Susmita Giri
2024 IVLP Impact Award Project: Stories of Karnali’s English Teachers: Aspire to AchieveNepal
Susmita Giri is a secondary level English Language teacher at SOS Hermann Gmeiner School in Surkhet. She has extensive experience in assessment, research and developing reading and writing projects for students of varying age groups. She primarily focuses on integrating innovative strategies for second language teaching and learning curricula. She volunteers as a language teacher and storyteller at American Corner Surkhet, where she teaches English to middle- aged local entrepreneurs, women and young students from different parts of Birendranagar.
IVLP Impact Award Project: Stories of Karnali’s English Teachers: Aspire to Achieve
The project transformed secondary level English language teaching through an innovative, interactive and engaging teaching approach called “Integrating South Asian Parliamentary Debate into their English Curriculum.” Ten teachers participated in a three-day workshop which included interactive workshops and practical sessions to introduce the teachers to the concept, format, and educational benefits of South Asian Parliamentary Debate.
After attending the training, the teachers organized parliamentary debates in their respective schools, with Susmita’s support. Thirty students (three from each school) participated in the three-day District Level Parliamentary Debate Championship, which Susmita hosted in mid-September. Students exhibited their passion for debate, learning English, research ability, public speaking and their willingness to continue debating in their schools. As a result of the project, the trained teachers also established a ‘Teacher’s Debate Club’ in Birendranagar to support each other as they integrate debate as a teaching method into their classrooms. By integrating this innovative approach, teachers foster English proficiency, critical thinking, communication skills, and active engagement among their students. One teacher reflected, “Through this training, I realized that the Parliamentary Debate system offers an outstanding experience. It equips students with all skills of language associating critical thinking and fostering growth in their debate abilities while instilling focus, confidence, and integrity. This system significantly contributes to evaluating students' thoughts and opinions in schools, encouraging a more positive role in politics, ethics, and independence."
“Even I cannot believe the progress I have made so far in the last few months, participating in the debate, winning and being the sixth best speaker is something I never thought…I could do. If I time travelled [a] few years back and told my younger self about these things, my younger self would never believe me. Parliamentary Debate has turned me into a confident speaker, and I believe I express myself better nowadays.” – Student Participant
IVLP Exchange Experience
Susmita participated in the IVLP Project: Education in the Digital Age, organized by the U.S. Department of State and FHI 360, in partnership with Cleveland Council on World Affairs, Global Ties Kalamazoo, Michigan Council for Citizen Diplomacy, and WorldChicago.
Susmita's exchange experience led to the development of her project: “I had an opportunity to get hands-on experience on how a teacher can significantly impact the students’ learning. For instance, I visited Kalamazoo as a part of our program and met a group of students who were taking advanced journalism led by Tisha Pankop at Loy Norrix High school in Kalamazoo. As a part of their journalism class, Ms. Tisha established a real learning platform for the students by creating Knight Life magazine, the school newspaper, which covers a wide range of news stories, articles, editorials, interviews and illustrations. In our school environment, we place a strong emphasis on memorization and heavily rely on textbooks, discarding the value of fostering authentic, hands-on learning. Therefore, I believe that integrating ‘South Asian Parliamentary Debate’ in the secondary level English learning will certainly create a perpetuating impact on both students and teachers. Students will learn English language, debating skills and research skills in the process of doing South Asian Parliamentary Debate. Similarly, teachers will be equipped with an innovative tool to make their class more engaging and impactful.”
U.S. Communities Visited
Washington DC, Chicago, IL; East Lansing, MI; Kalamazoo, MI; Cleveland, OH