Speakeasy

Students learning with XO laptops in Mongolia

About the Speakeasy project

The Speakeasy project is an initiative that aims to foster English language literacy and expression in underprivileged communities worldwide. It involves the development of free and open-source English language teaching software, similar to popular commercial products like Rosetta Stone, and possibly in the form of highly palatable and engaging games, that can be deployed on low-cost laptops to schools in third world countries, where resources and personnel are scarce.

The benefits of early English education are potentially enormous. English is a global cornerstone language, among the most widely spoken and widely printed, and is by far the most popular language of the Internet. English language skills can open the door to a vast world of educational opportunity in print, digital media, interpersonal learning, and the Internet. Early development of these skills will enable youth to acquire a strong command of the language at an older age, leading the way to economic competency within the international, English-speaking community.

The Philippine pilot

Speakeasy will launch as a pilot program in the Philippines, where basic English literacy is widespread but fluency and command of the language has been considered subpar. This has resulted in less-than-spectacular scores in the IELTS and other English language tests worldwide, as well as difficulty finding jobs with foreign organizations both locally and overseas.

The pilot will ideally launch in a school whose limited access to educational resources places it at a disadvantage. After identifying a target school, XOs will be shipped to the school with the software pre-installed. Volunteers can then interface with the teachers to determine how best to administer a passive but effective learning program for the children. Improvement in English skill will be determined by administering a test before and after the program, and comparing the results.

Why laptops? Why games?

Books and other traditional modes of learning are great, but laptops offer a real opportunity at passive and unsupervised learning, where children learn skills by doing things out of their own will and without knowing it. This differs from more supervised forms of education, where a curriculum is assigned and teachers are available to walk each student through their tasks. The benefits of such a mode of learning are that students are highly engaged, are motivated to learn on their own, develop critical, creative and social skills, and do so with a minimal demand on teachers and other resources. See Hole-In-The-Wall

People

Lester Leong
email: Lester.BLeong@gmail.com

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