Teen Helps 1,600+ Students Speak English Without Fear

Neha understood everything her teacher said in English, but when it came time to answer, she stayed silent. The 12-year-old from a Bengaluru care home wasn't struggling with comprehension. She was paralyzed by the fear of being laughed at if she made a mistake.

That silence caught the attention of Roshni Gupta, then just 14 years old and a student at Mallya Aditi International School. Walking into government schools and orphanages across Bengaluru in 2023, she noticed a pattern that teachers often missed. Children could read English, write it, and understand it perfectly. But when asked to speak, their confidence evaporated.

"I asked a student to explain something she had written," Roshni recalls. "Everything was correct, but she couldn't speak it in English. That's when I realized the issue wasn't knowledge. It was expression."

At just 14, Roshni launched Project Vidya in August 2023. The initiative flipped traditional English teaching on its head by focusing entirely on spoken communication rather than grammar drills and memorization.

Her workshops gather 30 to 40 students at a time and transform English from a subject into a conversation. Sessions might start with simple introductions, but instead of writing answers in notebooks, children speak, respond, and engage with each other. Videos introduce ideas, followed by prompts that gently draw students into dialogue.

One of the most popular activities involves creativity. Students make origami or drawings, then introduce their creations in English as if they were characters in a story. Laughter replaces hesitation. Speaking becomes part of play rather than a test to pass.

The approach works because it removes the fear of making mistakes. "We wanted to make speaking feel natural and comfortable, not by correcting every error, but by creating a safe space," Roshni explains.

The Ripple Effect

What started in a few Bengaluru classrooms now reaches students across five countries. Project Vidya operates in government schools throughout Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Delhi, plus chapters in Rwanda, Kenya, Lesotho, and the United Arab Emirates. Over 1,600 students have participated so far.

The transformation goes beyond language skills. Students like Neha, who once stayed silent even when they knew answers, now raise their hands eagerly. Teachers report improvements not just in spoken English, but in overall classroom participation and confidence.

For Sheela, another 12-year-old from the Need Base India Girls Home, the change was life-altering. She went from freezing up at the thought of speaking English to expressing herself freely, no longer worried about judgment.

Roshni, now 17 and in Class 11, continues expanding the initiative while balancing her own studies. Her insight at 14 addressed something most adults had overlooked: sometimes the biggest barrier to learning isn't in the textbook, but in the courage to speak up.