Online Education and English Language Learning Among Tribal Students of Kerala

ABSTRACT

Kerala, a South Indian state has tribal population in all her districts. About 1.5% of the total population of the state constitute tribal population. They depend upon natural environment and resources for their survival. Children from the same community usually depend on government funded schools for their education. Education for this deprived section during COVID 19 Pandemic was a massive exclusion and an uphill task. Digital divide and medium of communication (Standard Malayalam) were some of the critical concerns to knowledge acquisition among tribal children. This paper primarily focuses on the challenges of online education among tribal students with a clear emphasis on the English language acquisition. This study was conducted in four most tribal populated districts of the State, namely, Wayanad, Malappuram, Palakkad, and Idukki. This is a qualitative explorative study that explores the experiences of the tribal students' English language learning challenges from the teachers' perspective in these districts. © The Electrochemical Society