Curriculum Magazine: English vocabulary @ Logophilia Edu Pvt Ltd. Allahabad

Dhruv Raj Sharma studied Psycholinguistics, (the study of how the brain uses and learns language) and also taught English vocabulary to graduates around the same time. While preparing lessons, he noticed most English words are derived from either Greek or Latin. He began to study the linkages of the two languages to English, deeply. This quickly grew into a passion and formed the beginning of ‘Etymology Education’ and now Logophilia based in Allahabad (U P). Logophilia hopes to reach out to an international audience in the near future. Autar Nehru interviewed Dhruv on this learning concept, and his successful education company. 

How did it start really and how did the founding team meet?

Upon the completion of my degree, I travelled to Ireland to study Ancient Classical Latin formally, and founded Logophilia Education on my return. I first pilot tested an Etymology programme at a CBSE school in Allahabad. Deriving encouragement from its success, Logophilia as an organization was registered in the August of 2010.  Logophilia has always had a very strong and popular internship programme, even before it was formally registered as an organization. There were a few interns working for the cause of Etymology with me. In due course, a number of interns joined the company professionally and became important members. Of the original interns, some important positions in Logophilia: Kushagra Singh, Amber Sharma, Kay Kay Tiwari, to name some.

What are some of the innovative solutions your company has come up with? Any international collaborations?

Logophilia asserts that the vocabulary of English taught in schools by class XII is a mere fraction, some ten thousand, of the total size of the English vocabulary, which is about a million words. Students are therefore left with a very impoverished vocabulary, which leads to a whole variety of deficiencies and impairments in their learning styles. The most frequent compensatory behavior is that of rote memorization.

Rote memorisation is the problem Logophilia seeks to eradicate. Logophilia helps students understand language in general and vocabulary in particular, in a very logical and systematic fashion. They teach vocabulary through Etymology Education, which involves experiential education, to help children learn how to make and break words. Etymology helps students develop a deep understanding of word meaning, spellings, and pronunciation, all in the same effort. Presently, we are awaiting international collaborations in time for our on-stage Olympiad in November. However, in the past, Logophilia has worked abroad in a few schools in South Dakota, U. S. A. So far working in six states across India (Uttar Pradesh, Uttaranchal, Maharashtra Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Bihar) is keeping the company very occupied.

You have conducted workshops, Olympiads etc. across schools and colleges. What is the process of doing these? (From the point of view of someone interested)

We run a number of programmes that cater to different age groups. Our quickest and most fundamental programme is the UNI Workshop, wherein we teach 1000 words in 3 hours, simply by highlighting the relation between Greek and Latin, and English. This programme has been very popular. Our flagship programme is the Fundamental Etymology Workshop (FEW). It is a week long programme in which participants find their learning styles rapidly and significantly improving via a thematic arrangement of Latin and Greek roots. Logophilia also hosts programmes at aimed a college audience, such as the Medical Programme and the Latin for Law programme. Students find it much easier to see through the academic terminology with these two programmes.

Apart from this, we also host communication programmes that give participants training in verbal communication. Schools and colleges interested in our programmes, or wishing to join our War for Words Olympiad can contact us at enquiry@logophilia.in

How do you plan to scale it up?

Logophilia not only teaches Etymology programmes but also writes books and blogs, and entries into a unique online dictionary. Presently, we are engaged in writing the world’s first etymologizing online application, which is called

‘Etymologise’, which is designed to help users break up any word into its logical parts. The intention behind ‘Etymologise’ is to overcome the shortcomings of the regular dictionary, which only manages to impart information on words one at a time. Logophilia aims to provide the service of ‘Etymologise’ to users worldwide. Logophilia organizes the world’s only Etymology based on-stage Olympiad ‘The Logophilia Gala’.

While the Gala currently involves schools from six states in India, the goal is to make the Gala an international ‘War for Words’

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