1. What are Sanskar Teaching Live Classes?
In Sanskar Teaching’s live online Gujarati classes, each student is part of a class of other students plus a Sanskar-certified teacher. The class gathers via and easy to use online platform called Zoom at the regularly scheduled class time. Here, the teacher can see, hear and interact with the students and vice versa.
2. How long are classes?
Depending on the students’ age, classes are either thirty minutes or one hour.
3. Do students sit in front of the screen the whole time?
To keep classes fun as well as productive, at various times during class, we have students move around. This gets their energy shifted and keeps boredom at bay. We incorporate games like ‘Chhagan kahe” (similar to ‘Simon Says’ in English) where the teacher shares commands in Gujarati and students follow them. This normally involves some stretching, yoga and running a bit. There are short art activities sometimes as well.
4. How old do students have to be to join a live class?
As much as we want our students to begin learning Gujarati early, we advise that you wait until your child reaches age 4-5 before beginning classes.
5. Do I have to be home in front of a desktop to do this?
Most certainly not. We have had students attend classes through their iPads as well as smartphones, from their cars, hotels and from a relative’s house. Although this is not ideal, it gives everyone the flexibility to stay current with the class because of all our busy schedules.
6. Do students need any materials for the live class?
Several days before the scheduled class, students receive an email package for the class that Sunday. Parents are encouraged to print out all needed materials as well as to listen to/watch videos before class as necessary.
7. How is the live class different from the digital course?
The Live Classes curriculum is very different than the online course. The greatest difference between the two is that there is interaction between teacher and students in the live classes. The live classes take place at a specified time while the digital course can be worked on any time that you choose. The live classes focus on becoming conversational in Gujarati very quickly. The live interactions allow students to ask questions in real-time as well as to have pronunciation corrected.
Here’s a glimpse of the curriculum for the Live Classes:
* Prarthana-Prayers — Practice singing using phonetic words provided via PDFs and audio clips from their weekly packages. These allow additional practice on their own time.
* Greetings —Students practice pronunciation and receive real-time correction, as they communicate one-on-one with the teacher, which builds confidence in their ability to speak Gujarati.
* Scenarios —We create make-believe scenarios wherein the students must their Gujarati speaking skills.
* Festivals— Upcoming festivals are discussed in detail. We teach which activities, stories and traditions that are followed for festivals.
* Game time — Games such as Chhagan Kahe/Gujarati Simon Says or Gujarati Scattegories are played during classes to encourage movement and fun.
* Alphabet learning — For those who want to learn the basic Gujarati reading and writing.
* Vocabulary & Sentence translating—Helping students translate certain words and sentences to build their vocabulary including learning present, past and future tenses.
* Story time — Students watch a video of a story in Gujarati and we help them translate and understand the story through English words.
* Homework — Homework includes practical skills to help students use what they learn in class throughout the coming week by making it part of their daily routines. This may include art activities, singing, dancing, acting, field trips, visiting grandparents, phone calls with Dada-Ba, and many other creative tasks.
* Cultural activities —This part is for students able to travel or living in and around southern California. Once or twice per year the students perform at our temple in Los Angeles, where they get to showcase the Gujarati skills they acquire during the year. Depending on the event, there may be dancing and singing included.
8. Are there make-up classes or refunds?
Unfortunately, our Sanskar-certified teachers are unable to add make-up classes to the schedule. However, if you notify us ahead of time, the entire live class can be recorded for you so you can watch and do the work when time allows. There are no refunds provided for missed classes.
9. What if my student feels behind and needs to catch up?
Our goal is to empower students in their ability to speak Gujarati, so if there is a need, the teacher will definitely work with the individual family to make sure the students are comfortable. We also have a wide variety of resources on our website to help with additional needs.
10. I have more questions, what can I do?
Vaishali is happy to schedule a meet & greet with you and your kids to answer any questions you have and get to know you! This is a great way to make sure our Virtual School is the right fit for you. Schedule one here.
11. I'm ready to register my kids, where do I go?
Yay! We're so excited to have you in class. Follow this link to sign up now.
Sign up for my email list to always know when classes are enrolling new students!
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