A video of children in schools in Delhi, India working in pairs to read in English. One pupil pointing to the letter and the second pupil sounding out the letter whilst also using an action. This helps with blending and associates the sound and action with an original story about the sound. Learning to read Hindi and English concurrently allows for global participation as well as expanding and strengthening the language of their heritage.
A pupil using blending to read a book chosen at random in Hyderabad, India. This pupil is learning to read Hindi, Telugu, and English concurrently. Learning to read heritage languages alongside english allows for a common underlying proficiency in both languages as they are not separate but connected to each other.
A co-creation meeting was held at Jesmond Dene House with the team in February 2026. Colleagues gathered from Universal Learning Solutions, Newcastle University, Durham University, Northumbria University and Flooded Cellar to inspire each other around ways forward for language learning in Nigeria.
Engagement and Place Awards Newcastle University 2026
Dr Louise Gittins attends the African Union and Gates Foundation meeting in Addis Ababa in July 2025. The meeting “Proven Solution for Foundational Learning in Africa” was hosted by UNICEF. Findings from our literacy research were presented by Louise as evidence of “Scalable Foundational Literacy and Numeracy Practices to End Learning Poverty in Africa”.
