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All Levels I give permission to record or livestream Presentation (45 minutes)
Building a Reading Community: Narayanapur Village Reading Program
This presentation highlights the Village Reading Program in Narayanapur, Telangana, designed to foster a reading culture within the community. The initiative trained 100 students to mentor 100 struggling readers, who together visited 797 homes, distributing free books to encourage home libraries and shared reading. To overcome obstacles such as limited engagement with the village library and initial hesitation from families, I planned in advance, selected most of the mentors from my own school for easier coordination, and actively involved the community for support and trust-building. This grassroots effort helped students reach grade-level proficiency and strengthened community bonds. Based on our experience, suggested steps to replicate this program in areas like Indonesia include: selecting student mentors through schools, involving local volunteers, distributing free starter books, conducting home visits, and creating small community reading groups. This program shows that with simple tools and strong local support, a culture of reading can flourish anywhere.
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Raju Lingala teaches English to secondary school students at Zilla Parishad High School, Narayanapur, Rajanna Sircilla District, Telangana. He has 16 years of teaching experience and holds a Master’s degree in English Literature, a Bachelor’s in Education, and a Post Graduate Certificate in the Teaching of English from EFLU, Hyderabad. Raju is a state-level resource person for English teacher training and actively conducts PTA meetings and school programs. A recipient of the Extensive Reading Foundation Scholarship, he promotes reading projects and co-authored Connecting Eight Effective ELT Classrooms, a research-based book led by Dr. Jason Anderson, Warwick University. As a Fulbright TEA Fellow, he enhanced his skills in blended learning and explored reading cultures in the USA. Raju’s goal is to establish a foundation promoting extensive reading among students and citizens of India.