ZP Students Set to Learn Five Foreign Languages

240 ZP Teachers Trained in German, French, Spanish, Russian and Japanese

Pune : The second year of the foreign language education initiative jointly conducted by the Pune Zilla Parishad and Savitribai Phule Pune University’s Department of Foreign Languages has commenced, with online training for 240 ZP school teachers.

Training began on September 21 in German, French, Spanish, Russian and Japanese languages. Of the 240 teachers selected, 132 are being trained in German, 28 in French, 25 in Spanish, 25 in Russian and 30 in Japanese.

The initiative is based on the ‘Training of Trainers’ model, under which trained teachers will introduce students to basic foreign languages and their associated cultures in their schools.

A structured 180-hour course focuses on four key language skills — listening, reading, writing and speaking. Teachers will develop basic skills to understand and participate in everyday conversations, read simple texts and write short passages.

The programme has expanded significantly from its first year, when 102 teachers were trained in two foreign languages. Those teachers subsequently reached around 5,100 students, with each teacher sharing their learning with approximately 50 students.

The initiative aims to expose ZP school students to global languages and cultures while strengthening their communication skills, linguistic awareness and understanding of diverse cultural contexts.