Three-Day Jolly Phonics training to strengthen foundational English Literacy begins at DIET Leh

LEH: The District Institute of Education and Training (DIET), Leh organised a three-day Advanced Jolly Phonics English Language Training Programme aimed at strengthening the teaching competencies of educators from all educational zones of Leh district through structured phonics-based instruction.

The capacity-building programme brings together teachers from across the district to enhance classroom practices in foundational English literacy by focusing on scientifically designed phonics methodologies and evidence-based language instruction.

Inaugurating the programme, Principal, DIET Leh, Sonam Dorje Namgyal, said systematic synthetic phonics plays a central role in developing foundational literacy and equipping children with essential reading and language skills. He underlined the importance of helping learners understand speech sounds, phoneme-grapheme relationships, sound articulation, blending, segmenting and decoding as the building blocks of English language acquisition.

He urged teachers to move beyond conventional alphabet instruction and adopt classroom practices that strengthen phonemic awareness, pronunciation, auditory discrimination and spelling through structured phonics instruction. He also highlighted the value of integrating multisensory learning techniques, including sound-action associations, interactive phonological activities and rhythmic oral exercises, to improve learner engagement, reading fluency and pronunciation accuracy.

The technical sessions are being conducted by phonics specialists Shehnaz Jussa and Riru Bawa, who are leading practical sessions on systematic synthetic phonics, phonological awareness, articulation, pronunciation pedagogy, blending and segmenting strategies, and the classroom application of the Jolly Phonics approach.

During the three-day programme, participants will receive hands-on training in evidence-based instructional practices designed to strengthen foundational English literacy and improve classroom delivery through interactive and learner-centred methodologies.

The inaugural session was attended by Tsering Yangdol, Head of Department and Training Coordinator, DIET Leh, whose presence reflected the institution’s continuing emphasis on teacher professional development.

According to DIET Leh, the programme aligns with the objectives of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and the Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN) Mission, equipping teachers with contemporary instructional competencies to develop confident, fluent and independent readers.

The institute expects the training programme to enhance teachers’ professional capacity in English language instruction and contribute to improved literacy outcomes for young learners across Ladakh.