The Academic Bridge Programme (ABP) is a specially curated English language communication and academic writing course that enables students to transition smoothly into university and campus life. It was first piloted for a select batch of 25 students, who joined the undergraduate programme in 2018. Since then, the impact and importance of this course have amplified with each passing year. What began as a 9 days immersive classroom interaction between students and course facilitators, has evolved to become a three-week course with a graded syllabus collaboratively designed by Centre for Writing and Communication (CWC) tutors and the Introduction to Critical Thinking (ICT) instructors.

The syllabus of the ABP is carefully crafted to include an array of collaborative assignments and individual introspective exercises. This gives students an introductory yet engaging experience of learning academic communication skills, necessary for them to succeed in the respective courses they go on to choose. As instructors, it is heartening to find that students have found the learning of preliminary yet essential transferable skills intellectually challenging, yet enjoyable. As a part of the course, they learn how to listen effectively, take notes, ask questions, and plan using mind-maps and concept clouds. By the end of the three weeks, they produce academic and journalistic pieces, articulating persuasive arguments, written coherently with intention and cogency.

Student-led teaching methodologies and graded scaffolding techniques, that activate students’ pre-knowledge and prioritise learner autonomy, are applied to traditional writing exercises to

play a significant role in developing the learners’ ability to identify and examine how language is used in varying contexts for different purposes. This student-driven pedagogical style has resulted in augmenting students’ confidence and willingness to communicate inside and outside the classroom. Moreover, the interactive process of giving and receiving feedback along with peer-reviewing has manifested in the creation of a learning space that students find non-judgemental, empathetic and supportive even beyond the ABP.

As students move from the ABP to their regular classes, some of them who still need English language support get enrolled in ‘English Communication’ in the Monsoon semester and ‘Intermediate English Communication’ in Spring. Both courses are designed with equal weightage given to the four foundational skills of language learning: listening, speaking, reading and writing. The objective is to help students develop skills that they can use when critically engaging with other complex texts in their curriculum. Over the semester, they gain confidence in using English both in an academic as well as a non-academic setting, with some becoming excellent debaters and reporters outside their classrooms.

The English Language Team (ELT) team within the CWC also extends its help to tutoring students who struggle with English language expression. For such students, the ELT team designs a tailored curriculum. Apart from tutoring, the team also conducts ELT workshops pertaining to the improvement of English writing, reading and speaking skills. The aim of these workshops and tutoring sessions is to make the English-learning experience less overwhelming for the students, ensuring that they are equipped with the required competency to excel in their academic endeavours.

Jyotirmoy Talukdar teaches the Academic Bridge Programme and English Communication courses at Ashoka. As a part of the Centre for Writing and Communication at Ashoka, Jyotirmoy has also conducted writing workshops at universities across the country. His first book of translation was published in 2021.