine who teaches Urdu in a school in UK. He is extremely passionate about teaching the Urdu language and we always end up having long discussions about its future in different parts of the world.


I had asked him to gather feedback about our website from different schools in UK where Urdu is currently taught as a regular class. Based on his feedback, an overwhelming majority of the Urdu teachers and parents liked the quality of our program, our teaching methodology and the topics that we have covered on our website. They were also very happy to see Urdu being finally taught using ICT. However, we were surprised to find out that a number of teachers are still not comfortable with the idea of using technology to teach Urdu language.


We all know that there is a dearth of good quality Urdu teaching resources and the overall standards have fallen to their lowest level. Copyright violations is an acceptable norm even among some of the leading schools. Absolutely no investment is made to modernize the language and it is usefulness is often debated. Ask any Urdu teacher about the Urdu literacy standards and he/she will tell you that things have gone so bad that most 5th graders are not able to to read few sentences of Urdu correctly. Those of us who are seriously attempting to improve the system by introducing technology receive no support from the schools, government and in some cases even concerned parents. In addition, the publishing houses see us as a threat to their current monopoly over the education system. But it is not too late! For starters, any effort to modernize Urdu teaching methods should be encouraged, appreciated and financially supported. As Urdu teachers and parents, we should at the very least try the new technologies that are coming out to teach Urdu language.



It's about time, schools across Pakistan, India and UK should analyze the reasons behind students' lack of interest in Urdu and why the failure rate has increased alarmingly. The answer is simple! It's all due to the decades old methods of teaching Urdu as well as our inability to embrace technology. Our current generation of students want their learning experience to be interesting and interactive.



Based on the customer reviews and the appreciation we have received, we can confidently say that after enrolling in our program no Urdu teacher will again complain about not having access to modern Urdu resources. Our program is based on the MFL (Modern Foreign Language) standards established in UK and is very easy to use. It is the only online Urdu program which fully supports and implements ICT model. Our program is ideal for private schools, public schools and those parents who are teaching their kids Urdu at home. Some of the leading schools in Pakistan and UK are currently using our program. Our intention is not to replace the Urdu books taught that are taught in schools (although we really need to look into it's overall content). We really want to help and support the Urdu teachers who are increasingly finding it difficult to connect with their students by using technology.



We offer a complete Urdu teaching program that follows a step by step teaching methodology. Our program has two parts; The first part incorporates interactive lessons and exercises for different levels with animations. The second part includes a large number of pre - designed worksheets starting from Pre - K to higher classes. Our program is well defined and carefully planned with the sole focus on building and improving all major Urdu concepts and skills. There is no religious or political content that is not related to Urdu in our program.



So our message to Urdu teachers and parents all over the world is this: “Our Online Program is ideal for your students and children.” There are hundred's of resources on our website (www.Urduathome.com) that will make your teaching life so much easier and will also help improve children's / students productivity and retention. Our lesson planners are adding new content regularly. We deeply care about our members and always welcome their feedback. Last count, we have members from over 10 countries and still counting.




Respects,

Syed Abbas