Faculty of Education, University of Delhi

Research project on 'Teachers and children as co-reseachers in Indian primary schools', funded by the British Council UK, led by Dr Annamaria Pinter (Applied Linguistics)

Staff from Applied Linguistics, Dr Annamaria Pinter and Dr Richard Smith, secured a British Council ELTRP award in collaboration with Professor Rama Mathew at Delhi University for a research project in India in 2014. This project draws on longstanding strengths and research interests in Applied Linguistics at Warwick in relation to English learning in large classes, the use of innovative and inclusive research methodologies and exploring ethical practice in large classes in difficult circumstances. Working with the British Council as a change agent, this project also fits with the Applied Linguistics impact agenda. Upwards of 500 children aged between 7 and 12 years have been invited to work together with their teachers (a group of 25 teachers from across India), participating in small-scale classroom investigations. The children are planning, conducting and evaluating classroom research projects with the help of their teachers, who act as facilitators and collaborators but also as insider-researchers themselves, documenting the children’s perceptions and their own experiences. The aim of our project is to gain a better understanding of children’s own views and priorities when it comes to learning English and, based on the shared experiences of learners and teachers, to work towards methodological solutions which could benefit English language classrooms both inside and beyond India.

Dr Annamaria Pinter with Prof. Rama Mathew (Delhi University) -- at the end on the right -- and project teachers

One of the project teachers presenting with pupils about their research, at a project workshop