Problem
India's 7+ Population, 66% Literacy (2001)
India's 7+ Population, 66% Literacy (2001)
Women: 70 % of early & non- literate
Hindi belt: 50% of early & non-literate
Solution
Same Language Subtitling
What you hear is what you read
Indian Film Industry
1000 films per year
5000 music-videos per year
Dominates content on TV
Passion across class/caste/age
No SLS : Eye-fixation on TV
With SLS : Eye-fixation on TV
Programs
Same Language Subtitling
Why? Reading becomes automatic, subconscious, in everyday entertainment.
Why songs? Hugely popular, repetition, anticipation and instant gratification, adds value for all.
Motivational value for non-literate.
Print-exposure with text-sound association for pre-reading children.
Scientific Studies
Eye-tracking research has shown that viewers naturally synchronize the auditory and textual information while watching a film song with SLS. When SLS is integrated into popular TV entertainment, reading happens automatically and subconsciously.
Cost effectiveness
Every US dollar spent on subtitling a nationally telecast program of Hindi film songs, gives 30 minutes of weekly reading practice to 10,000 people, for a whole year! This is the equivalent of one paisa per person per year in India. In specific states or languages, it would range from 5-20 paisa per person per year.
Useful Sites/Links
A "Book" for Every Child in Her Language ( www.bookbox.com )
BookBox is a social enterprise that innovated the concept of "AniBooks" or animated books to support emergent literacy and language skills. We overcome the distribution challenges of print by piping reading to children on digital and electronic media.
Research Article (2015) SLS Impact in Maharashtra